# Applying Polyurethane to Wood Panel Walls



## nphill85 (Sep 27, 2013)

Hello,

I didn't see a forum category that matched my question exactly, so I went with "painting" since I'm applying a finish to my walls. I have just finished installing knotty pine ship-lap to the walls of a cabin I am renovating. My plan is to stain the wood and then apply polyurethane. However, I have never applied poly on walls or any other vertical surface. I was hoping for some pointers on how to get a nice even coat without bubbles or runs. Also, what should I use for applying the poly? Finally, since we are talking about walls, which don't receive the foot traffic that a floor would, how many coats of polyurethane are necessary? Can I get away with doing a single coat? Thanks!

-Nic


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I would suggest a MOHAIR roller cover and roll the poly onto the walls. Then use a China bristle brush to brush through the poly so you don't get any bubbles or runs. I highly doubt you can get away with one coat. Poly is just not formulated that way. Two coats minimum and three coats are better with sanding between coats. The grain will raise and leave you with a rough surface if you only apply ONE coat.


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## Live_Oak (Aug 22, 2013)

Pine doesn't take stain at all well. Leave it alone unless you want blotch. Applying poly vertically, well, maybe you can spray it, but you'll have to experiment quite a bit. Rolling it for sure will give you bubbles as Gymschu says, but the backbrushing he's recommending should take care of that. Or you could try the wool applicators used on flooring poly. I'm sorry to say that all of this should have been done _before_ you applied it to the wall and that's why it's gonna be 5x as hard to get it to look good now.


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