Painting First or Parquet Polishing First?

Paint first, polish parquet last

As a general rule: painting should happen before your final parquet polish, not after. Painting is a messy, drip-prone trade — even careful painters leave the occasional splatter, roller marks near skirting, or masking tape residue. A finished, freshly varnished parquet floor is the last thing you want sitting under that risk.

Parquet polishing should be one of the very last steps in your renovation, once all other "wet" or messy trades — painting, plastering, plumbing touch-ups — are complete.

Why this order actually protects your floor

A fresh varnish coat is at its most vulnerable in the days right after application — it's curing, and even light foot traffic or a stray paint drip can mark it permanently before it fully hardens. If painters are still working overhead, ladders, drop cloths, and general movement all put that curing finish at risk.

Painting first also protects your walls and skirting. If parquet is sanded and polished before painting, painters will inevitably tape off and work right up against your new floor — increasing the odds of scuffs, tape residue pulling at the finish, or paint splatter that needs solvent to remove (which can dull a fresh varnish).

Two situations where the order flips

• Ceiling-only painting with no wall work near the floor: if painters aren't working near skirting level at all, sequencing is less critical — though we'd still recommend polishing last as a safety margin.
• Existing floor is being protected, not replaced: if your parquet isn't part of this renovation at all, cover it properly (ram board or heavy protective sheeting) and paint as normal — then schedule polishing separately, once all other works are fully done.

A simple order to follow

• 1. Demolition & structural work — hacking, rewiring, plumbing roughing-in.
• 2. Plastering & painting — walls and ceilings, including touch-ups.
• 3. Fixed carpentry & fittings — cabinets, built-ins, doors.
• 4. Parquet sanding & polishing — last, once the space is otherwise dust- and drip-free.
• 5. Final cleaning & furniture move-in — after the varnish has fully cured (usually a few days, depending on finish type).

One more thing worth flagging: sanding itself creates a lot of fine dust that settles on every surface in the room. Doing it before painting means that dust gets sealed under paint rather than settling onto wet varnish afterward — another reason polishing genuinely belongs at the end of the sequence, not the start.