Finish for new workshop walls

[Tom M King]

With water borne finishes, saving what's in the airless hose and gun is no longer much of an issue, and cleanup is pretty simple. I have a thread about it somewhere in this forum.

[Ken Flesher]

Figured I would post how it turned out.

I used my ROS with 80 grit to remove any pencil marks and the grade stamps, then I used a spray bottle with water to soak the plywood and raise the grain. It was while this was drying that I realized how much moisture I was gonna have to deal with, the windows were constantly sweating and a small gauge indicated 75-80% RH. Not good!

Fortunately a friend works for a large disaster recovery company, and he let me borrow one of his very nice industrial "dehu"units, and that thing worked great at pulling out the moisture in the air.

After the plywood dried, I gave the entire room a quick sand with 120 grit, and it was ready to go. I found a HF coupon so I did go buy one of those sprayers. After spending way too much time masking the place off, I sprayed 2 coats of Minwax Polycrylic, I used almost 2 gallons. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, I started out too heavy and had some runs that I had to clean up, but fortunately this stuff is pretty forgiving and it dried smooth.

I'm very happy with the results, I got a smooth durable surface like I wanted. Thanks for your help and suggestions!

The sprayer: it's a nice unit but there are a few things that you can tell it's not a $1000 Graco. The filter in the handle was hopelessly stuck, I had to spend quite a bit of time getting it extracted so I could clean it properly. There's an adapter on the suction house that is supposed to let you connect your garden hose for cleaning, but it is poorly made and no way it would mate to any of my hoses (I tried 3). The high pressure hose wants to stay coiled up, so it was a challenge to keep it from kinking while I was spraying. Overall still a good deal for ~$200.

[Daniel O'Neill]

Ken, you might be able to rent a sprayer as well. My dad did that years ago to paint all the solid doors for our house. Options might be limited though. The rental place by me only has one sprayer. It costs almost as much as the HF one Jim mentioned so the only thing you might save is time selling a sprayer. .... maybe. Sometimes rental stuff is so abused it's not worth it.
Edit: I didn't see the post that you had already purchased the sprayer. It will be cool to see your pictures.

[jack duren]

I would paint exterior white paint.. no sprayer , no crazy finishes..

Its a shop…

[Jim Becker]

I used my ROS with 80 grit to remove any pencil marks and the grade stamps, then I used a spray bottle with water to soak the plywood and raise the grain. It was while this was drying that I realized how much moisture I was gonna have to deal with, the windows were constantly sweating and a small gauge indicated 75-80% RH. Not good!

Fortunately a friend works for a large disaster recovery company, and he let me borrow one of his very nice industrial "dehu"units, and that thing worked great at pulling out the moisture in the air.

I can appreciate the humidity thing...when I was doing my shop interior, the concrete floor was still "doing what new concrete slabs do" and the humidity was sky-high...moisture on the windows, doors, etc., as well as in some places on the floor. I borrowed a larger dehumidifier from a friend to help deal with it. It certainly wasn't an industrial type, but it worked...emptying twice a day at first then down to once a day and then every other day and then every three to four days, etc. The RH generally stays reasonable now and I monitor it with a sensor along with temperature. The Mini Split helps keep things nice, too.

[Mike Rambour]

I have always thought you should finish both sides of wood, I just hung 2 sheets of 1/2" ply on my drywalled shop and put up French cleats, I didnt know how to finish them so I did not but I want to. I have an airless sprayer (Apollo) can I spray some shellac on only one side and be ok ? I also was going to use was going to a water based finish but I didnt like the rough texture it left on my mitre saw station so was looking for better ideas, the shellac one is probably the best but wondering about doing only one side. My shop is heated and A/C'd but only kept at 55 when not in it for the week at work.

[Cameron Wood]

While you're at it, a sealer on the concrete would be worthwhile.

[Jim Becker]

I have always thought you should finish both sides of wood, I just hung 2 sheets of 1/2" ply on my drywalled shop and put up French cleats, I didnt know how to finish them so I did not but I want to. I have an airless sprayer (Apollo) can I spray some shellac on only one side and be ok ? I also was going to use was going to a water based finish but I didnt like the rough texture it left on my mitre saw station so was looking for better ideas, the shellac one is probably the best but wondering about doing only one side. My shop is heated and A/C'd but only kept at 55 when not in it for the week at work.

For the particular application you mention, I don't see any urgency around finishing all sides. You're talking about things that are securely fastened to the wall. With furniture, such as a table, selling all sides is a best practice given that all those sides are more exposed and there is generally less support for the component. But with furniture and cabinets, one must also be careful what they use "inside"...never use oil based inside of a cabinet or drawer as it will off gas noticeably "forever". Waterborne or shellac only. As to your intended finish in the shop, shellac is a perfectly valid choice, easy to use and it drys very quickly. You may still get a little grain raise, but very little to wood. If you do use waterborne, after applying the first coat and letting it dry, a few swipes with some 320 or 400 paper will deal with the raise/nubbies and subsequent coats should be smooth.

[Jonathan Jung]

Osmo Thin can be sprayed from the can in an HVLP gun. Very easy.

[jack duren]

When we did the walls at the furniture company, we painted and caulked and painted again. The only thing they did wrong is using cheap interio and it showed dirt. I would use exterior one coat put paint. Paint or prime first, them caulk and paint again. It’s a nice look..

[Ole Anderson]

I would prefer to skip the plastic-like finish of poly and opt instead for something like Pratt & Lambert #38 varnish. I did 5 wipe-on coats on my Hickory kitchen cabinets. Plenty of protection after 11 years, yet it looks like there is no finish on the wood at all. Very natural finish, zero yellowing.

[Alan Lightstone]

I would prefer to skip the plastic-like finish of poly and opt instead for something like Pratt & Lambert #38 varnish. I did 5 wipe-on coats on my Hickory kitchen cabinets. Plenty of protection after 11 years, yet it looks like there is no finish on the wood at all. Very natural finish, zero yellowing.

I thought that Pratt & Lambert #38 was discontinued. I used it once. Good stuff, but I believe now unavailable.

[Jim Becker]

I believe you're correct, Alan. I don't think I'd use something that expensive on shop walls, either! (But it was a very nice oil based finish that was on the "lighter" color end of things.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

I thought that Pratt & Lambert #38 was discontinued. I used it once. Good stuff, but I believe now unavailable.

Sherwin Williams bought Pratt and Lambert in the mid 1990's and proceeded to destroy the brand.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Sherwin Williams bought Pratt and Lambert in the mid 1990's and proceeded to destroy the brand.

Sherwin Willams does have a goal to "Cover The Earth". Their icon sure looks apocalyptic lately.

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