[mark sr]

An oil base undercoater is best but a quality latex primer should do fine. I'm fond of the ProClassic waterborne. I'd shy away from any oil base enamel because they will amber some over time.

I'd roll and tip off with a brush although just painting the squares [drywall] along with the edges of the wood and then going back to paint the face of the 1xs is a viable option.

 

[BJ2]

Maybe I should just hire a professional painter to spray it. I assume that is ultimately the best way. Thoughts?

Funny saying that in a DIY forum. 😂

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Nice work. I wouldn’t call it B&B but that’s minor. I would not spray … huge amount of protection needs to be done. Use quality primer & paint, with high quality brushes.

 

[lenaitch]

Yup, not board and batten, but whatever. I zoomed in and it looks to me like plywood with a bit of a bevel on it. Depending on the quality of the cut and the plywood used, you might have trouble getting a smooth finish on the edge.

Regarding paint, I like Benjamin Moore latex but the the real pros will have their thoughts. I suppose any quality paint will do. I prefer semi-gloss for trim, but personal preference.

I would have primed and painted before installation but a little late for that.

 

[BJ2]

@lenaitch I definitely did not use plywood. As mentioned in my original post, for the boards "I used pre-primed pine except for a few trim pieces that are unprimed." Each grid is framed with glass bead moulding with cove moulding under the cap. The holes and gaps are filled with Famwood wood filler. I used a random orbital sander of progressive grits so the transitions between boards are perfectly smooth. I have not yet caulked. I agree this is not traditional board and batten, but is the look I was going for.

 

[Jar944_2]

Yup, not board and batten, but whatever. I zoomed in and it looks to me like plywood with a bit of a bevel on it. Depending on the quality of the cut and the plywood used, you might have trouble getting a smooth finish on the edge.

agree it's not board and batten, it's frame and panel without the panel.
Looks like an applied bead and cove mould.

OP, as far as paint, I'd liked suggest Zinser BIN as the primer and BM advance as the top coat. With that combination it's likely going to take one primer coat and three top coats to get full coverage. You will need to sand after the primer and before the advance, you may need to scuff sand between the first and second coat of advance depending on how well the primer covered and if you sanded through.

I'd also suggest caulking the moulding to wall gaps before priming.

 

[lenaitch]

Ah, better images than the magnifier on my laptop. Nice look, BTW. I've always wanted to try that.

 

[BJ2]

I'd also suggest caulking the moulding to wall gaps before priming.

I definitely have a lot of caulking to do. In addition to the wall gaps and corners, my plan is to caulk all of the trim piece transitions including the bead moulding picture frames inside each and every grid. 😅

 

[Jar944_2]

I definitely have a lot of caulking to do. In addition to the wall gaps and corners, my plan is to caulk all of the trim piece transitions including the bead moulding picture frames inside each and every grid. 😅

The moulding to wall inside the panels is really what I meant. It's the most obvious after paint.

This is brushed BM advance (semigloss) with BIN as the primer. Advance is not the easiest to apply, but levels out very well almost like a oil. Recoat time is ridiculous at 16 hours.

Similar advance topcoat (satin) but with a sprayed precat lacquer undercoater.

 

[BJ2]

@Jar944_2 Very nice!

I definitely will be caulking the moulding to wall inside the panels.

 

[laceiba]

If you have the money, paying someone who is comfy spraying trim is definitely an option. Provided they are careful, you will likely appreciate how it looks.

If you want to do it yourself, I think Emerald Urethane would be the way to go. You spent a long time on the carpentry. SW's top of the line paint would be a natural choice since you already use their products in your house. Some people complain about Emerald, and I prefer Advance, but getting cheaper paint is unlikely to be a good value. I would also recommend painting some test panels. You probably have some wood left over. Use some of that to experiment with materials and technique. Get a feel for what materials you want to use, how you are with the brush, if you are seeing any tannins bleeding through, etc... It will take you a touch of extra time, but it will also prevent you having to sand stuff down and repaint.

BIN primer will help prevent tannins coming through. It is also stinky. It may make things quite unpleasant in your house while it is applied and for a time after it dries. You might want to experiment with Zinser Smart Prime. It is harder to find and a bit pricey, as far as primer goes. It is thicker than many primers, and I like it a lot, especially on doors and trim. It also does not smell bad at all.

If you don't want to spray, but still would like a nice finish, consider rolling the paint on with a small roller (like a Wooster Jumbo Koter) and tipping it off with a brush. The brush should have some paint on it, but not be full. This will give you a nice, even application, but prevent roller marks. You can get good at feathering your brush strokes into the wet edge of your previous brush work so that it looks very continuous. Someone who is really good with a brush would not need to roll first. I find that I generally apply paint a bit too thinly with a brush and when I try to go thicker, I start fighting drips. Then again, I use Advance for trim, and it likes to drip. Because a lot of your trim is flat, the roller/brush method would be pretty straightforward.

This is quite a fussy, time consuming approach, although it sounds like you might be willing to do that. That's when spraying starts to sound appealing..

 

[mark sr]

While I've sprayed a lot of new construction I shy away from spraying inside a finished house. Overspray can/will go a long ways! The extra cover up usually doesn't make spraying a viable option. I'd brush and roll it. IMO tipping off behind the roller looks best but many get satisfactory results rolling the 'panels' with a 1/4" nap.

 

[gern blansten]

Nice Galaga game.
I'm very jealous.

 

[BJ2]

Nice Galaga game.

@gern blansten It's a full size replica from Land of Oz. Plays around 60 games... Galaga, Pacman, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, etc.

 

[gern blansten]

Awesome.
Just saw the side view at stairs in one of the pics.
Played the dog poop outta that game, also tabletop version, early to mid 80's, in many taverns.
Played a lot of 'Elevator Action" as well although it was not as popular.
Maybe a little Frogger too but most of my quarters slipped into the Galaga slot.
Never played any other games.
Tks for info.