OT: Tips for staining a wood ceiling?

[OtayBW]

I would pre-sand the wood and then apply either with a brush or a rag.

[cnighbor1]

[QUOTE=William;2245833]I'm in the process of installing a tongue & groove plank ceiling in our bedroom and I'm planning on staining it. Does anyone have any good tips for staining a wood ceiling? I can see where this could get messy if you aren't careful.
Pre-seal wood before staining has soft woods will absorb stains unevenly and looking blotchy when dry
A clear wood sealer goes first
A suggestion seal and stain before installing
than you need only touch up a few spots were needed
and when you cut to length seal and stain ends before installing the freashcut can show up or touch up later

[Birddog]

Plaster it, skip the T &G. Finish it in a similar color, it will look more authentic. BTW, it was probably either milk paint or calcimine (whitewash).

[zennmotion]

I am a (too) enthusiastic DIYer, and I did this very thing- installed tongue and groove on a living room ceiling that originally had a $h!tty popcorn texture plaster that was done poorly, and then water stained.

It looks good now, 10 yrs later but I would definitely not do it again- super laborious with precision cutting, pre-staining (we just used ceiling paint, stain would be worse). The ceiling first had to be leveled using lathing strips, major pain. Then, once installed the wood (pine) continued to shrink and small gaps opened between planks- newby mistake. I let the boards (thin 1/4" strips) continue to dry and settle on what size they finally were to be after a year and essentially pulled down and reinstalled. Never again. I should have just installed 1/4" drywall over the popcorn plaster and be done. You could even put tin ceiling tiles over that if you want an interesting retro ceiling.

And if you're determined to try it, and you're using pine, I would not stain it at all. Clear polyurethane varnish will age to a very nice golden yellow color after a year or so. We have this on a porch ceiling (glutton for punishment, but I used old material that was thoroughly dried so it was a little easier and I was less fussy on an exterior porch) Any stain will eventually darken and look bad- I've seen plenty of 70s era man-cave/dens with pine paneling while house hunting and it's always dark and dirty looking if stained. And unlike paint, the stain color cannot be renewed/refreshed.

[FlashUNC]

Get good goggles.

[Tandem Rider]

Pre-finish everything but the ends and let it cure. Scribe and cut each piece as you go and put finish on the ends and just nail it up. End grain will soak up the finish in seconds if you use a water based finish, not sure about solvent based. I kept a little finish in a can that was basically empty along with a foam brush that fit inside. I just kept adding finish to the can keeping it about an inch deep. Nobody sees the ends of the boards anyway, so appearance doesn't matter.

[Plum Hill]

I don't think anyone mentioned it, but the tongues need to be stained prior to installation if you plan on staining after the wood is up.
Nothing looks worse than a piece of wood that shrinks and the thin line of natural wood appears. You see this often on paneled doors.

[Birddog]

Like in that 1967 movie:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plaster.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plaster Think about it. Will you think about it?

[11.4]

There are hundreds of tinplate panels made for ceilings and many that were accurate to that vintage home. Cut to fit.

I'd second the plastering idea. Put in place some small trim against the beams before plastering so you have an edge to screed from, and then fill with plaster. The trim can hold pieces of plastering mesh so you have something strong for the plaster to bond to.

If you want to go T&G, consider that T&G wasn't really used in 1780. I had both a 1760 and an 1824 home in Connecticut and did strict restorations on both. Wider boards were used, such as a 1/2 x 4 or 1/2 x 6. If you paint them all sides before installing and paint the cut ends before final assembly, they'll look good. Even if you get a gap developing with humidity changes, if behind them you painted the ceiling in the same color, it won't look bad and will definitely be more accurate to the period.

There are a number of other ideas you can pursue, but any of these will work as well. Personally I like the plaster the best. Either do a rough troweling or if the rest of the room suits it, do a honed Roman finish. Check out some of the Roman finishes and you'll see how good this can look. If you have the trim strips installed first, you get a very nice sharp edge that looks very sharp.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by 11.4

There are hundreds of tinplate panels made for ceilings and many that were accurate to that vintage home. Cut to fit.

I'd second the plastering idea. Put in place some small trim against the beams before plastering so you have an edge to screed from, and then fill with plaster. The trim can hold pieces of plastering mesh so you have something strong for the plaster to bond to.

If you want to go T&G, consider that T&G wasn't really used in 1780. I had both a 1760 and an 1824 home in Connecticut and did strict restorations on both. Wider boards were used, such as a 1/2 x 4 or 1/2 x 6. If you paint them all sides before installing and paint the cut ends before final assembly, they'll look good. Even if you get a gap developing with humidity changes, if behind them you painted the ceiling in the same color, it won't look bad and will definitely be more accurate to the period.

There are a number of other ideas you can pursue, but any of these will work as well. Personally I like the plaster the best. Either do a rough troweling or if the rest of the room suits it, do a honed Roman finish. Check out some of the Roman finishes and you'll see how good this can look. If you have the trim strips installed first, you get a very nice sharp edge that looks very sharp.

I'm glad a couple of you thought of plaster as an alternative--the same thought bubbled up while I was doing my own reno yesterday.

The great thing about plaster, is that you can still hire someone who can do a good job...

[zap]

If you do coat/stain, don't go to Home Depot, Lowes, etc. for supplies.......like minwax.

Do go to a woodworking shop and purchase quality stains, etc. Superior results in half the time.

[William]

I was all set on T&G...you folks are confuddling me!!!







William

Thank you for all the tips everyone!



!

[cadence90]

.... ..
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[William]

Originally Posted by cadence90

Yes, and if one has little/no experience, one will have to do so, because plastering a ceiling without experience is definitely courting big-time disaster.

Plaster is not nearly as easy to do well as a lot of people seem to think it is.
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I know, and then there is the whole thing about going down the street to the horse farm and getting some hair. I mean, how much do you mix in and what's the best way to get enough without getting kicked or shot at with rock salt???

T&G is looking better right now...




William

[11.4]

Originally Posted by William

I know, and then there is the whole thing about going down the street to the horse farm and getting some hair. I mean, how much do you mix in and what's the best way to get enough without getting kicked or shot at with rock salt???

T&G is looking better right now...




William

Modern plaster isn't quite the horsehair story any longer. Synthetic based plasters don't crack like the old stuff (the horsehair was just to keep the ceiling from showering down bits of plaster on you all the time as it crazed. And they are much more adhesive as well (traditional plaster pretty much stuck by virtue of whatever you put on the surface such as chicken wire that created a keyhole locking effect.

You probably don't want to do anything on your ceiling. T&G (having done it a number of times) will drive you nuts as well. Even if you acclimatize the boards perfectly, precoat them, and then trim boards to fit, you'll still have gaps develop almost immediately. And unless you go with big T&G boards (not the small stuff they often call wainscoting), you'll basically be face-nailing it so it'll crack and do other weird stuff on you. If you do T&G and paint it dark it won't show most of the problems, but it'll never be as pretty as it looks in the Martha Stewart magazine on your coffee table. You have a house that's .. what? ... 250 years old? go authentic. I'd consider doing something like shiplap cypress boards. Face nail them and clear coat them before installing. The boards will darken a bit naturally and the fairly intense grain will obscure any issues. Or buy a couple router bits or a dado blade and shiplap a bunch of 4/4 cherry. Install it completely unfinished. It'll age and acquire a patina as well, and won't look like Laura Ashley designed the room. You could get the boards roughsawn as well and install them that way -- cheaper and still get that beautiful patinated look pretty quickly.

You do have a pneumatic or cordless finish nailer, don't you?