Welcome to the second instalment of The Boysen Way. Last time, I laid out a general overview of the things you need to know about concrete prior to painting. This time around, let’s talk about wood. Wood can be used in different ways around the house. There are wooden walls, wooden cabinets, wooden doors…wooden everything! Just kidding, but you know what I mean. It adds a touch of warmth and coziness in your home, making it a sought after material in any construction project.

To make it a lot less complicated (for both you and me), I’m going to segment this topic into three articles. We’ll have another blog post for Wooden Flooring and Wooden Fixtures & Furniture. For this particular post, it’s going to be all about Wooden Walls.

Prep your Wood!

We’ve mentioned this almost a thousand times already in this blog but I’ll say it again: surface preparation is important! This applies to all types of substrates. If you want your painting job to last, prep the surface properly. If you’re working on a new construction, read the article below on how to prep new wooden walls.

Surface Preparation: New Wooden Surfaces

But if you’re working on a renovation, you might want to read up on how to properly prepare a previously painted wooden surface. Look no further. We have the perfect article for you below.

Surface Preparation: Repainting Wooden Surfaces

I’m Done Prepping. Now What?

Now that we have that out of the way. Let’s move on to determining what painting system works best for your project. We’ve prepared simplified infographics for you below to help you make this important decision.  Wooden substrates are very adaptable to whatever design aesthetic you envision for your dream space. While most people like to keep the bare, natural look of wood grain, some might want to paint some color on it too! We’ve got both bases covered here in Boysen.

Painting Interior Wooden Walls

The Boysen Way: Wooden Walls | MyBoysen

You’ve got two options available if you want to paint interior wooden walls. If you want to preserve the natural woodgrain of the substrate, our suggestion would be to use a wood stain. The best product for this option is Boysen Oil Wood Stain. It’s available in several natural tones to help bring out the warmth in your dream log cabin aesthetic. After applying Boysen Oil Wood Stain, protect your finish by applying a lacquer varnish as topcoat. As this is a solvent-based product, make sure that the place is extremely well-ventilated during the painting project.

If you want to have a solid color on your wooden walls, use our water-based system for wooden surfaces. The most important part of this particular system is the use of Boysen WoodPrime.  After applying the appropriate primer, use any water-based paint as topcoat such as Healthy Home or Virtuoso Silk Touch. While a water-based system might not be as strong or durable as a solvent-based one when you’re painting wooden substrates, the key advantage of going this route is the lack of odor. You can start your painting project early in the morning and you still get to sleep in the same room at night. Just as long as the room is properly ventilated, of course.

Painting Exterior Wooden Walls

The Boysen Way: Wooden Walls | MyBoysen

For exterior wooden walls, you have 3 different systems to choose from.

Again, if you want to maintain the natural look of the wooden surface, go for a stain. Xyladecor has several shades to choose from. To protect the stained substrate, either apply a coat of Boysen Acrytex Clear Coat or do a whole system of Hudson Timbercoat.

For a colored finish on your exterior wooden walls, you have two options. If you need a more durable coating that could last you forever (almost!), go for the Acrytex System.  Acrytex is available in Flat, Semi-Gloss, or Gloss. You can also tint the white base into any pastel or medium shade by using the Acrytex Tinting Colors. This product can also be applied in different ways to achieve several textures: plain, fine-textured, medium-textured, and coarse-textured. It’s up to you to mix and match!

Another alternative for a colored finish on exterior wooden walls is using an alkyd-based paint. Here, prime the surface by using Boysen Flatwall Enamel. Putty any minor surface imperfections with Boysen Plasolux Glazing Putty. As a topcoat, you have several options again! Use Boysen Flatwall Enamel for a flat finish, Boysen Semi-Gloss Enamel for a semi-gloss finish, and last but not the least, Boysen Quick Drying Enamel for a brilliant glossy sheen.

In Conclusion

Well, there you go. A general overview of the things you need to know before you start painting or repainting your wooden walls. Again, this is just an overview. I know it might sound daunting especially when I throw in words like “alkyd” and “solvent” and “forever” (oops ?).

So if you’re still kind of overwhelmed with the topic, don’t worry! We’re here to help. Send us an email at ask@myboysen.com for any burning questions that you might have. Stay tuned for the upcoming articles of The Boysen Way. Next, we’ll be tacking everything you need to know about wooden fixtures, furniture, and doors, prior to painting, anyway. See you then!

Author

Inah is an avid overplanner with a manic desire to organize everything. She dedicates most of her time and attention to her two chunky dogs, Prince and Peanut. If there's a bit of extra time on hand, she will spring clean her entire house.

Write A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.