T&G partition wall

[JohnArmer]

Hi all

The wall on one side of our very narrow back staircase is, now that we have stripped off the wallpaper, yellow gloss and brown varnish, made from vertical tongue and groove pine boards. They're quite nice and we'd like to keep them on show, (though it's going to take ages of careful sanding to clean the mouldings!)

The other walls are lime plastered stone and gypsum-plastered brick. We'll clay paint these when the time comes.

My question is this: what experience do others have of decorating pine boards? A decorator friend recommended painting in white eggshell, but it seems to me that there'll be too much of a 'mass' of brilliant white. I thought of claypaint to match the rest of the walls but how does this adhere to woodwork?

I know originally the boards were brown varnished, but we want to try and keep the area fairly light.

 

[DJH]

Mrs DJH used a cream flat paint above the rail and a Barley White satin paint below it.... the t&g is on the wall behind the bed head although it's only a 4" board.



Doug

 

[Penners]

I agree that by painting the boards pure white (eggshell or not) you would tend to be risking snow-blindness. In my view a soft broken white would be much more suitable. People are very sniffy about Magnolia, but only because it's so widely used - and that's because it's such a useful colour.

However, if you want to use something that isn't called Magnolia but is equally pleasing, there are dozens, nay hundreds, of broken whites to choose from. I do agree, by the way, that matt or eggshell would be preferable to gloss.

 

[masochists-r-us]

Definitely agree eggshell paint but not white. We like Farrow & Ball's Old White, more sympathetic in older properties.

 

[lou]

Hi there
As usual catching up rather late in the day! I have lots of experience of earthborn paints and like them where i need beathability and limewash is too messy or difficult to use but claypaint isn't really usable on wood. Earthborn do have a wood/metal paint called pro aqua. I've used it and it's lovely to use but, a word of warning - the tester colour is clay paint and will not give you an accurate representation of the pro aqua colour. At least, that's been my experience with the dark colours I've used. Also it is pretty costly though does give you lots of coverage. Takes a while to dry but does dry very hard eventually.

Try to find a stockist who has painted examples of both types of paint. Good luck.

 

[lou]

Oh, and PS - their dark colours in pro aqua look great with the same colour clay paints and in an enclosed space make for a really atmospheric space in an old house. I'd definitely try a few 'interesting' colours rather than a white!

 

[Penners]

I can see no particular benefit to using a breathable paint in this location.

 

[lou]

Agree that breath ability not an issue for the partition but there's mention of using claypaint on the walls. Some people use these paints on grounds of their 'green' and health-related credentials. My only reservations about them are the cost and the sometimes weird way the colours come out in different lights. Otherwise I would use them every time.

 

[JohnArmer]

Thanks for the feedback. I was only thinking of claypaint so that it would be the same colour as the plastered walls.

I may go with eggshell, but an off-white as suggested. The earthborne paint would be worth considering though. DJH, when you mentioned a 'flat' paint, what exactly was it?

 

[DJH]

Matt finish John, would be best to describe it. The colours and finishes are not my department and I don't interfere too much...

Doug

 

[masochists-r-us]

Another reason to go for egg shell as opposed to clay paint would be durability. We have used clay paint on plastered walls in the bedrooms and whilst the lack of odour and the nice chalky finish is good, it marks very easily. Not ideal on a stairway.

 

[robgil]

If the pine is old then you could beeswax them to give off a nice honey glow. I usually melt the beeswax blocks in an old frying pan outside on a camp stove over a low flame, then when it is melted switch off the stove and allow to cool but not solidify, then add pure turps and mix to a cream. Apply to the wood when cooled or for a darker finish apply when still warm, allow to set for an hour or so then polish off. Pine seems to take to this extremely well and takes on a lovely golden honey colour.
Or you could just buy some brixwax or whatever they call it these days.

Edit - just to say the above can catch fire if you are not careful, never apply turps if there are naked flames and dont get the wax too hot, I would imagine it to have a very low flash point.