Need advice on painting OSB

[MarkE]

So I am getting ready to paint the walls and ceilings and maybe the floor of the new shop. Any advice that anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.

The plan so far is to do it with a long nap roller. I do not have a sprayer and I don't think I want to buy and learn how to properly use one at this point.

My thinking is to start with a coat of Kilz oil based primer. (Will one coat be enough?)

Top coat will probably be semi-gloss white(ish) on the walls and ceiling and something in a gray(ish) if I decide to do the floor. Not sure what type of paint to use for this step. Ideas and thoughts are welcome.

TIA.

 

[Mike Davis]

I would use water base paint for the walls and ceiling. One coat Kilz and one or two of a good latex wall paint should do.

On the floor you need something a lot more scuff resistant. At the least I would use a floor enamel, more better would be a one part epoxy latex and best would be a two part true epoxy floor paint. Depends on the budget. But, remember it will be a lot easier to do it right the first time.

 

[Bas]

+1 on water-based primer and latex top coat. Less odor. A sprayer works well, but if you've never used one before, it probably won't save you a whole lot of time. There's some experience involved in knowing how much to thin and apply it neatly. A roller with medium to long nap will work well. Just remember that the extension pole isn't just for the ceiling, it's also great when doing walls.

The walls and ceiling in my shop are white. While bright, it's sort of sterile. Creative would be to paint only the bottom 3ft of the OSB walls, faux wainscoting A little color would go a long way to make things less clinical. Is the floor OSB too? If so, consider just using a clearcoat. It's a great look, and wouldn't show damage as much.

 

[bobby g]

Mark,

My shop floor is OSB (over high density foam) and I applied 3 coats of Minwax Floor Poly to it. I'm very pleased with the "woody-like" appearance, the traction and the ease of clean-up. You can see it in this shop crawl photo. http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=46152

I, like many members, have been following your progress. It looks great! Enjoy.

Regards,

bobby g

 

[Charlie]

I agree with Bass on clearcoat for the floor. My shop floor (20 years old) is 5/8" particle board (back when they made good particle board) over 3/4" T&G ply has 2 coats of Varthane oil based floor varnish (Gym Floor? available @ Lowes). It hasn't had anything done to it in 20 years and still looks good. Very easy to sweep/vacuum and clean. The ceiling (sheetrock) is latex flat white (flat so imperfections aren't so noticable), the walls (sheetrock) are latex semi-gloss bone white. Very easy to keep clean/wipedown. All of my cabinets are finished inside and out with latex semi-gloss almond. It makes the shop very bright. There are many photos in my photo gallery.

 

[MarkE]

I would use water base paint for the walls and ceiling. One coat Kilz and one or two of a good latex wall paint should do.

On the floor you need something a lot more scuff resistant. At the least I would use a floor enamel, more better would be a one part epoxy latex and best would be a two part true epoxy floor paint. Depends on the budget. But, remember it will be a lot easier to do it right the first time.

The floors are 3/4" Advantech T&G. I hadn't seen any epoxy paints designed for wood.

(I just found some, but it is $184.00 for 2 gallons. Ouch)

 

[MarkE]

The Advantech floor is very smooth. I hadn't thought about just using poly, That sonds like a good idea, and shouldn't cost too much. Plus, if I do decide to put in a 'real' floor, I won't have wasted a lot of time and effort.

I'm wondering why people are recommending water based primer instead of oil. I had read that water based primer may raise the grain more on the osb walls and make it look and feel rougher than it already is. What I read was that the oil based primer would not cause as much of that kind of problem. Not really worried about the fumes, I can open the windows and doors and run a fan while applying the primer.

Another question that came to mind. What about caulking the seams in the osb? Is there a good reason to spend the time, effort and money to do this?

 

[Glennbear]

FWIW, I painted the OSB walls in my shop with Kilz water based primer and an eggshell (light sheen) white latex top coat. The walls reflect light well and I did not see any advantage to caulking the seams. I used a Wagner airless sprayer (tank type, NOT a "buzz gun") and found the learning curve very short. :wsmile:

 

[Mike Davis]

The floors are 3/4" Advantech T&G. I hadn't seen any epoxy paints designed for wood.

(I just found some, but it is $184.00 for 2 gallons. Ouch)

Like I said, depends on the budget. :rotflm:

 

[cpw]

Which side?

I don't mean to hijack, but from those of you who have use OSB for you walls, which side of the board did you face out? The textured or "smooth" side? I started hanging mine smooth side out because I thought it would be easier to paint, but I am now having second thoughts.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Smooth, definitely smooth.

 

[Skymaster]

Smooth side out: The purpose of the rough side is for sheathing the roof!!!! Ruff side UP supplies added traction and helps stop slipping off the puppy when building it :}:} :gar-Bi:gar-Bi TRUFF! REALLY

 

[MarkE]

Smooth side out: The purpose of the rough side is for sheathing the roof!!!! Ruff side UP supplies added traction and helps stop slipping off the puppy when building it :}:} :gar-Bi:gar-Bi TRUFF! REALLY

Unfortunately, the rough side also has very nice, convenient lines to help with alignment to studs and such. That being the case, all of the osb in my shop was put in rough side out to take advantage of said alignment lines. I didn't know the difference and so did not specify to the installers that I wanted smooth side out. My bad. I'll know better the next time I have a shop built.:dontknow:

Should I start thinking about more paint?

 

[Bill Clemmons]

I used an oil based "floor" paint from Lowe's, w/ an oil based primer underneath, on my OSB floor. I just rolled it on. The paint is still holding up nice (5 years), although the OSB has some chips that have broken off.

Bill

 

[Skymaster]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh those pesky lines :gar-La;:rotflm:

 

[scsmith42]

The upper walls in my shop are OSB "Zip" board. I did not use Kilz, just a latex primer followed by two top coats. Some of it I sprayed (ceiling and two walls before the equipment went in), the rest was applied with a Wagner power roller (2 walls and three smaller rooms post equipment installation).

I've got to brag on the power roller - it speeds up the painting process about 4X compared with a normal roller. You put a one gallon paint can in the base, and it self feeds the roller through about 20' of tubing. They cost around 80 bucks and are well worth the investment.

 

[MarkE]

The upper walls in my shop are OSB "Zip" board. I did not use Kilz, just a latex primer followed by two top coats. Some of it I sprayed (ceiling and two walls before the equipment went in), the rest was applied with a Wagner power roller (2 walls and three smaller rooms post equipment installation).

I've got to brag on the power roller - it speeds up the painting process about 4X compared with a normal roller. You put a one gallon paint can in the base, and it self feeds the roller through about 20' of tubing. They cost around 80 bucks and are well worth the investment.

Thanks for reminding me. :thumbs_up I happen to have one of those power roller kits. It is a Craftsman, which probably means it was made by Wagner. :wsmile: In any case, it uses the Wagner roller covers (with the holes in the tube) and I do have 2 of those with 3/4" nap. That should make this job go much easier.

Now I just need to find an empty one gallon paint can.

Went to Lowes last night and picked up 5 gallons of Kilz2 latex primer and 5 gallons of off-white latex paint. I went with flat rather than semi-gloss, mainly because the flat paint was $20 cheaper than the semi-gloss. If I don't like the look of the flat paint, I can always throw up a coat of semi gloss to cover it.

 

[MarkE]

Well this is turning into the project from ****!

After spending a couple of hours finding the power roller kit and its various parts yesterday, I found that I did not have an empty 1 gallon paint can. :no: Took a quick trip to Lowes and bought one more gallon of Kilz. got back, put the gallon can in and started up the power roller pump and it would not build up any pressure. Another half hour to do a little maintenance and the pressure situation is resolved. Finally got around to trying to paint but the Kilz primer is just not coming through enough, It is some really thick stuff.

After an hour of trying to use it as is, I decided to try to thin the Kilz down a bit. That worked like a charm. Now I am getting plenty of paint through the tube to the roller. Now, I have the roller handle and an 18" extension, but I still can't comfortably reach the ceiling, so I have to use a step ladder. Paint a section, stop, climb down the ladder, move the ladder, back up the ladder, paint the next section. UGH!

Now the next problem comes up. Almost every time I start the roller rolling along the ceiling, it doesn't roll, it just slides, and the paint starts dripping like the dickens. Looks like the power roller may need some more maintenance, or a nearby trash can.

Anyway, at this point it was already closing in on 6:00 pm, so I decided to call it quits for the day. Another hour to clean up all the power roller pieces and parts convinced me to put it back where I found it and try again tomorrow the old fashioned way, with a standard roller and a long painters pole.

So, this morning rolls around and I got up early to get started. Got all my tools ready and start rolling on some more primer at about 8:30 am. After about 10 feet of ceiling gets painted, the roller stops rolling. Stupid roller handle broke, it was old. No problem, just go out to the garage and get another one, right? Nope. Not a single roller handle to be found anywhere! No problem, I'll just run out to Ace Hardware and get one (or 2). Well, it's now almost 10:00 am. Ace Hardware opens at noon, so it's off the Lowes, again. I got 2 fancy type roller handles, and a couple of other things I 'really needed'.

Got back home just in time to break for lunch.

After lunch I was able to finish the ceiling and 2-3/4 walls before running out of Kilz. Sure wish I had thought to pick up another 5 gallons while I was at Lowes. Guess I'll do that in the morning. Right now I need to hit the shower and try to scrape off all this paint and wood chips.

BTW, the batteries in my wireless keyboard died while I was typing this post. Talk about kicking a man when he's down.

 

[Bas]

Mark, I can sympathize. Every project always seems to take three times as long as planned, with double the effort and triple the aggravation. And NO project is complete without at least two trips to the hardware store. But, the good news is, all that aggravation will fade, and you'll just enjoy your new and bright shop.

I see I never replied to why I recommended water-based Kilz. Grain raising is always a concern, but with OSB, you're never going to get it smooth anyway, not unless you sand. Especially when you're finishing the rough side. Now imagine that the stuff dripping on you all day was oil-based...

Good luck getting the project finished. And don't forget to take pictures, especially of yourself with hair clumped together due to excessive paint dripping

 

[DonDeJ]

I'm not familiar with Advantech, but you say it's very smooth. Something to consider in finishing the floor is, how smooth (as in slippery) will it wind up? In the shop where I used to work, the gloss-painted floors could get mighty slippery when they got some sawdust on them.