I am about to start installing T&G beadboard (3″ exposure, 3/8″ thick), in my kitchen, should I prime and finish paint prior to installation to prevent the paint from cracking in the future from expansion…?
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Painting tongues and grooves can cause problems during installation. Paint on the tongue and or groove may not allow a complete closing of the joint, leaving an unsightly gap on the finished surface. If you opt for painting-do it after installation. Not painting the sub-surface will not cause any problems.
Sorry Acal, I gots to disagree with you on this one. All it takes is a light coat of paint to color the tongues, and even if the paint is a little thick, a good rap with a mallet and scrap block will seat the joint tightly. You might even find that the joints need to be pounded closed anyway due to slight variations in the boards. I recently finished about 1400 sf of 1x6 car siding on three ceilings of a house, and we tapped each board in place...every one of them...some took a tap and some took a beating.
The downside of not pre-painting the tongues is a callback to answer the question about light stripes in the joints.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I have done it both ways, painted vs unpainted. Both worked, but we have had too many occurances of good boards cracked, etc., due to "beating them in.
If you can get spray primer like Binz or Zinnser, or a lacquer primer like them, tinted to the final color, it would be good to spray each tongue with a light coat before installation.
If your color will be white, you have it made.
That way, when a board shrinks and exposes a little bit of the tongue in the joint, you will be looking at white down in the crack, instead of bare wood.
A single coating of spray lacquer/primer on the top edges of tongues will not compromise the fitting of tongue to groove.
Have you considered the full 1x6 beaded pine? It is about $.60/lin ft here. Wife and I put up about a mile of it in the house. Ours is eastern white pine. The thin stuff, at least the economy grade, is barely fit for kindling. A customer got some and I had to cull about 50%. We prestained with Cabot water base pastel stain base for a whitewash. Put it on with foam brush and did not wipe off. Wife missed some of the tongues a little and it is noticeable sometimes.
The knots show through beautifully. Customer is very pleased with the thin stuff with the same finish.