I need to prepare my walls for painting. I have paneling in the dining area? I want to paint them off- white?

Question

Can't I just use a semi-gloss paint. Do I really need to use "Dull and Bond" to make the varnish come off the paneling before I paint it? I can't find it in the hardare store what is the real name of the product. My paneling is brown.

I mean hardware store.

I'm not pulling the paneling off because this is an old house the walls behind the dining area are solid planks. I have already sheetrocked most of the house. The dining area and laundry room is the only rooms that I won't have to sheet rock. they have brown paneling. I have to paint them. I'm tired of sheet rocking.

Answer 1

I agree with ricknows (2 coats oil based primer ,you can get orderless it is more humane,) don't sand prior to priming the paneling stain is sealed with urethane and if you break that glaze it just increases bleed through, however i would hand sand lightly after the second coat of primer. Oh yeah and if the oil base is just to much trouble only the 1st coat has to be an oil base primer the 2nd can be latex.

Answer 2

I've painted paneling, and the primer is hugely important. The people who mentioned Bin and Kilz are right. You need a primer-sealer that has excellent adhesion -- read the label, and if the primer is made to stick to difficult surfaces, it will say so.

The type of sanding you need to do is very light. You just want to take away the gloss of the coating that's on the paneling. Yes, you can use a chemical deglosser as you mentioned, but the fumes are terrible and it's extremely flammable. It isn't necessary if you sand a little and prime properly.

Make sure to wipe off the sanding dust before you prime.

Answer 3

ok i have paniling in my kitchen it was a solid brown half wall and i wanted to paint my kitchen sponge bob yellow well i didn't think that i could paint the paneling and my husband wasn't looking forward to taking it down so when we were painting the ceiling we droped some white paint on the paneling ( an accident) but when it dryed it stayed so we painted all of the paneling in the kitchen white and it looks great so my advice is give it a try just by painting it what do you have to loose if you don't like the way it turns out then deal with the sheet rock and drywall so just paint it good luck and be brave

Answer 4

Is it nice real woodwork or the cheap thin crappy paneling that goes up over drywall? If it is cheap paneling, take it down, prep the drywall and paint it. If it is the nice real wood, try sanding down one section of the paneling and painting it. I would sand it, wipe it clean, prime it, sand it lightly, then paint it using an oil based paint. This technique works well with furniture. Like I said, try it on one area first to see how it comes out.

Happy stripping!

Answer 5

We just did this. Kilz is the name of the stuff, it is a primer and you can pretty much just coat once with that and then use your other paint. It is great for ceilings, too.
The grooves in the panelling look like rustic wood when you are done.
Hope this helps

Answer 6

Keep it simple. Give the pannelling a quick sanding, use any stain blocking primer and paint away. Done it many times with kitchen cupboards and panelled walls.

Answer 7

I had the same problem! I used Kilz to go over the paneling. It is white and covers well. Then I used an antique white on the walls with gret success. Old homes are tricky but worth it! Best wishes!

Answer 8

if your good at sheetrock installation then that's the way to go for a long term great looking job that you will enjoy for years. You could drywall over the panaling.
Another tip is that the panaling has small depressions at the top and bottem where the groves meet the ceiling moulding and floor molding. when they are brown you don't see them but when they are white there is a little black hole there. I caulked mine to hide it, then painted over.

Answer 9

You don't need to do all that. LIGHTLY sand it with an electric sander (so it will be even), clean the dust off & paint. Use a tinted primer (off-white) and you'll probably only need one coat. We did this to our entire cottage. It turned out great. Good Luck!

Answer 10

It would look so much nicer if you took the paneling off.. Prep your walls with drywall mud, sand and then paint. It always looks so much nicer..