Painting open stud walls

[ThatDudeOrion]

Hi all,
My 2-car detached garage has unfinished open studs with OSB and aluminum siding on the exterior not unlike this picture

I really want to brighten up the interior because all the fluorescent tubes in the world just get soaked up by all the brown, making general mechanic work and especially detailing and paint correction very tricky.

The long term plan is to insulate and finish the walls and ceiling so I can add HVAC some day, but that is not currently in the budget, what is in the budget would be a paint sprayer and some Kilz.

My question is, would painting the open studs and OSB now create problems with vapor/moisture/mold/air movement in the future when I add the insulation, drywall and paint?

Thanks for the help.
-Orion

 

[Aberdale]

Most exterior grade latex paints are designed to breathe and allow moisture to escape to avoid blistering. Just use exterior grade latex.

BTW, I did the same thing you are considering years ago. The white paint made a huge difference in my garage!


Dale

 

[70Chevy]

A friend had his uncovered walls and ceiling sprayed in her garage - it turned out to be very nice appearing.

 

[kbs2244]

Go for it.
As said, the paint will breath later on.
And it will do a lot to make things nicer.

 

[Kevin54]

Paint won't hurt a thing.

Why do your studs look like they are at varying dimensions apart? By that I mean the spacing between the studs from left to right all look different. It looks like you have- wide, wide, then multiple studs, wide, narrow, real narrow, wide.

Or is it all an optical illusion?

 

[regguy1]

I agree, Paint will be fine.

A couple photos of my bare studs.....and the final look, check the video link below for a quick guided tour

 

[ThatDudeOrion]

Paint won't hurt a thing.

Why do your studs look like they are at varying dimensions apart? By that I mean the spacing between the studs from left to right all look different. It looks like you have- wide, wide, then multiple studs, wide, narrow, real narrow, wide.

Or is it all an optical illusion?

That was just a picture I grabbed from Google images, not my actual garage, so I can't really say.

 

[ThatDudeOrion]

I agree, Paint will be fine.

A couple photos of my bare studs.....and the final look, check the video link below for a quick guided tour

So did you just cover the wall cavities with paneling and pegboard? is there any OSB or drywall anywhere? Did you insulate?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[ThatDudeOrion]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I will definitely move forward with this idea, probably not til spring though.

As far as the painting process goes, I was planning on using Kilz oil primer which is really thick, if I rent an airless sprayer from HD or wherever, that should work ok right? And then I'm sure the rented commercial airless would be able to handle any latex topcoat, thinking gloss white for max brightness and ease of cleaning?

I'll be sure to post some before and afters when I finally get around to this.

 

[regguy1]

So did you just cover the wall cavities with paneling and pegboard? is there any OSB or drywall anywhere? Did you insulate?

Thanks for the feedback.

I insulated and just used the PB / Panels. It's a detatched garage so I didn't need drywall to meet code.

 

[ThatDudeOrion]

I insulated and just used the PB / Panels. It's a detatched garage so I didn't need drywall to meet code.

That's interesting. Mines a detached too, and was planning on going with OSB, but this is certainly something to think about. Where did you get the paneling and how much was it?

 

[CreekWV]

If you end up painting with a rental airless sprayer, I'd strongly suggest using a thinned out latex.
Those hoses hold a lot of liquid, and its much easier to use water to clean them out than solvents. Those things blow through paint too, especially if you are trying to get coverage on a porous or lumpy surface. Overestimate on paint needs.
All that said, they make fast work of tedious painting like stud bays. Painting is kind of fun with a gun.

 

[Toymeister]

When I moved into my new house I took all the good latex that I had from every project that I had done in the past five years and mixed all the light colors together anf painted my walkin attic and the garage osb ceiling with this mix (it was a slight green color).

I used an airless spayer. It works exceptionally well to reflect light, especially in the attic making it a much better storage area.

 

[regguy1]

That's interesting. Mines a detached too, and was planning on going with OSB, but this is certainly something to think about. Where did you get the paneling and how much was it?

Pegboard is prefinished "garage Liner" from HD (15.00/sheet) I cut sheets exactly in half and did 8' of wall each, paneling was from Lowes, you could get paneling anywhere that has what you like.

 

[Stargeezer]

I recently painted the open-stud under side of a large porch. It was a tough job because of it being a high peaked structure and spraying upwards. Used water based Kilz2 and a Costco Wagner Airless. It took more kilz than I had imagined-and most of that wasted Kilz was me getting used to spraying the stud bays correctly. Takes a knack-else you end up with double coverage. Really helps to have a small roller and to wet out stubborn areas rather than shoot more paint. Best to quickly roll out what you sprayed. I had 2X6's-not 2X4's though. Just think multiple 5 gallon buckets and or a fiver-plus one gallon cans thrown in. Wear a head sock, respirator, gloves and goggles. I painted outside and was covered in mist. You will have a cloud going the garage-but you can get it done. The Kilz2 has a slight blue/white tint when dry and should reflect light very well. Water based clean up is hard enough. BTW-cleaning an airless the hoses, the nozzles etc. is big task. Would not recommend Oil-but you may be afraid of swelling the OSB. In that case I'd get a bunch of varied-sizes in foam rollers and roll and brush the stud wall-not spray. Beer and brushes

 

[ddawg16]

I painted the inside of my ceiling on the second story of my garage...

Before...

After

Shot a coat of Kilz....then shot on a coat of exterier high gloss white....water based.

 

[ThatDudeOrion]

I recently painted the open-stud under side of a large porch. It was a tough job because of it being a high peaked structure and spraying upwards. Used water based Kilz2 and a Costco Wagner Airless. It took more kilz than I had imagined-and most of that wasted Kilz was me getting used to spraying the stud bays correctly. Takes a knack-else you end up with double coverage. Really helps to have a small roller and to wet out stubborn areas rather than shoot more paint. Best to quickly roll out what you sprayed. I had 2X6's-not 2X4's though. Just think multiple 5 gallon buckets and or a fiver-plus one gallon cans thrown in. Wear a head sock, respirator, gloves and goggles. I painted outside and was covered in mist. You will have a cloud going the garage-but you can get it done. The Kilz2 has a slight blue/white tint when dry and should reflect light very well. Water based clean up is hard enough. BTW-cleaning an airless the hoses, the nozzles etc. is big task. Would not recommend Oil-but you may be afraid of swelling the OSB. In that case I'd get a bunch of varied-sizes in foam rollers and roll and brush the stud wall-not spray. Beer and brushes

So was the Wagner capable of spraying the water based primer without clogging and needing frequent cleaning? I've read that they clog a lot and that's what had me looking at a rental unit, but if the Wagner worked ok, I'd rather put that rental fee towards buying something I could potentially use again.

I understand what everyone is saying about using the water based over the oil, I would certainly love to use a latex, but I was so impressed with the oil when I primed over some DARK stained real wood paneling in our den, that I figured it would be the de facto choice for the garage. If the latex is just as good though, I'll definitely go that route.

And after the den project I can tell you that there ain't enough beer in Munich or Milwaukee to get me to brush/roll the garage, just need to figure out the right combination of primer and sprayer.

Thanks everyone for the advice.