OSB Board finishing options

[txrr]

Just put up some 1/2" OSB board on the walls in my garage and I'm looking at some finishing options. Does anyone see a problem with using a clear high gloss polyurethane finish such as Minwax? If not, would I need to use a primer before applying the polyurethane or could I apply it directly?

I like the textured look of the OSB board and want to bring it out with a clear/glossy protective finish. I know most people are using Kiltz as primer then other colored top coats.

 

[1969]

Just paint it white, makes for a brighter interior. Don't need as much light.

 

[Bigpigdave]

OSB has to be one of the ugliest products ever produced, it also has a horrible tendency to shed and flake. This causes any finish to look like sh*t pretty quickly. The best finish option I have witnessed is to remove all of the loose flakes and paint it white with a good primer and paint.
JMHO, Dave

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Back in the 80's, my folks had done what you are suggesting. If I recall right, they just polyurethaned the OSB in their sunporch room. the wood work around the windows and doors were done in a dark walnut stain and contrasted well against the OSB. It looked very nice, and was a fairly warm yellowish color. Be prepared as the OSB will "****" up what ever you put on it, clear or paint. I believe they had to put on 4 to 5 coats of polyurethane to acheive the high gloss they wanted. I have OSB in my garage, and I have painted a couple of the walls white, and it made a big difference. I am planning to paint the rest of them when I get the chance. The OSB will have some spots that seem flat in the "raw" but will "bubble" out once painted.

 

[grog]

This is a lot of work but looks super cool. Sand the OSB down to a smooth finish. Not by hand, use a rented floor sander, then varnish. The REI store in Denver has this, and it looks incredible. Oh, i just noticed its already on the walls, too late. Maybe someone else will do this. to paint it use a colored stain or paint with Killz primer, then paint.

Grog

 

[DuluthMN]

Sheetrock over it. That way you have the great look of sheetrock and you can still hang anything you want without worrying about stubs.

 

[regguy1]

This might sound strage...but you could get some commercial fabric backed vinyl wallpaper and glue it on. It would give you a finished look and be easy
to clean.


I tend agree with BPD:

Bigpigdave Re: OSB Board finishing options

OSB has to be one of the ugliest products ever produced, it also has a horrible tendency to shed and flake.

 

[babzog]

Whatcha doin' today?

Wallpapering my garage.

Right. I'll be down at the bar. Don't forget your purse!

 

[regguy1]

Whatcha doin' today?

Wallpapering my garage.

Right. I'll be down at the bar. Don't forget your purse!

What's the matter...maybe you need the PE surgery

Gee....I never felt my manhood needed validation by having rough OSB on my garage wall...

 

[txrr]

I really didn't want to paint it white. It's a three car garage and I'm going to use the third car portion for my man cave. I'm going to hang some signs and lights and figure the white will be too bright.

I think the high gloss OSB board will compliment my scenery a little better.

 

[LocoCoco]

I really didn't want to paint it white. It's a three car garage and I'm going to use the third car portion for my man cave. I'm going to hang some signs and lights and figure the white will be too bright.

I think the high gloss OSB board will compliment my scenery a little better.

This is the concern in my situation too. On one hand I want everything white for better lighting while working, but on the other hand when the tools are put away and the bar "opens" I don't want the place to look like a hospital.

One idea I have is to choose some sort of light coloured paint. Like a tan or light green or something. A compromise between reflectivity and ambiance.

Another Idea I had was to paint part of the garage white and the other part something darker.



LC.

 

[Rick98Z]

This too is my dilemma...I plan on OSB boarding my walls as well and have three car bays and then a man cave behind my wife's photography studio...one thought I had was to have seperate lighting for the garage bays and then recessed lights in man cave and have them on seperate switches so I can have the car bay ones off and just have the man cave ones on along with a dimmer on them...

 

[49stude2r6]

Someone posted pictures on the board here some once of a restaurant that used a clear finish on OSB like you are looking for. I will see if I can find it but I know they posted it.

 

[49stude2r6]

A search for "Tacoma Boys" should yield the thread about OSB painting with pictures and as much info as I have seen on a clean finish for OSB.

 

[hidollartoys]

If you choose to varnish it, minwax makes a prep product called "wood conditioner". Use this first. If you want to do large areas, you can use a foam roller to apply the finishes. Use the small rollers that are about 1" or so in dia. There is no reason that this wont work. If you experience any seperation or flaking during the initial coats you can deal with these on a spot by spot basis then coat over the "patch" areas in the final coats. This will assist in concealing these areas. Use the clear satin poly (oil based) products.

 

[babzog]

What's the matter...maybe you need the PE surgery

Gee....I never felt my manhood needed validation by having rough OSB on my garage wall...

It's okay, cupcake. I'll send a bottle of wine (maybe, Gewurztraminer, for a bit of "spice"), some canapes and a cigarette filter and you can enjoy that wonderful, wallpapered garage. Wildflower print, I presume?

 

[99mallett]

I love OSB...you can drive a nail anywhere, bang toolboxes into it and generally abuse it and it still looks great.
I used a high quality paint and a thick nap roller and painted it. I used two coats of light gray and threw a red & black stripe around it to break it up, and then I painted my cabinets red to match.
Like I said, it makes it easy to hang stuff without any damage.

 

[tuber]

OSB can look great - as with a lot of woodwork, it's all in the preparation and finishing.

Here's a link to an interesting application in a modern kitchen - I think it would work great in your garage - you should try it out - worst case is you slap some drywall over it ;^)

 

[hockey88fan]

I love OSB...you can drive a nail anywhere, bang toolboxes into it and generally abuse it and it still looks great.

I used a high quality paint and a thick nap roller and painted it. I used two coats of light gray and threw a red & black stripe around it to break it up, and then I painted my cabinets red to match.

Like I said, it makes it easy to hang stuff without any damage.

Do you apply any caulk or something similar to hide the joints? And what is the ceiling material used in your garage?

 

[duneslider]

Go for the look you want. I worked at a place where we had OSB desk tops. They had a lot of coats of high gloss poly and looked good, considering that was the look they were going for. It was a very industrial look.

 

[hockey88fan]

Go for the look you want. I worked at a place where we had OSB desk tops. They had a lot of coats of high gloss poly and looked good, considering that was the look they were going for. It was a very industrial look.

If I were looking for a smooth finish, well not really smooth, just so I wouldn't see the joints between the sheets of osb, what would be the best way to achieve this? And what would be the best way to fasten, screws or nails and best way to hide the heads?

 

[duneslider]

If it were me I would embrace the look and not stress the joints in fact I would chamfer the joint edges slightly to draw attention to them. I would use larger screws again to draw attention.