Can you get filler and / or varnish for laminate flooring?

Hello. I've laid down some laminate flooring (the glueless floating type) and realised I've made slightly the wrong decision - it's a bit too light coloured. So I wondered - can you get varnish specifically for laminate flooring in order to darken it a bit? I would imagine you cannot use normal varnish due to the coating of it (or can you?). Also, I'm a bit crap at D.I.Y. and have not laid it too well in parts (I got the hang of it eventually) and now that I'm alright at it, the cracks in my first rows are really annoying me. However, I'm not gonna pull the whole thing up again, so I wondered, is there a filler you can use to fill the cracks? I'm assuming you can't use normal filler, due to the fact it's on the floor and people walk on it etc. Or can I? If anyone knows the products I'm looking for please name the products! As I have already done searches on DIY websites and come up with nothin... PS I'm in the UK Thanks for your help in advance!

Public Comments

1. Dont know if you can change the colour but as for the gaps I went and got a bag of sawdust and then mixed it into a paste with PVA glue and filled the gaps with it. Took bloody ages as it was between wooden floorboards but looked great and natural at the finish.
2. we have laminate all through our house and have not found any varnish but there is a filler that is basically a colored glue that works decent. Unfortunately you know the nicks are there and you will continue to see them, fortunately no one else ever really notices.
3. You can not stain laminate flooring.You could fill the cracks and imperfections with furniture wax color sticks.Just melt them with a lighter and fill the grooves and wipe away the excess.
4. good question! Same thing happened to me only it was a chap Id paid to lay it that made a mess of it. There are lots of gaps as you walk in door. I just thought of puting a rug down to hide it but will see if I can get any filler!!
5. There s no way to stain or varnish laminate flooring. As for the cracks, most manufacturers have putty that will match their flooring. I use laminate extensively in rental property and the putty fills in nicks and gaps perfectly. It hardens and does not shrink or fall out. It is possible you could use a tap block and close up the gaps. I've tried this and made matters worse in an adjoining row - so be careful.
6. I have known of laminate being varnished. I am a carpet and laminate floor fitter. A customer I spoke to once, had same issue as you. He used a normal wood varnish - waited for it to completely dry and then yacht varnish (clear) to completely seal it. Looked fine and it had been down like that for about 2 years so its possible but I wouldn't do it myself. In terms of filling. If you mean you haven't put the boards together properly, you can try with your tapping bar and hammer even after all the floor is down - from the edge of the room take up the beading and tap to see if it will click into place but make sure you have spacers on the other end to avoid knocking the whole floor over. This is risky and best to take time installing or take up and re-fit as you could damage other boards. There are plenty of coloured fillers if you dont want the hasstle of using the sawdust from an existing board mixed with pva. Plenty available from B&Q and DIY shops. All different brands and colours. There is also wax kits available to mix and make the perfect colour to fill in.
7. No, you can not refinish a laminate floor. Sounds like you just wasted a lot of money and time. You also sound like you put the floor down incorrectly because you shouldnt have cracks between the boards.