Refinishing Interior Barn Walls

[Pico_Banana]

I am doing a major renovation of my barn interior – we purchased the property about 18 months ago and it’s time. I am trying to decide on stain colors … and really an overall approach.

I am ordering all new stall fronts and partition walls and I have the option to have them stained before installation, which I would like to take advantage of. The bars will be black powdercoat in a euro-front style.

That leaves all of the inside walls, however. They are tongue in groove Southern Yellow Pine, stained and sealed with something light that really highlights the yellow in the wood. Which is a real shame because the walls in the stairs to the hay loft are the same wood but left unfinished, and it is a lovely color that I would be happy with. The barn is about 35 years old so the wood has definitely aged. Some of it is damaged, but nothing that I think a little wood filler wouldn’t cure. And some of the boards don’t fit tightly together anymore, but nothing so bad that I think I need to do any repairs.

Anyway, I hate the current stain and am looking for a way to lighten up the barn interior. My options appear to be (1) use a stripper to get rid of the old stain, sand, and then re-stain; or (2) re-stain with a type of “solid stain.” I spoke to a painter and he said if we went with the second option, we could just put primer over the existing stain with no need to strip, which would be much less work.

I’m kind inclined to go with the second option and use something like this:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/es-72/sea-gull-gray?color=ES-72&category=stain&transparency=semitransparent

And then I could have the stall fronts stained in a complementary translucent stain, something like the classic gray oil based stain here:

Wood Stain Colors - Minwax Stain Colors & Wood Finish Guide | Minwax

Am I crazy to be thinking this might work and look good? It sorta seems a shame to cover up the wood grain on the walls, but it would be a big and expensive undertaking to have all of the old stain stripped off, and then the painter wasn’t sure we would be happy with re-staining it because the old stain, even after it was removed, would still impact the finished product.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a barn with solid colored walls before so I’m really nervous about trying it.

Thoughts, positive or negative? Advice? Traps for the unwary I should be aware of?

[Libby2563]

I’m interested in answers too because I ended up with solid-looking stain in my stalls due to botched work, and I would love to fix it but stripping sounds like a major pain. In my case the painters applied semi-transparent stain so heavily that it ended up looking like brown paint! :horror: It’s interesting that the painter says that primer plus a light-colored solid stain would cover your old stain. I’m skeptical that it would look good but I’m sure he knows better than I do. Could you test it in a small area that will be covered in case it is a disaster?

FWIW here’s what my unintentionally solid-colored stalls look like: http://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-barn-is-finally-stained.html. I was going for a nice two-tone effect. I came outside to see the painters slathering the stain on the stall walls so thick that it was puddling and the whole place was dark as a cave. In retrospect I wish I’d had them wipe some off before it dried, which actually took days because there was so much. The test area was a nice semi-transparent brown. Sigh.

[Pico_Banana]

We are definitely going to do some test patches. Thankfully, since I’m removing the old partition walls, I have lots of real estate that I can do tests on. And the painter is all about testing things first, so that’s good.

And we have time. With a lovely mix of snow and rain coming down as I type, it will likely be April before it’s warm enough to actually do the job.

[Libby2563]

IIRC @fordtraktor redid her barn interior with a solid color? Maybe she has some pics and tips for you.

[happilyretired]

Hate to say it but the horses will, of course, make a mess of the walls no matter what color they are. Go with what you like and/or what is easiest/cheapest.

[enjoytheride]

You can only stain it darker unless you strip it. That is A LOT of labor.

[stb]

I will be watching replies here, as I also have a dark stained barn and would love to lighten it. My husband is a builder, and we have talked with his painters and they tell us that we would have to either strip it or paint over the dark walls. I sure do wish the previous owners had just left it alone, as they left a natural color strip in the gable (weird) and that is a lovely color.

[fourfillies]

There was a behind barn doors segment before the WEF GP last night with Daniel Coyle. The stalls were dark below about 4 feet and painted white above. Not something I would think to do but looked very sharp. The replay is available on the pbiec.coth.com.

[fordtraktor]

I did paint my older barn’s aisle white inside (using a sprayer). I really like it…the barn was almost 20 years old and too dark, plus had a lot of wear. It looks a lot better!

Your issue with the stain underneath really complicates the situation….I would at least try the colored stain option. I looked at stain, and did stain my new barn with the Cabot oil stain, but my walls had so many discolorations I wanted something solid and light for the older space. I haven’t done the stall interiors (I don’t use those stalls regularly).

[clanter]

@Pico_Banana

And some of the boards don’t fit tightly together anymore, but nothing so bad that I think I need to do any repairs.

that comment leads me to think those walls could be dissembled pretty easily, if so you Could use a surface planer to get back to the natural wood then stain to match the new walls/fronts

Inexpensive models of planers can be found at Harbor Freight or Home Depot under $400

Our stall walls are T&G pine that is installed in drop in C channels so it it really is of no issue to remove the walls if we wanted.

[Pico_Banana]

Yeah, unfortunately they are nailed in. I know from having to remove some from the tack room that it’s not an easy task and resulted in little holes everywhere there was a nail, so they aren’t coming down. My husband thinks the wood has just shrunk over time.

But if I do the solid stain, I can easily fill the gaps with wood filler and that won’t be noticed once done.

My painter is going to take an extra board from the barn, sand it, condition it, and then stain it with a solid stain (he’s going to do a few colors), and then a coat of poly, so I can see what it should look like when done. But really leaning to this option. Thanks to @fordtraktor for giving me some reassurance that hers looks good!

[fordtraktor]

Digging up some photos:

[fordtraktor]

Lol about the beach one, that was an accident!

[clanter]

@fordtraktor

Lol about the beach one, that was an accident!

well it is kind of like the one my horses always give me in the dead of winter

[Pico_Banana]

I think this looks great! Thanks for the photos (including the beach one )!

[lenapesadie]

I thought the beach one was the inspiration for the color!

Your barn is also very pretty