Pressed slabs of small wood chips are a pretty good option for exterior and interior decoration. Many builders use them in their work. This is not surprising. Such material is inexpensive, it is mounted easily and quickly, and with proper use it can last for many years.
When the time comes for the final stage of work, many masters begin to think about how to paint the OSB slab on the facade or indoors. In order not to spoil the material, the issue of choosing a paint should be approached responsibly. If the OSB board is painted correctly, this material will look great for a long time.
What is an OSB plate
Before exploring the issue of painting OSB boards, let's look at what exactly is this building material.
OSB boards first appeared a little over 30 years ago. They were developed during the period of mass construction, when it was required to quickly and inexpensively build high-quality housing. And today, most families in Canada and some states of the United States live in such premises. Many Europeans, too, do not disdain durable, warm and reliable houses made of OSB panels.
For high-quality sheathing of frame housing, it is inefficient to use natural wood. Firstly, it is very expensive, and secondly, installation takes too much time and effort. Traditional fiberboard or chipboard sheets are also unsuitable for cladding. They are quite heavy and quickly absorb a large amount of moisture.
OSB panels created by a special technology, which provides for the laying and pressing of long wooden shavings, became the ideal solution. In order to keep chips and sawdust tightly together, special resins and wax are added. Chips stacked in OSB layers have a direction. In the upper layers it is placed longitudinally, and in the middle - transversely. It is from this that the name was formed - oriented particle board. In English, it sounds like the Oriented Strand Board - OSB.
Given the level of strength and water resistance, distinguish these types of OSB boards:
- OSB-4 is the most durable and durable material. It is from him that most of the outdoor work is done. The plate is characterized by increased strength and water resistance.
- OSB-3 - also well suited for both indoor and outdoor use. Moisture-proof enough, strength is also on the level. It can be used for rooms with high humidity.
- OSB-2 - used for interior decorating in well-ventilated areas. For this class of material, it is important to have a minimum level of humidity. Often used for wall decoration or guest houses.
- OSB-1 - use only inside dry, ventilated rooms. For facade work, this type of material is completely unsuitable. Since the 1st class of OSB is the cheapest, most often it is used for the manufacture of furniture, packaging, lining of dry technical premises.
Why is it necessary to paint OSB
The use of oriented particle boards has many advantages:
- ease of installation;
- affordable cost;
- ease;
- practicality;
- resistance to damage by different types of fungus and rot;
- the possibility of applying a variety of finishes;
- heat and sound insulation;
- resistance to fire.
Moreover, coating OSB with paints and varnishes only adds positive properties to the material. Additional application of paint has such advantages:
- Moisture protection. The liquid will not be able to get inside the painted material and the coating will last longer.
- Aesthetic component. When properly applied, modern paints can completely hide the not-so-beautiful OSB texture. So chips after staining will become almost invisible.
- Cost savings. Painting will cost much less than other methods of decoration. For example, lining with decorative panels can fly into the owners a pretty penny.
- Save time and energy. Paint the walls will be much faster than performing any other finishing work.
- Preservation of strength. An additional coat of paint protects the panels from cracking and deformation. A properly painted OSB plate will not crumble in direct sunlight.
How to do the preparatory work
Before painting OSB slab on the facade of the house or in the middle of the building, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. The better you prepare the coloring sheets, the longer this wonderful material will serve you.
First, OSB sheets need to be well sanded. High-quality grinding of the surface with the help of sandpaper will allow you to hide irregularities, mask a well-recognizable surface a little. But most importantly, grinding will remove the outer layer of wax and varnish. This will allow the paint to penetrate deeply into the structure of the tree and reliably protect the coating.
If any chips or cracks remain on the surface, they must be leveled using a special putty. It is best to use oil-glue-based material for these purposes. After the putty is completely dry, you need to once again walk with sandpaper over all the bumps.
Now the surface needs to be primed. Most often, water-based varnish (acrylic) is used for this . In principle, any water-soluble varnish for wooden surfaces is suitable. Also for priming the surface, you can use adhesive mixtures of the type "Aqua Filler". They reliably isolate the wood structure from the paint layer. Thanks to this, essential oils will not be able to go outside, and you will not see ugly oil stains on a new painted surface.
Apply paint correctly
Now it's time to paint OSB boards. Do it like this:
- First, a coloring substance is applied around the perimeter of the surface to be painted. At the edges, the paint is absorbed faster and stronger, so to achieve the right effect, you will have to apply 2-3 layers.
- Now, with the help of a roller, paint is distributed over the remaining surface of the plate. It is necessary to ensure that the movements are performed in one direction, otherwise you risk getting ugly stripes and streaks.
- After staining with the first layer of the panel, it is necessary to dry for 8-10 hours. At this moment, there should be no drafts in the room. Sudden changes in temperature should also be avoided.
- After the paint is completely dry, a second coat is applied. It should be applied perpendicular to the original direction. So you hide the structure of the wood as much as possible and get a beautiful and even coating.
Subtleties of coloring
So, how to paint the OSB plate on the facade or in the room? The answer to this question is not so complicated. Since the oriented particle board is made of wood, paint for a wooden surface is perfect for painting it.
For external walls, acrylic or latex paint is most often used. Alkyd enamels and ordinary oil paint are also suitable. It is worth remembering that many types of varnish under the influence of sunlight are very quickly destroyed. So for facade work they should not be used.
For coatings that are used indoors, there is one more important requirement. They should smell as little as possible and dry quickly. For interior work, water-soluble paints are most often used, although this is not entirely correct.
To determine which paint to choose for painting OSB boards, let's look at some characteristics of the most popular options. We will not dwell on specific firms and brands, but discuss only the general qualities of a particular material.
Alkyd paint
Such a coating for OSB boards consists of a mixture of special alkyd resins, acids and vegetable oils. This allows you to get excellent moisture protection characteristics. Alkyd paint for OSB boards is resistant to ultraviolet radiation, is not too toxic and is not afraid of temperature changes. One of the positive qualities of this material is that after painting the surface does not need additional varnishing. This allows you to significantly reduce the cost of work. Alkyd enamels also have other advantages:
- low cost;
- relatively quick drying period;
- creates an additional moisture protective layer;
- It is able to withstand up to -30 ° C, as well as sudden changes in temperature.
This material has its drawbacks. This paint is very unstable to fire, terribly stinks when applied and absolutely does not tolerate alkali.
Water emulsion
One of the most popular materials for internal paintwork is water-based paints. They are not very good for painting OSB boards, however, they are often used. Water, which is part of the paint, is very quickly absorbed into the structure of the tree. If applied slowly and not too thinly, OSB boards may swell and warp.
Nevertheless, water-based paint is used quite often and has its advantages:
- absolutely no smell;
- very easy to apply;
- you can choose any shade, the color scheme is very large;
- it is quite cheap;
- environmentally friendly;
- has a life of up to 10 years;
- possesses high fire resistance;
- resistant to sudden changes in temperature.
Acrylic Blends
Although this option is used quite often, it is still not ideal. The reason is the same - there is a lot of water in the composition. Such mixtures can be used when the panels are sufficiently thick and durable.
Acrylic paints are not susceptible to sunlight and frost, it is difficult to ignite, have almost no smell and can perfectly stay on the surface for 8-10 years.
Here are some more advantages of this paint:
- environmental friendliness;
- resistance to ultraviolet;
- wide choice of flowers;
- resistance to temperature extremes;
- fire resistance.
The only significant drawback of this paint, as well as emulsion, is that the cans can not be left in the cold. If the paint applied to the wall is not afraid of cold, then the bank freezes quite quickly, as the water turns into ice. It will not work to defrost the composition; it will lose many positive properties. Yes, and the bank in the cold can just break.
Oil paint
A few years ago, the question of how to paint the OSB slab on the facade did not arise at all. For this, mainly oil paint was used. Another for sale was simply not found or it was very expensive.
Oil paint for OSB boards is not a good option. First of all, they are very toxic. Therefore, they must be applied in a respirator. In addition, oil paints dry for a very long time, which means that it will not be possible to weather the smell quickly. Since oil paint is not very well absorbed into the wood, which is its only advantage, incorrect application can lead to sagging. Such a coating has not too good resistance to direct sunlight. Under the influence of the sun, it cracks and forms ugly rags. To clean such a surface will be quite difficult.
Well, and perhaps the most important drawback is that no other paint is applied to the oil coating. So if you subsequently want to change the coating, the old paint will have to be completely removed.
Latex paint
This coating is a variation of the popular water-based paints with the addition of a special binder component - latex. Latex paints for painting OSB boards and other surfaces are distinguished by the highest elasticity and are resistant to chemical attack. Such a coating does not emit sharp unpleasant odors, is very environmentally friendly and is suitable for both external and internal works.
Pluses of latex paint:
- sufficiently high moisture resistance;
- absolute non toxicity;
- short drying period;
- long term of operation;
- profitability - it is applied with a very thin layer;
- reliability.
This coating has some disadvantages. First of all, latex paint does not hide wall defects at all, so the surface must be carefully prepared before painting. It does not tolerate prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures. If in your region there are protracted frosty winters, you should refuse to use latex paint outside. In addition, such a coating is quite expensive, so not everyone can afford to use it for outdoor work.
What else can you paint OSB
Organically soluble dyes are the best choice for OSB staining. The combination of pigments of this coloring composition with polymers and resins in the middle of the plates is almost ideal. The interaction of the components leads to excellent adhesion of the wood of particle boards and paintwork.
If you do not know how to paint the OSB, use a special electrically conductive paint. It has particles of metal inside and forms a very strong protective coating. The only inconvenience is that applying such paint requires serious preparatory work.
Quite often scuba diving is used to stain OSB. These are special mixtures that include antiseptic agents, water, particles of wax and various modifiers. They are completely non-toxic and create a film on the surface of the OSB that protects from dirt and moisture. On sale you can find varnishes that can withstand direct sunlight and strong temperature extremes.
How to paint OSB outside the house or inside the apartment? Of course, you have to choose yourself. And we just talked about some of the advantages of certain materials. It remains for you to determine which qualities of the coloring compounds are important for you, and which can be neglected.