I really wanted to get that Scandinavian Knotty Pine look for the ceilings in the Lodge. I didn’t want to paint them white and I equally didn’t want banana yellow wood ceilings. After doing hours of research on how to white wash pine, I deduced that I didn’t want to use any of the products or methods I came across. Lye or bleach? No, thank you. Many tutorials out there are simply using watered down paint and then a poly clear coat. After reading “help me” posts in forums about that finish chipping off, I didn’t want to go that route. I kept searching and finally found a product marketed for flooring that seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
With nearly 300 8″x8′ pine planks to hand finish, I wanted something that would be as simple as possible and easy to get a uniform finish.
The first thing required was cleaning off the shoe prints and black marks on a lot of the boards. For the marks that wouldn’t sand off, I used vinegar water in a spray bottle.
As you can see, the difference between the two is pretty stark. I wanted to keep my boards that natural pale color, instead of the banana yellow that occurs from exposure to light. I just had to figure out how to stop my boards from soaking up that light again and turning my ceiling into a fruit basket instead of a cozy lodge.
You can see in the picture below that the sanded boards are still pretty yellow, just not as banana-y as when they had soaked in all that light. The boards on the left are coated with sealer and they have that pale, white Scandinavian finish I want in the space. The boards on the right are the sanded and ready the sealer. Not as bad as before, but they definitely look better with a couple of coats of the sealer on them!
The magic sauce I finally decided on is Bona NordicSeal. It’s actually a flooring product, so I took creative license with how I used it. I think it turned out great and shouldn’t chip off like some of the diluted paint and top coated projects I read about.
I ordered it online after finding the best price and availability (which will undoubtedly be different for you now than it was for me then, so make sure you look for your best source). However, if it’s helpful, I found it at Panel Town & Floors which is a brick and mortar store in Columbus, OH. As you know, I don’t live anywhere near Columbus, OH, but the good news is they ship. I’ve actually ordered quite a bit from them because their prices are fair, and they ship quickly!
I applied it with a paint pad. The key is to completely cover the wood with the sealer. I ended up with lots of dripping off the edges, so make sure you cover your floor before you begin! It’s not like stain, where you don’t want excess–you definitely want to make sure this bad boy is covered, or the banana will return! You don’t want puddles of it, either. It’s more like a paint, where you spread it on and then leave it to dry. Luckily, it dries pretty fast, so you can do multiple coats quickly.
You can do as many coats as you want. It all just depends on how “white” you want the wood to get. The sealer was really easy to use and even, so I could get the color exactly how I envisioned it in my head.
To kind of give you an idea for how versatile this stain is, I laid out 3 boards at different stages in the process. The board on the left is only sanded, the middle board has two or three coats, and the right board only has one coat. As you can see, even after only a couple coats, the board is already looking pretty white!
The sealer was so easy to apply that the trickiest part of the process ended up being finding enough space to lay all the boards out to dry! Luckily they dry pretty fast, but it was a little tricky getting around for a while!
I ended up only doing enough planks to cover half the ceiling. I had help installing it with two little worker bees over the weekend. I had two people on the scaffolding and then one of us was down below to hand up the wood and move the scaffolding around.
Once half of the ceiling was done, I had to finish coating the rest of the wood. I finished installing it the very next weekend! Towards the end, I was a little nervous because it looked like we might not have enough boards…
But we actually ended up having a little extra! Here’s us installing the last piece of wood, and after so many frustrating setbacks in other areas of the Lodge, it was nice to have something go pretty smoothly!
I ended up installing a simple trim around the room. I made it from a 1×3 that I finished with NordicSeal to match the boards. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about the ridge, but I am so happy with how this sealed ceiling turned out. No banana yellow here!
Because I have to do everything in sections, I am waiting to trim out the other half of the room until I decide on the kitchen vents. I’m also waiting on the windows for the deck to be installed. There’s a lot of waiting for one thing so I can finish another, but it feels really nice to have basically finished the ceilings in here. Lately I’ve been feeling like I needed a win, so this hit the spot!
In case you missed it (I know I’ve been a little M.I.A.) you can see what I’ve got planned for our house and the lodge. I’ve gotten all of the framing (parts 1, 2, 3, & 4) and drywall done, as well as crossing some of the cosmetic stuff off my to-do list.
Also, check out the enormous faux wood beam I installed to cover the ceiling ridge!
John says
Can’t wait to see how you handle the ridge, this step has me waiting to do my master bedroom.
Barbara H. says
Congratulations! This was a HUGE job and I’m sure it’s a relief to have it done. Glad you found the solution for the look you want on the ceiling.
Kel says
Hi! Awesome job! I am wondering what grit/s you used. Thanks!
Sandra says
220 I think.
JW says
Yes 🙌🏻 to a WIN!!
Darene Pungercar says
Sandra, you told me about that new finish you had found. Looks like a keeper! I’ll have to try that on my next round of T&G. No caulking either? Right?
Sandra says
No caulking. You need to let the wood move as it wants to.
Dorothy says
Beautiful! Such a BIG project, but so work it. I’m glad you have a win. I look forward to every installment of your progress. Thanks for sharing.
Patt Boley says
Very impressive!
Guerrina says
So good to hear from you!!! The ceiling looks amazing – perfect!
Excavating Contractors says
Great job! Such a huge project indeed! I love the way it turned out. Thank you for sharing.
myra says
Looks great! Did you seal the back and ends of your planks with anything (for sealing) or you sealed only the panels front facing area? I’ll be using the Bona Natural Seal (contains half the amount of white pigment as nordic… debating if I should seal back and ends with clear water-poly)
Sandra says
I only sealed the face that was showing. Like if you installed the planks and then coated them – I just did it backwards.
If possible to do it, I would think coating/sealing all sides would be a good thing. I did not.
lohi karhu says
Hi;
for your readers in Europe, I think that this product is
WB250620001
Bona White
available across Europe, as far as I can tell…
Sandra says
thanks for the additional info
Hara says
Apologies if this is a silly question. I’d like to try this on a solid pine bed, but would I need to use a primer first?
Sandra says
These ceiling planks are solid pine. This product is not used with a primer. It’s a sealer with white pigment that whitens the wood more with each coat.
Abigail says
Your ceiling is beautiful! Iv been lookin for a light finish on my ceiling also and called Bona tech support and they’d never heard of putting it on ceiling? But my question is … is the Nordic sealer enough of a sealer to not turn yellow down the road? How is yours holding its color?
Sandra says
The Bona claim to keep the wood from yellowing is the reason I tried it. If you can put it on wood floors and it keeps it from yellowing… It’s only been about a year but it still looks exactly the same as when we installed it. Time will tell.
Kelly says
Could treatment with suggested product be done to intact ceiling? (i.e. Not taking the planks down, but ‘white wash’ the ceiling already installed.)
Thx in advance!
K in Toronto
Sandra says
I’m not sure I would -but you could certainly try it. On floors (or on the planks when laying on a flat surface) you kind of flood the product onto the material and then push it around to fully cover the material. I suppose you could try putting it on in thinner coats and just do more coats.
Kelly says
Hi! Wondering if you chose to move forward with the project and how it turned out. I’m currently sanding my knotty pine ceiling 🙏
Alissa says
Did you end up doing 2 or 3 coats of the NordicSeal? How is it looking now, and THANK YOU!
Sandra says
It looks fantastic. I used 2-3. Some boards were darker so I added another coat. Some were good with just 2.
Sherry Hinkley says
Love it! I just used Bona Nordic after doing a ton of research on how to get the red out of red oak flooring for our remodel. After two coats is a gorgeous Scandinavian finsih. I also used the commercial matte for sealing. Love these products! I dont think I will ever use anything else.
Diane Hylarides says
Did you sand all the raw boards first?
Sandra says
The boards were smooth and ready to finish. At first, I sanded some of them that were really yellowed. After about 800 linear feet I stopped sanding and just applied the finish. I applied additional coats to the boards that needed more lightening.
Kelly says
I love the not sanding part! Could you see any color difference among the pre-sanded? I’m noticing some uneven yellowing after sanding and wondering if post-nordic it will show through?
Sandra says
I just added more coats of NordicSeal on the more yellow boards and it lightened everything up to my liking.
Val Ad says
None of the boards are sagging?
Sandra says
No. They are 3/4″ thick, tongue and groove on all sides so they tie in to the boards on both sides and on both ends in the run.
Leah says
We just bought our first house and my office has ceilings I’d like to stain like that. It is an already installed ceiling so I can’t take the boards down. I know from a comment above you said you didn’t recommend it but I don’t have that as an option. Any suggestions?
Sandra says
If you want to try this specific product, I can only suggest that you experiment with different ways to get it onto the ceiling. And strongly suggest that you cover your floors really well (assuming there is nothing else in the room). I haven’t tried applying it to a ceiling so I don’t have any suggestions.
Cindy Holt says
Could this be used over a stain to lighten it up?
Cindy
[email protected]
Sandra says
You could certainly experiment with different ways it could be used.
z & p says
Hey it looks great! Just bought a fixer upper and we’re in the planning process of redoing ceilings in our house. We’re going for something best described as contemporary country. I’m wondering how your white washed pine ceilings have been holding up? Have they darkened at all? Do you think you’ll have to put maintenance coats on them in the future? Thanks!
Sandra says
They look exactly the same as when I installed them. I don’t anticipate them needing any maintenance – which is why I chose this product.
Dwight Grieve says
I’m just wondering if there is any chance of the pine knots bleeding through or will the Nordic Seal suffice in this regard.
Sandra says
Well you can see the knots. The Nordic Seal doesn’t hide anything. It just whitens the color of the boards and is supposed to prevent the yellowing that naturally happens over time.
Kelli says
Beautiful result!! I wondered if you finished with a polyurethane coat (Bona has a variety of clear coats) after the Nordic sealer?
Sandra says
I think the beauty of this product is that it is a topcoat so it doesn’t need additional coats of anything else.
Lori says
Any thoughts about using this product on an old pine Armoire?
Sandra says
No idea about how it would turn out but you could certainly test it out.
Lauren Chilman says
I just wanted to thank you for this tutorial. I followed exactly what you did for our vaulted ceiling in our new primary suite. It turned out awesome. Thanks again!
Sandra says
That’s great! Glad to hear it. My ceiling looks exactly the same today as it did a year ago so I’m really hopeful that the Bona product is the answer to the wood not yellowing over time” that I wanted to avoid. I guess 10 years will be a better test but here’s hoping!
THERESA says
WONDERFUL THAT I FOUND YOUR SITE!!! I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR WHITEWASHING TECHNIQUES AND BEST PRODUCTS BECAUSE I NEEDED NEW WOOD FRENCH DOORS/BI-FOLDS WHITEWASHED. SOMEONE SPRAY PAINTED OUR FRENCH BARN DOORS W MINWAX PICKLING STAIN THAT TURNED OUT GREAT BUT MINWAX DISCONTINUED THE PRODUCT. HIRED THE SAME PERSON TO SPRAY THE DOUBLE FRENCH DOORS TO OUR SUNROOM AND HE DID A TERRIBLE JOB … NEED TO SAND AND REDO BUT WONDERED IF I COULD DO THE JOB MYSELF … THEN I FOUND YOUR PAGE. I SEE THAT BONA NORDIC SEAL HAS A TOP COAT … DOES THAT IT MEAN THAT THE FINISH IS A SATIN-LIKE? I ALSO WONDER IF IT CAN ALSO SPRAYED ON? THANK YOU!!
Sandra says
I don’t know that it will produce the same effect if it’s sprayed on. It’s meant to be used on flooring so you kind of flood it on and spread it out. Spraying it on would be applying it in pretty thin coats so I don’t know. I’m a big fan of experimenting with products and techniques. That’s generally how I figure out new things.
Kevin says
Just curious …
Would you suggest any changes to your method if I was using ‘rough’ pine boards 1”T x 10”W for my ceiling?!
— I am after a very similar ‘white’ look
— gambrel style ceiling (it’s only 12W x 16L consisting of 3 x 6’ panels)
— lots of sunlight in the room below with floor to ceiling glass walls on 3 sides
Sandra says
I have no idea how rough boards will hold up. Do you have to build the product up enough to create a truly “sealed” finish? Do you need a sealed finish for the finish to work? I don’t know. Although I applied the wood to the ceilings, I did use it similarly to how you would with a wood floor, regarding prepping the wood. You could certainly reach out to Bona and see what they say.
Emily says
Hi there! First off, thank you so much for posting on about using Bona Nordic Seal. You are literally the only one with great details that put it somewhere besides the floor. We are about to do our 12×24 house walls and ceiling with white pine tongue and groove boards and use Nordic seal on all of it prior to installation (just like you did). This leads me to a few questions for you though.
Do you think the Bona Nordic seal could be applied using a paint brush or do you highly recommend the paint pad? I’ve never used a paint pad, do you have one you particularly like?
I called Bona to ask about the sheen of using the Nordic seal alone. He said that because the boards will soak up the product more in some places and less in others, the dry sheen may appear different (ie matte in some places and satin in others). He said a finisher will make it all uniform. Did you experience uneven sheen? I was concerned about needing a top coat over the seal but I understand you did not use one.
Thanks again!
Sandra says
On the boards that soaked up more, I did additional coats. I did two to three coats on a most of the boards. It dries super fast so by the time I finished the last board (in that batch) I started adding another coat on the first boards.
I used the (actually a deck staining pad – the ones HD or Lowes carry) pad because the instructions say to generously apply the Bona and just not leave any puddles. I used the pad to spread it on, then came back with a dry brush to pick up or even out the areas where it was too thick.
You can wipe your hand over the wood and tell a drastic difference between the first and second coat. The product adds more “white” in the additional coats but not more sheen so once you get the wood “covered”, the sheen is the same. Adding more Nordic Seal just whitened the boards where I added a third coat.
That was my experience.
Z says
Hi I’m about to start a similar project with Bona! My pine boards are new from the store. is sanding before finishing necessary or useful? I’ve read online it could help take the finish more evenly.
Sandra says
If they wood you purchased is nice and smooth it is probably not necessary. I experimented with the planks I purchased and found that the ones that had already yellowed from light exposure just took more coats of Bona to get to the color I wanted which was faster than sanding the yellow off and then coating with Bona. My planks were already smooth and ready for finish and they took the finish great with or without sanding.
Rebekah Baldridge says
I’m planning my project with 100 16 foot boards. Did you just need the one jug of Bona?