I am renovating an old house and, long story short, we have some very knotty solid pine wood planks. They're the economy - or "cottage grade" as menards calls it - tongue-and-groove, beadboard 0.5x4 planks from Menards and they were only a few cents per square foot more expensive than the sheets of imitation stuff (I have a rule, no particle wood or osb in the house!). They will be used to cover the bedroom ceiling.
However, "cottage grade" means that the wood has many large knots, ragged edges and even bark on a few pieces. And I've read how these knots can be a big problem for white paint.
My plan is this:
- install them
- finish them with water-based polyurethane (water based so the color of the pine does not change/darken, we prefere the 'unfinished' look plus the protection of a urethane)
- decide if we like the look or not
- paint them white, or another color (light gray?), if we choose.
My hope is that, if we don't like the unfinished look (the water based polyurethane is virtually invisible but will provide the benefits of a urethane such as easier to clean and a little glossy) then it will also act as a sealer coat so we can paint them.
Will the water-based polyurethane be capable of blocking the resins in the knotty pine from bleeding into the paint? If not, can I put something over the polyurethane, and will that be enough? And if so, then what?
Thanks!