Garage interior paint questions

[Gearheadmb]

My garage has unpainted OSB walls. I want to paint it to brighten it up. I do a little of everything in there, woodworking, metal working, mechanical work, so it is going to be dirty. What paint color and type would you recommend to brighten it up but not show dirt too bad? I was thinking maybe a light grey but i dont know if i should do glossy, semi gloss or flat.

Also, is there any tips for making the paint job look a little smoother on the osb? I know it will never look like well finished drywall, but i would like to at least improve it a little.

One last thing, the garage is 40x24, how much paint do i need?

Thanks

 

[77Birdman]

Light gray would be fine and not as stark as white. I would use a decent latex (I get my paint form Sherwin Williams and like it a lot), semi gloss for the garage should clean nice. Typically a gallon covers about 300sf. A couple of coats and the osb will look fine.

 

[ford33]

The floor size alone doesn't help determine how much paint you need. Calculate wall surface area and check the paint manufacturers coverage per gallon to determine how many gallons you will need times the number of coats.

A flat finish light gray color hides dirt well and looks good on OSB. Dress it up with a contrasting color stripe or trim on doors and walls. Lots of pictures out there to see.

Before buying the paint, clean and patch and prime the wood well. If not well primed the color will look uneven and you will use a lot of expensive color paint. Use quality materials and you will spend less time painting and the finish will last a long time. Think Benjamin Moore or SW.

 

[Davefr]

Before buying the paint, clean and patch and prime the wood well. If not well primed the color will look uneven and you will use a lot of expensive color paint. Use quality materials and you will spend less time painting and the finish will last a long time. Think Benjamin Moore or SW.

^^^Agree 100% with priming. Tell the paint store to tint the primer to 1/2 the color formula of the topcoat. That will get you a good headstart on coverage.

 

[Pontiac787]

If you do go with SW, sign up for the emails. They frequently have 30%-40% off specials plus the website to the local stores have $10 off $50 coupons that you can use on top of the discount. I used their Super Paint in semi-gloss white on the 80 year old concrete walls in my garage. It took two coats but came out very well.

 

[pbon]

40% off Friday through Monday. Use primer. Then maybe an eggshell epoxy for durability.

 

[shoe1]

I paint everything with color place white outdoor latex in the shop. Stands up good and cheep enough to repaint when needed and washable when needed. Covers pretty well.

 

[The Cobbler]

I would prime with oil base , then topcoat with eggshell or semi gloss.
I like bone/light beige tones myself
after the prime coat go around & fill/caulk areas that are deep (seams/divets etc) and didn't see any paint if you want a nicer finish

 

[assortedpixels]

I recommend using an exterior paint, it will clean better and have adhesives meant for bigger temperature ranges. I like Behr myself but am biased as I mixed paint at HD for years and thought it was the best of the brands they carried at the time. I did semi gloss pure white in mine and don't have much shine (walls are lightly textured). I'm going to do up to waist high in a gray color to manage the dirt in lower parts better. You can keep the ceiling flat to minimize any glare, and go with white / ceiling white to reflect as much light as possible. Be sure to prime as others have already mentioned.

 

[garagedriven]

Good info. I'm going with plywood walls and will was thinking light grey as well.

 

[polizei1]

As noted, SW does 30-40% off all the time, I just got an email the other day. I drywalled my garage, but used SW primer (tinted to color) and SW Network Gray (235-C3). It's a lighter gray and I like it a lot! https://www.sherwin-williams.com/ho...interior-acrylic-latex?colorPartNumber=SW7073

Also would recommend satin, and my garage is 24x32, I used 3 gallons of each. The Purdy pole is a must have as well https://www.sherwin-williams.com/ho...-power-lock-professional-grade-extension-pole

 

[CraigStu]

Go w/ the lightest grey you can. I think white is ideal for brightening a place up but if there are lights on and you walk in a pure white area, wow, where are my sunglasses. So just enough grey to avoid that. W/ that large area, I would rent a sprayer. Be sure to get one that will hold the 5 gal cans. If you haven't done it before, it is really neat to spray and spray and none of that **** w/ filling up the roller. Especially when you use a long pole. W/ that large area you can probably do one coat and by the time you get back to where you started, just keep going for the second coat.

 

[Joe_K]

Use OIL based primer!

 

[kbs2244]

2 coats about 1/2 hour apart of the cheapest latex off white interior at the local big box.
No primer, that is the first coat.

4 years and no problems.

 

[foodie]

I paint everything with color place white outdoor latex in the shop. Stands up good and cheep enough to repaint when needed and washable when needed. Covers pretty well.

Agree with the outdoor latex paint, that is what my painter is using.

 

[Gearheadmb]

Thanks for the tips guys. It will be a big help.

 

[climb.on]

I did an off white up high to reflect more light and a grey down low to help hide the dirt. Mine is OSB, we primed first, but I don't recall how much paint it took. Pics in my build thread.