Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - paint wood floors?

It's probably been asked and answered, however. We have two small cottages which we have as rentals. Under the carpet I've found wooden floors. I can't afford to put much work into the homes, but would like to know if I can paint these floors? And if so, what type of paint works best? And then how to protect them? Any help would be appreciated, I'd have to do the wor myself, so the easier, the better, as I'm not the handiest person...yet!

The question is what color or finish are the floors now. If they are clear wood, the origfinal treatment was shellac. It comes in white (actually dries clearish) or orange (actually dries amber in tint). Most better paint stores still carry it. Dries fast, easy denatured alcohol cleanup, lousy water resistance, but they are being covered.

In addition to trl's question: I am thinking of painting my pine floors in the kitchen b/c they have water damage stains. I'm purchasing the house with the floors having been "redone" and I don't want to tile over them...but I want the look of red/white tile floor. What is the best recipe to doing this? And if I use a high gloss floor/porch enamel paint, will I have to then coat it with polyurethane? Will the polyurethane turn it yellowey?

We painted the floors in our hallway and study because we pulled up the carpet to find very different woods that wouldn't refinish to the same color. We used a porch paint (Tuf-quick) made by California Paints. It's shiny but VERY durable. Comes in lots of colors.