Finishing Plywood Walls?

[Andrew Wayland]

I hung some plywood walls in my shed/shop: figured that I could place a screw wherever I want to hang tools...

I’m on the fence about finishing them though? I’m just not sure I want to put the effort in when I have plenty of other things to do.

But I’m also not sure how plywood will handle garden tools if I’m not great about cleaning them up after use...

What have others here done (Aside from paint...)?

[Charlie Velasquez]

I have done pegboard, but in later iterations I have always reverted to flat white paint for light diffusion....
Not what you wanted to hear??

[Julie Moriarty]

My neighbor sealed a plywood wall with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. He likes it because it's oil based and he can easily fix up scratches by just sanding the damaged area and applying new coats.

[David M Peters]

I rollered on cheap off-white paint on my 1/2" CDX walls. A single coat was good enough.

Are you thinking of using a clear film finish to protect against dirt?

[Andrew Wayland]

My neighbor sealed a plywood wall with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. He likes it because it's oil based and he can easily fix up scratches by just sanding the damaged area and applying new coats.

I’m a fan of Arm-R-Seal: but it does take quite a while between coats. Maybe if I have some leftover cans, I’ll just use that..

I rollered on cheap off-white paint on my 1/2" CDX walls. A single coat was good enough.

Are you thinking of using a clear film finish to protect against dirt?

That was the thought... or I may just leave it natural? If I can find an easy way of doing it, I’d rather clean it up now. If not, I could always just paint it down the road.

I have done pegboard, but in later iterations I have always reverted to flat white paint for light difusion....
Not what you wanted to hear??

My original plan was pegboard... then I considered slatwall... But I figured plywood and screws was, stronger, cheaper (well, maybe not cheaper than pegboard), and more versatile overall.

[Philip Glover]

My entire shop interior is covered in plywood.
The whole thing, walls and ceiling, are painted with cheap with paint. It's great for even lighting.

Phil

[Andrew Seemann]

I'd go with paint, so it doesn't darken with age like wood will. If you use paint, I would recommend a light tan or beige kind of color, though. Basically something about the color of wood, somewhat ironically.

I went with straight white semi gloss on my OSB walls, and I do not like the stark whiteness of it, a slight shade of something would have been much better. Fortunately the walls are covered with tools and shelves and fixtures to the point of not really being able to see the actual wall color anymore

[Andrew Wayland]

Alright... sounds like I should keep the wood bare for now... and then I can paint down the road

I get the feeling I’ll be moving things around quite a bit as I get settled: so I’d rather not put polka-dots all in fresh paint.

[David Walser]

Andrew -- The walls in my small shop are skinned in 1/2" sanded plywood. I've decided NOT to paint it or put any other finish on the walls. I like the look of the bare wood. And, I don't believe I need the walls painted a light color for lighting purposes. Perhaps, if the plywood darkens sufficiently over time, I'll feel differently. However, before I covered the bare stud walls with the plywood, the black fiberboard exterior sheathing showed through. I had plenty of light even with that background. I doubt that will change with the darkening of the plywood -- which will still be lighter than the black I had before. I still might need more light in the future, but I suspect that will have more to do with aging eyes than darkening wood.

[Jim Becker]

I'd likely do paint and rent an airless system to apply it. Spray it on and back-roll...floor and other areas not desiring the same paint would be protected, of course.

[Tim Janssen]

White paint. Your eyes will appreciate when you get older. But then again maybe that's way into the future for you.
Cheers,

Tim

[Jack Frederick]

My 10’ walls are done with a slightly gray temp white paint. Ceiling SR is ceiling white.

[Bernie Kopfer]

Our Habitat for Humanity store has lots of paint some opened some new Really cheap. Painted walls IMO always look better, even when they are dinged up.

[Alan Rutherford]

Alright... sounds like I should keep the wood bare for now... and then I can paint down the road....

YOU might be someone who can disassemble everything he's hung on his workshop walls to paint them down the road. I'm sure as heck not and I bet I'm not the only one. I'd paint them now while you can.

[Derek Meyer]

I agree with Alan on this one. Paint them now and forget them. I would have to disassemble a lot of shelves and move a ton of stuff to paint my walls now. It'd take me a week to get it all moved, painted, and put back together.