Does anyone here know how to prepare paneling for painting? Has anybody here ever painted paneling?

Question

Please don't give me a spill about trailors or about pulling this mess off. I have already sheetrocked most of this five bedroom house and I dont intend to sheetrock another room unless I have to. This is an old house and all the walls are solid plank and old wallpaper. I hate wallpaper!!! I only had two rooms with paneling that I intend to paint so please help me figure this out. I don't won't to have a big mess. A friend told me a needed a product he thought was called "dull and bond" to dull the shine so the paint will stick to the paneling. I can't find it in the harware store. Has any body here ever painted paneling? Cant I just use Semi-Glos. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

Answer 1

I had paneling that was not smooth surfaced and I painted with interior paint 10 years' ago and it's still holding up well.
I would just sandpaper the smooth shiny area, prime and paint the same.
I hate wallpaper removal too...

Answer 2

Yes you can definitely paint panelling. Is it the fake wood kind or real wood. If it's pine for example then the knots will bleed through and you have to shellac those areas before you can paint. I speak from personal experience on that.

I recommend a product called Fresh Start by Benjamin Moore for the first coat and then paint it in whatever finish you want. I probably wouldn't use Semi Gloss - prefer a matte finish which doesn't show imperfections as much.

Answer 3

If the paneling is very glossy, then you need something to rough the finish. You can use a drywall sanding cloth for that. You do not need to sand it smooth, as the paint will fill in the small imperfections.

After you sand the glossy finish off the walls, use a damp cloth to remove the dust. Then use a GOOD primer, I like Killz. If you plan to paint the walls any color other than white, have the Killz tinted too. This may save you from having to use a second coat of paint.

We painted over paneling a few years ago. While not as nice as drywall, it looks OK. One of these days, we still plan to hang drywall.


Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
http://www.notagz.com

Answer 4

Maybe a product like "liquid sand paper" would work to remove the shine. Next, apply the appropriate primer and and then paint the paneling. I would ask your local paint store for suggestions on specific products. That way you won't end up with a gummy mess.

I have an older house and the paneling is painted. It looks very nice. Who likes knotty pine panels unless you want that rustic cabin by the lake look?

Answer 5

I seem to remember my mom painting over our paneling years ago. It looked kind of cool.

She simply put a coat of primer directly on the paneling and then painted over that.

The primer makes your oilbase or whatever ready for painting with good ol' waterbase paint. It works great if you have the primer tinted the same color as your paint. It's cheaper then paint and counts as a "Coat of color".

May I also suggest using eggshell as opposed to semi-gloss. It's not quite as shining but cleans up so much better than flat paint.

Mom painted one wall a lite blue and stopped short of covering all of the grain look that bled through. It looked really neat, but of course it matched the decor and it was the 80s. lol Just a thought for some depth in the wall.

Good luck and happy painting!!

Answer 6

We just back from vacation and I asked my sister-in-law this question because she used to paint houses. I told her that the guy at Lowe's said all we had to do was use 2 coats of the paint we'd bought. She said if you want a really nice end result to use primer first.

Hope that helps a little! We have yet to try.

Answer 7

I used a paint / sealer called Kilz on the first coat to change brown paneling to white . Works great, but use the cheap rollers cuz they are shot when you are finished.
I think it comes in colors now, too, as paint.

Answer 8

They are right. Lightly sand, use a good primer tinted to paint color and paint. It actually looks very nice and is much easier than people think. But most importantly, have fun!

Answer 9

I painted the entire inside of my mobile home. all you need to do is sand the walls lightly with 220 grit sand paper, fill or don't fill the grooves with joint compound (found at hardware store) sand smooth . Primer so wall wont bleed through and paint the color of your choice.

Answer 10

You can paint your paneling with an 100% acrlic paint it will stick to anything! It is a latex paint ;-) follow directions on the can!