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How to repaint the slate floor?

Hi,

I would like to repaint our slate floor in a grey color, but I'm unsure about the steps to take. We've been living in the house for 12 years and have never sealed the floor. Some spots seem shiny, so maybe a sealer was used in the past. Do I need to strip the sealer, or can I sand it off? I would prefer not to use chemicals. Do I need a primer before painting? What type of paint should I use? I would like to keep the natural grout, so I believe I would need to paint each square separately and then apply the sealer all over. What sealer would you recommend? I prefer a satin finish over a glossy one. Thank you for any advise.

Thank you!

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JacobZ

Hi @Sipi,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

The Dulux Concrete & Paving Range looks like the best option for you. It is a three-step system that is comprised of a cleaner, a primer and your paint topcoat. There are options for both sealed and unsealed surfaces.

You should start by determining whether there is a sealer present or not, as this will advise us on the best method moving forward.

To determine if the slate is sealed, pour a small amount of water onto the surface; if it beads up and rolls off, it's likely sealed, while soaking in indicates a lack of or worn-out sealer.

If the flooring is sealed, you can use the sealed surface system, comprised of Dulux Concrete And Paving Sealed Surface Cleaner, Dulux Concrete And Paving Sealed Surface Primer and your topcoat such as this Dulux 4L Concrete & Paving Satin Coloured Sealer.

If the surface is not sealed, you can use Dulux Concrete And Paving Bare Concrete Etch And Clean and Dulux Concrete And Paving Bare Concrete Primer with the same topcoat.

Let me know what you think, and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

Sipi

Thank you Jacob for your reply. Which option should I choose if some parts are sealed and some are worn off?

JacobZ

Hi @Sipi,

Upon review, regardless of the sealer situation, the sealed surface primer would be better on slate.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

Sipi

Thank you!

laura_nicole23

Hey Jacob amazing info, what do you do if some slate is sealed and some not as it’s 25yrs old and only ever sealed when it was laid.
Would you recommend to sand it all back or give it a super good clean if so with what, and then paint with which option. It’s a bathroom floor and majority is sealed but around the toliet small parts have chipped and not sealed. 30cm2 area. So not large at all total of whole of bathroom.
thank you.

JacobZ

Hi @laura_nicole23,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

With any kind of paint, it's best to do whatever you can to make the entire surface uniform prior to application. In your situation, this would mean either grinding it back to remove the sealer, which would take considerable time and effort, or simply applying a sealer such as this Dunlop Natural Look Sealer to the unsealed slate so everything is at least close to being the same.

Of the two options, having ground back flooring before and knowing how time-consuming and taxing on the body it is, I would just seal the unsealed portion, allow it to dry based on the information on the sealer.

After sealing, you would use the preparation instructions for the Dulux Concrete and Paving Sealed Surface Primer. They recommend pressure cleaning; however, indoors, that step would not be an option, so you would thoroughly scrub the entire surface using the Dulux Concrete And Paving Sealed Surface Cleaner, then allow it to dry before applying your Dulux Concrete And Paving Sealed Surface Primer followed by the topcoat.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

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