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Stephen Tashiro
01-29-2019, 12:33 PM
What are the possible finishes that can be put over 1950's vintage drywall (the kind of drywall that shows a brown paper)?

I have a garage whose walls and ceiling are made of that type of drywall. The sheets aren't taped together in any way. Most of the sheets are in good condition.

Parts of the wall that were behind shelves were painted when a previous owner painted the shelves. Was it good practice to paint directly on the brown paper?

Adam Herman
01-29-2019, 12:46 PM
what is your end goal? do you want it to be a nice flat finish? do you want to texture? do you just want to paint and not worry about taping it?

Jim Becker
01-29-2019, 2:05 PM
Use a good quality primer first and you should be fine with whatever paint you want to use. Taping or not taping is a personal choice here...

Paul F Franklin
01-29-2019, 2:48 PM
You don't say if it's attached or not, I assume it is as most detached garages don't get sheetrock. These days it would need to be taped to meet code, the idea being it taping is necessary to prevent exhaust and other garage nasty fumes from entering the home. But at this point I guess it's up to you. I've seen a lot of garages that get a quick sloppy tape job and then get sprayed with texture. That's a lot less labor intensive than doing a high quality taping job. I've had trouble getting sheetrock mud and paint to stick well to old sheetrock that has gotten dirty and often has a thin coat or oily film from being in the garage. Quickly cleaning with TSP or the like, using as little water as possible, and then painting with a good primer as Jim suggests is probably the best way to go if you don't want to tape. If you do tape, I suggest cleaning first and using hot mud (setting compound) for the bedding coat at least. Then a good primer and paint.

Stephen Tashiro
01-29-2019, 11:32 PM
what is your end goal? do you want it to be a nice flat finish? do you want to texture? do you just want to paint and not worry about taping it?

I haven't set a firm goal except that i want a lighter colored wall. I don't want to use drywall joint compound if that means sanding.

I'd consider taping with mesh tape, applying a primer designed for plaster and then applying thin plaster or acrylic stucco.

The garage is attached to the house. There are still plumbing and wiring jobs to do before making a decision about the walls. I may put a coat of white primer on the walls and ceiling as a preliminary measure just to brighten the place up.

roger wiegand
01-30-2019, 7:30 AM
If all you want is white walls just prime and paint. Shellac based primers like BIN or Zinsser (sp?) are great fro blocking any stains that might come through. If you want a finished wall then you'll need to tape and mud. Alternately you can do what I did, which is to cover the walls with slatboard so I can hang stuff everywhere.

Ole Anderson
01-30-2019, 8:56 AM
Attached garages should be isolated from the house with 5/8" fire rated, taped drywall. Not just for fumes. Enough to slow the spread of a a gas fueled garage fire enough so you can escape the house. Usually ceiling and common walls. Not what you wanted to hear.

Jim Becker
01-30-2019, 9:11 AM
Personally, I'd do a 'quick tape job' just to close up the gaps and they "paint" with a high-quality primer...which is typically white already. That will brighten things up. You can then decide if you want to add additional coats of paint or just leave it as primer. "Good" primer covers pretty well. It's not inexpensive, either, but that's to be expected, especially if it's a high-adhesion type. It also soaks in a bit to previously unfinished wall board. Nature of the beast.