How to Paint Plywood to Look Like Plank Flooring

Plywood can be faux-finished to look like real wood flooring.

Beautiful, gleaming hardwood floors look gorgeous, but are expensive to purchase and install. Plywood floors painted to look like plank flooring are an affordable way to get a similar look. Proper preparation is the first step in a professional-looking paint job. A faux wood finish realistic enough to fool the eye will likely require at least two coats of glaze.

Things You'll Need

• Wood putty
• Putty knife
• Sandpaper
• Sander on a pole
• Low-tack painter's tape
• Tinted shellac-based primer
• 3-inch-wide bristle brush
• Alcohol
• Roller and handle
• Roller pan
• 2 roller sleeves
• 4 disposable pan liners
• Tape measure
• Chalk line
• Pencil
• Triangle ruler
• Oil-based floor paint
• Oil-based glazing liquid
• Small foam roller
• 2 foam roller sleeves
• Bucket
• 3-inch flogging brush or brush with long bristles
• 3-inch stiff brush
• Paint thinner
• Rags

Instructions

1. Fill all nail holes in the plywood with wood putty. Sand your repairs after the putty has tried. Tape off baseboards with low-tack painter's tape. Prime the raw plywood with a tinted shellac-based primer to seal the wood and prevent tannins from bleeding through. Clean your brush with alcohol. Allow the primer to dry completely. Lightly sand the floor with a sander on a pole for a smoother final finish.

2. Select an oil-based floor paint in a shade of light to medium brown in a satin or semi-gloss finish. Keep in mind that the lighter your floor paint for this base coat, the paler the final wood color will be. Calculate the amount of paint you'll need based on 400 square feet per gallon for each of the two coats of paint. Paint your primed plywood floor, first cutting in around the edges with a brush and then rolling the rest of the floor. Let the first coat dry before you apply the second coat.

3. Mark out the planks of your faux wood floor with a tape measure and chalk line. Select a width for your planks that matches the width of a typical wooden plank for the most plausible faux paint job: some standard widths for plank flooring include 2¼ inches, 3¼ inches, 4 inches, 5 inches and 6 inches. Mark out the ends of the planks at random 12-foot intervals with a pencil and triangle ruler.

4. Tape off every other plank with low-tack painters tape. Mix your faux finish glaze, using three parts oil-based glazing liquid with one part medium brown paint in a semi-gloss finish. Use a darker paint for a darker faux wood. Apply your glaze with a small foam roller in a size similar to the width of your faux planks. Flog the glaze with a flogging brush or a wide brush with long bristles, tapping the surface of the glaze softly and evenly in a forward direction until you reach the end of your glazed plank. Allow the glaze to dry before removing the tape. Tape off the remaining unglazed planks to glaze and flog.

5. Mix your glaze for your next layer with a darker paint than you used for your flogging layer. This glaze will create the appearance of wood grain on your planks. Tape off alternating planks as you did for the first layer of glaze. Apply the glaze with a foam roller, as you did for your last layer of glaze. Quickly and smoothly drag a stiff brush through the glaze, following the length of the plank, without stopping or pausing. Allow the natural fluctuations in your grip to form the wavy grain pattern of the wood. Drag through a second time if you would like a less dramatic pattern of wood grain. Complete your second group of planks after the first batch dries.

6. Clean brushes and tools with paint thinner and rags.

Tips & Warnings

• For the most durable surface, varnish your faux wood finish with an oil-based varnish in a semi-gloss finish.

• Change the color of your faux wood by tinting your varnish.

• Use a respirator when working with oil-based paints to protect yourself from the strong fumes.

References

• Ask the Builder: Paint Primer
• House-Painting-Info: Tinted Shellac
• Hosking Hardwood: All About Hardwood Flooring