You can sand the surface, which you want to be painted. Remove any sharp edges in your ply joints and also around your drill holes by sanding them with a sanding machine or manually. Then apply a coat of primer to the wood. You can also apply latex primer if you want the wood to have a genuine sand or rock like finish. Primer helps the paint to stick well with the wood and hence prevents chipping and bubbling. If your wood is wet, then you will have to dry it first before you can start applying anything on it.

Mildew can also be removed from wood by applying bleach mixed with water at a 1:4 ratio. You can use any exterior paint for your climbing wall and since most of them have a fungicidal agent added to the paint, it should prevent further mildew attacks from taking place. To protect any non-painted surface or the floor, cover them with old newspapers or cloth or apply tape on it.

If you are planning to provide a sand like finish to your climbing wall then you can add sand to your paint in the ratio of 1:10. Since sand settles down very fast in your paint pan or container, you will have to constantly keep on stirring your paint mixture before every application. You can also change the sand to paint ratio to achieve a different finish. Also, you can use golf tees to plug in your T nut holes so that the primer and paint does not go into the threading of your T nut.

If it does, you will have a hard time fitting your holds. The final touch is bolting on your holds and jugs to your wall. You can use different footholds at the bottom of your wall, but as you progress higher, you will require very few and none at the top. As per your climbing skills and the construction of your wall you will require some jugs at the bottom and some at the top of your wall. You can buy an entire ready made set of plastic or wooden holds which just need to be bolted on to your wall. Buy one according to the size of your wall and the number of holds required.

You will also require a good mattress, which breaks your fall without breaking your bones in case you slip and fall. The mattress should be around 10 to 12 inches thick and should not only cover the entire base of the wall but should also extend away so as to cushion your fall if you slip while swinging from one hold to another. Your final finished wall should look like a genuine rock wall for you to get into the real mood of rock climbing.

So, once your climbing wall is ready, go in for a test climb. Then call your friends and neighbors over for a rock climbing competition and have fun. Arrange rock climbing related theme parties. Happy climbing.