Dear Friends,

So we just purchased our first home. It was built in 1979, we love everything about the house but the walls. The whole house interior is walled with knotty pine boards. ALL OF IT ! COMPLETELY COVERED! It has that orangey tint to it. We want to paint over it with a light color so we can brighten up the place since we don't really get that much light. We plan to do this ourselves since we really don't have much left in our savings after the downpayment.

I've done a few tests to figure out what the original owner (who built the house himself) used to finish the walls. It's not shellac nor is it varnish (tried rubbing den. alcohol and lacquer thinner on it and those solvents did not do anything to the finish). I imagine it's either an oil or water based polyurethane.

After all is said and done, we ultimately want the top coat to be a satin or flat latex in a version of white.

My questions are :

1.) How do I treat the walls prior to painting ? I am overwhelmed by thought of sanding the whole interior since the whole 2500 sq ft is COVERED with it--or do I just suck it up? How much sanding do I do ? Do I attempt to remove the finish or sand it so I just get enough tooth for the primer to adhere.

2.) Is there a deglosser that is low or no VOC that I can use instead of sanding ?

3.) THE KNOTS. In my research, everyone seems to think that shellac based primer like BIN is the best primer to use to prevent the knots from bleeding through. Does anyone have experience using this product on knotty pine?

4.) THE EXPENSE. Since BIN is twice the price of ordinary latex primer. Do I just use the BIN on the knots and use regular latex primer on the rest ? WIll the latex topcoat adhere to both?

5.) APPLICATION. I was just going to use the regular brush and roller method to apply the primer/s, It is better/fater to use a spray.

We are desperate to paint over the walls. I understand that some people may like the knotty pine look and I respect that but, for us, it really has to go.

We bought the house not for the walls but for the location, layout and general condition-- we love almost everything about it.

Please please send me your input and/or experiences on this.

I've attached some pictures so you guys have an idea of what we're dealing with.

THANK YOU !

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