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I just finished my new shop wall partition. It is 5/8" B-C plywood with the sanded B surface inside the shop. Initially I planned to prime and paint the plywood with a low luster/satin white paint (Consumer Reports says Kiltz is very good). My other 3 walls and ceiling are drywall painted white.

I am surprised at how well the plywood looks in the natural which is giving me pause to reconsider before painting it white. My original thought was to increase the light reflection (brighten) with the white paint. And while looks are not my highest priority, the finished look is a consideration. Finishing the plywood with a polyurethane might look nicer than the white paint while still being a light color (though not as light as white paint). I have plenty of light in the 8'x29' room from 4 overhead "daylight" 4 ft. fluorescent fixtures.

Please give me your thoughts and experiences on white painted vs natural plywood finish.

Thanks in advance.
Ed

For reference, here are a couple of construction pics of my shop wall in progress:

I would go ahead and paint it white. It will brighten your shop up a little more like your original idea..

Paint.......one can never have too much light in a workshop.....reflected 'light' is still 'light'......

White. You can't have to much light in a shop, it's the basic tool to work.
Wood will darken the shop.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

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+4, had the same opportunity a few years back. The white brightened it up. I just rolled on a heavy coat of semi-gloss... it is just a shop afterall... unless it is similar to the Padma's Wood Sanctuary.

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

Leave it natural. All white with no windows would make me claustrophobic. Too sterile. A little natural wood color will make it more interesting and pleasant.

Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

What seemed to work very well for me was the latex Antique White which is not too bright a white and has the advantage of being easy to find in all the home stores. You can usually get a good deal on it. I would recommend the semi-gloss which doesn't get as dirty as the flat. You will need to put a primer coat on the plywood first or it will be very difficult to get good coverage.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks to all for the input.

Yo, Ed

You don't be listenin to them dudes talking white at you. And don't be BS me or yourself.

You gonna get about the same amt of light reflected of off that BC Doug Fir ply as a white wall ... me live in B.C. and know these things.

Me suggest you get some...

dry wall filler or polly filler and ad a bit of yellow ocher for fillin in the missing not holes, let dry and sand.

then some shellac or role on some of that cheap clear water born poly from the Uncle Wally Mart place. Costs the same as priming the wall for paint.

Live with it.

Then if in a few years you wanna paint...well purple is a nice colour. You hearin me.


What is it with us humans that we have become so programed to the "Paint the walls white" trip?

There is something so naturaly enveloping and heart warming to wood.
You lucky you got wood. So you better get some paint and cover it quickly before it has any effect on you. Ya right.

Oh and by the way 'Kills" is basically rich mans shellac.

but then it's your wall, do as thou wilt with it.

But lets not BS each other. You wanted wood and thats why you didn't use dry wall, which would have been half the price. So now live with it and enjoy it.

Paint


blessings
the
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Has anyone suggested beige yet?

Regarding light I can't get enough of it in my shop!!!

Yo, Hesh,

go to your local grow op store...they fix you up with all sorts of lighting....for your ummm petunias.

They got all sorts of florescent light bulbs and tubes...the days of them huge 1000w heat producin sodium or metal halides are gone.

blessings
the
Padma

_________________
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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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White pegboard from Lowe's/Home Depot is inexpensive, useful, and a lot less messy than paint.

Chuck

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"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
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Good idea Padma and I know what kind of store that you are talking about. Problem is I can't remember where this store is located.....

Ed--You really need to arrange those panels to get a proper bookmatch.
Nelson

Forgot about that .. so that's why I can't remember anything

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I did buy a little more plywood than I could have gotten away with, so I could run the grain the same way on all 5 pieces that I hung. I started to put up one piece that had the grain running contrary and had to reverse gears. It just looked too wild for my eyes. I am actually pleasently surprised with the look. But it is just a shop so I am not gettting too hung up on the looks - even though I had to disappoint my wife who wanted me to paint the walls a taupe (light beige-grey) color like the walls in our home.

I would put up fake brick paneling. It looks good and you can still peg hooks and nails anywhere you want on the walls and it is easy to install. No paint to mess with. Then again I like fake brick paneling.

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Ummm John,

if you like fake, tell me, do you use that wood grain patterned MACtack (fake sticky back vinyl) to cover your builds?
I mean, you know, it looks good, ~ kinda.

Sorry John, what you expect from a Mr. Natural kinda guy like Duh Padma.




Icu

Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Me thinks you should tear it all down and start over . I am pretty sure I saw north facing nails in a south facing wall there ! I do believe that isnt anywhere near code .

As to the color it wont matter if the Nail commission see the wrong nails in the wrong wall ! I bet you even used a left handed hammer didnt ya !!

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Since we have moved to faux wall decorations, the only way to really see what you are doing with fake wood, Padma's Mactack, is with fake light coming through a fake window.

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Sun shine and lolly pops and rainbows and and and...well....

me likes rainbows and everything that brings joy and happiness to our miserable, self imposed, doomed residence on this spec of dust floating in an infinitely vast, ever expanding and emerging universe of a pitch black eternity, illuminated with the light of a gazillion stars.

Just something to think about.

Icu

Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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The Padma,

Then I think you will really like this - after all everything we do is kinda fake anyway right ?

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Ed, you might have regrets if you don't at least seal it with something. The dust and effects of moisture will eventually make the wall nasty, I think.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

[quote="the Padma"]

Sun shine and lolly pops and rainbows and and and...well....

me likes rainbows and everything that brings joy and happiness to our miserable, self imposed, doomed residence on this spec of dust floating in an infinitely vast, ever expanding and emerging universe of a pitch black eternity, illuminated with the light of a gazillion stars.

These frames have certainly made the waiting to get teeth drilled in many dentist offices all sunshine and rainbows. But a few months ago every one stopped ordering them, so here I am on the OLF, starting all new jigs and fixtures to make guitars. It was a decent run, but my thought when I started making these frames was that I would not mind letting the woodwork get boring if I made money. Got boring, made a little $$, but the boring part was more painful than I expected, especially the part of getting these things in a box and safely across the country. The lighting units within these are pretty cool though, all daylight LEDs with a dimmer.
Rob

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http://www.kalimbakit.com/
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