Painting OSB

[derbycityracer]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Has anyone tried any types of special paint or epoxy on OSB? I have a 30'x40'x10' garage that I built and was wondering if there was some way try and smooth the roughness of OSB. I am trying to stay away from drywall, so I put white metal on the ceiling, and am looking at using OSB for the cost,and I also like the idea of unscrewing it if you want to add or change something.Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

[Vicegrip]

paint only seems to make it rougher.

[Charles (in GA)]

Prime it with Kilz oil based primer first, then paint it.

Charles

[JRGSPE73]

for Kilz. It's a little bit more expensive that regular primer, but the stuff works.

[tbgallant]

I have done this, just used oil based primer and latex cover. I think it looks fine, much better than I had expected after listening to some of the folks in here on how they 'thought' it would look.

Of course you can tell when you are up close and focusing on it.. but who cares. I choose OSB over giprock for the same reasons (easy to remove, easy to screw into, cheap).

Tim

[PAToyota]

Another trick is to use Kilz or oil based primer (to seal it) and then put a coat of "block filler" primer over it. This smoothes things out so that you don't get the "pattern" of the fibers. Then latex paint over the top of that. More work, but comes out nice and smooth in the end.

[garagejunkie]

I have to agree with tbgallant.I used osb board & it looks great.I did two coats of kilz oil based primer & two coats of high gloss white latex.I used a roller so it was a little time consuming but the garage sure seems bright.

[sharpshooter]

I Have used sheet rock mud to put a thin coat over the texture, a little light sanding and it almost looks like drywall, it will make it alot smooter than it is now. It would take some time but it would get the desired effect that your looking for. I done this in my utility room and just by looking at it you cant really tell.

[kbs2244]

Do the math before you buy.
I don't like OSB. I think it is ugly and weak.
If you have to spend a lot of money on expensive paints to cover up the ugly, all you have is a pretty, but still weak, wall.
Compare that cost againt a 3/8 plywood wall with anybodys cheap semi-gloss paint. You will have a smoother, nicer wall with the strengh to put a screw that won't pull out in it anywhere.

[Ezzie]

I'm not sure the math works out. 7/16" OSB is $6.27/sheet CDN at the local Home Depot. 3/8" plywood is a lot more flimsy (sagging between 16" joists?) and you still have to prime & paint it to get it white. What is the cost of the plywood + paint?

???

[malibu101]

Originally Posted by kbs2244

Do the math before you buy.
I don't like OSB. I think it is ugly and weak.
If you have to spend a lot of money on expensive paints to cover up the ugly, all you have is a pretty, but still weak, wall.
Compare that cost againt a 3/8 plywood wall with anybodys cheap semi-gloss paint. You will have a smoother, nicer wall with the strengh to put a screw that won't pull out in it anywhere.

I fully agree. I put up OSB as a cheap wall material (I didn't care about fire resistance). I personally don't mind the look BUT, as you said, forget about putting any screws in and expecting them to hold any weight.
For that reason alone I wish I'd have put plywood up. The way I use my garage, drywall is not an option.

[kbs2244]

I don't know your local costs. That is why you have to do it.

What I am saying is that a good, if expensive, substrate that takes an inexpenssive finish coat, may be less expensive overall then a cheap substrate that takes a lot of expensive coating to cover up the ugly.

I have it to be true with women also.

[nonhog]

Some resturant in the Tacoma area has some sort of clear on osb and it looks kinda cool , my wife wants me to do that in my new shop I'm not yet sold on that idea , considering it ?
I'll see about getting a pic.

[Steve in Mi]

There is OSB and then there is OSB. Different grades available including even a furnature grade which is probably what was used in the resturant mentioned. This FG OSB is pricy. I refer you to the Grant website for details but not pricing. Some OSB material is not a full 4' X 8' (purposly undersize to allow for the use of clips in roof decking installations) so you can come up short for studs if your looking to lay it up tight and some isn't even close to square cut. I had to sort thru a bunch before I found the material I bought.

I know that Kilz is a great product but I went a different route at the recommendation of Gliden/ICI as I was using their finish product. As I see it the main thing to avoid with OSB is prolonged moisture and applying a water base paint can be prolonged enough to cause wood fibers to lift and separate (doesn't look good at all). Another concern of mine was bleed thru from the fasteners (screws in my case and yes Kilz will solve this problem too) with water based products. Gliden provided a product that was geared to eliminating these two potential problems called "Glid-Seal", a very fast drying water based clear sealer that is best applied using spray application because it is thin like water. I wanted to roll it on so the suggestion was to mix the sealer with paint (1:2) for the primer coat. Worked out good!

I had 167 sheets of OSB to hang (bath is drywalled) and saved the larger scrap pieces for the walls in a small electrical repair room where most would be covered with cabinets and cupboards. It was in this last room to be sheeted that I tried skim coating with drywall mud - it is extra work, much more work than I would have been willing to put into the whole shop but it can be done with very satisfactory results. BTW, I can't even imagine the problem a couple of posters mention about screws pulling out.

[signshop]

I love the Kilz primer but, I'd use the exterior latex (kilz2) instead. It works the same but it's a bit thicker, stinks less, dries quicker and cleans up easier. Plus with a shop the moisture is less of a problem with the exterior kilz. I use it outdoor version for signs all the time. It really helps to hide some of the texture of many of the woods and foams that I use.

[6768rogues]

I used OSB with three quickly rolled on coats of Mr. Seconds latex wall paint. No primer, just roll on the paint. The paint was dirt cheap, in a 5 gallon bucket, and looks great after 10 years.

[Donzi4me]

Ceilings and walls are all 7/16 OSB. Caulked the corners and seams. 1 coat of primmer followed by 2 coats of final color. Sanding and Muding drywall sucks...

[nonhog]

The place was a lil grocery store "Tacoma Boys" heres some pics
(camera phone)

[shunting]

I used 7/16" OSB caulked at all seams and corners. Applied 1 coat of Kiltz2 with 2 coats of exterior latex from Lowes. Dirt cheap and looks great.

[Tempsho]

Correct me if I am wrong guys, but with OSB, are you supposed to use oil based paint for the first few coats? Isnt Kilz2 water based? Wouldnt that cause issues if you used it for the first coat? I am doing my 24'x14' garage with OSB, just trying to figure out the best option for painting it.