Do I need to varnish the laminate

Is it possible to varnish the laminate and with what varnish

Quite often after the installation of the coating for floor, soap comes to the owners about how to cover the laminate with varnish. It is difficult to say for what reason such a desire appears, perhaps because of the fact that the new floor made of cellulose fibers from swelling should be unexpectedly spilled. In either case, the idea of ​​varnishing your laminate flooring deserves your attention.

Does the laminate need to be varnished after installation? There may be more than enough reasons for such a decision. Any, even the highest quality laminate, which is laid on the floor with a floating method, will not look reliable and durable enough.

General information

Naturally, if the lamellae were glued to the base, then there are no deformations and deflections, and in general, the laminate flooring will look very stable and durable. Is it another matter if the laminate is laid on a fresh substrate, and for at least 2 more months the coating will settle and adapt to the substrate.

As a rule, the floor is varnished for the following reasons:

• There is a desire to tighten and tie the panels with a varnish film, and the fixing varnish for the laminate can make the coating more durable and monolithic.
• Protect the laminate from moisture - if you properly cover the surface and joints with a varnish, then even inexpensive and non-waterproof laminate panels can withstand short-term flooding with water.
• Trying to restore a decorative laminate with varnish, and this is the classic method for floor restoration.

  If you cover the lamellas with a tinted varnish composition, and also polish the layer, then it is likely that it will be possible to hide floor scuffs and scratches under the film.

• In certain cases, they try to cover the laminate with some kind of decorative varnish, and this is required to reduce wear, which helps to increase the operational life.

According to reviews, 5 out of 10 cases of using varnish is due to the fact that the owners did not like the previously selected shade of the material. Such cases and quite often, and there is no fault of the buyer. Certain models of laminate flooring look much worse on the floor than in a commercial or on a stand in a hardware store.

In this case, there is no other way out but to start developing the texture of the coating, just as it is done with a parquet floor. It is enough to cover the materials with mastic or high quality varnish to make the pattern and texture brighter and more intense. This gives the lacquered laminate a more interesting appearance.

Please note that it is technically possible to cover laminate flooring with paint and varnish material, but most manufacturers of flooring materials in the form of laminate are categorically opposed to this initiative.

The lacquer film, which has got into the locking joints, is capable of entailing a deformation process of the lamellas and even swelling of the substrate due to the blocking of moisture on the substrate surface.

Naturally, you can varnish the floor, but only if you have chosen the correct varnish for the laminate.

Details

Cons

Of the many problems that can appear in the event of a violation of technology, we single out the most significant:

1. If you cover a laminate that has not settled on the substrate, that is, "fresh", then the panels are able to rise, and especially in places under furniture and at the entrance to the room. It is required either to wait until complete shrinkage occurs, or to lay the material on an adhesive basis.
2. Old laminate can be coated without concern for the integrity of the lock. The thing is that after a couple of years of the operational process, the connection in the lock between the lamellas begins to loosen, it becomes freer, and there are no big problems with the deformation of the coating.

   True, if the lacquered laminate is flooded, then the situation can be corrected only by replacing the lamella.

3. Another unpleasant fact is the unpredictability of the result of processing old floors. You can cover the laminate with an excellent polyurethane varnish, and after a week you notice that the floor continues to sag under load.

Please note that it is considered that the laminate floor must have a certain gap for expansion of the material due to temperature fluctuations and humidity.

Do I need to varnish the laminate? Yes, and the best conditions for this can be considered dry and hot summer days.

Trying to carry out work in winter, after rains or at a high level of humidity will mean damage to the front surface. Due to the microscopic film of moist condensation, air bubbles are necessarily formed on the lamellas under the varnish layer. Liquid varnish compositions can be dispersed with a roller, and thick melamine or oily compositions with a scraper.

Moreover, it is best not to try to coat the laminate just to protect the outer face. acrylic or melamine film, which is applied to lamellar surfaces, has a much higher resistance to wear than a simple varnish.

If you also apply a varnish layer on top of the film, then after a while the varnish coating will be wiped off to the base, and stains and tracks will remain on the lamellas themselves, not to mention the fact that covering textured surfaces with a varnish layer with imitation of natural wood cracks will mean ruining a very expensive laminate. It will be sleek and beautiful, but it will not appear natural.

Technology of applying a layer of varnish

First of all, you need to decide what kind of varnish composition is best for flooring.In such a situation, it is worth using the following recommendations:

• For a premium laminate with a melamine film protection, the varnish should be made on the basis of melamine resin. Other types of laminate can be coated with polyurethane or acrylic varnish.

• Oil compositions or varnishes can be used for weak and old laminate floors.
• Ideally, the laminate flooring should be covered with the same compound from which the protective surface is made. This guarantees minimal peeling of the decorative film from the base.

Various water-repellent, protective and insulating varnishes, which are used for outdoor types of work on wood and metal surfaces, cannot be processed. They contain very aggressive metal salts that can even cause an allergic reaction.

Preparatory stage of the surface

The main enemy of all varnish coatings is not water and dirt residues on the laminate surface, but dust that remains on the walls and in the air of the room. If you do not block the dust source and cover the floor with at least one layer, then after drying, even to the touch, you can feel how rough the surface has become. For this reason, the preparatory work is carried out in two stages:

1. First, dry cleaning of the room is required - pieces of furniture, walls, windows, and in general wherever possible it is required to erase, remove and wash off dust, as well as cover the vents and transoms.
2. In the second step of cleaning, use a vacuum cleaner with a nozzle to clean the joints and seams between the lamellas, and then wipe the laminate dry using a minimum amount of water.

Sometimes this floor is simply wiped with napkins with a small amount of window cleaner to remove the remaining grease stains.

If after the final drying of the lamellas at the joints there is no dust from the word at all, then the floor is ready for application.

How to qualitatively and quickly varnish laminate

So, we know that it is possible to varnish laminate. The easiest and fastest way to paint waterproof lamellas with silicone inserts on tongue-and-groove joints. In this case, it is enough to drink a little varnish on the floor and stretch it over the laminate surface as it is done with a self-leveling coating. rubber inserts prevent the lacquer mixture from sticking to the lock, and therefore the water-resistant laminate can be coated without unnecessary action in a few hours of work.

For other brands of flooring, experts advise the joints and seams to be rubbed with a small amount of waterproof mastic before varnishing.

The material is simply applied to the edge of a plastic trowel and in several passes is pushed with tools into the gap between the lamellas. As a result:

• The mastic will protect the lock and prevent the varnish composition from "cementing" the connection.
• Prevention of paint leakage through the seams.If this is not done, then after 6 hours, inter-tile joints will begin to appear on the laminate surface.

The most laborious processing is considered to be a varnish composition of cellulose type. It is required to produce a coating of at least 2-3 layers with thorough drying and polishing of the surface. Such varnishes, together with epoxies, will provide the most durable and wear-resistant coating, but due to the low film thickness, the surface needs to be polished for a long time before it can be overcoated. All other varnishes, including oil varnishes, are applied by the bulk method.

Conclusion

There are many reasons to varnish your laminate flooring.

The process itself is quite simple, and with careful preparation, the result will always be positive. It is only required not to save on building materials, since otherwise a can of cheap pentaphthalic varnish for 500 rubles will be able to easily spoil the laminate, which costs much more.