Can anybody help us?

We have very dark wood paneling in our den, dining room, and hallway. We would like to paint over it. We want the walls to have a smooth texture with no grooves. We are working on a very tight budget. We think that taking the paneling down would be very hard for us. We are a mother and daughter team trying to do this project ourselves. We want to lighten up these rooms.

Please somebody help us!!

 

Hi! You could use joint compound in the grooves. It's rather inexpensive, about $8.00 for a 40 lb tub at any home improvement store. Just fill in the grooves w/compound, let dry then sand smooth. I have painted paneling and left the grooves and it looks nice. Good Luck!

quote:<HR>Originally posted by lexie31700:
Can anybody help us?

We have very dark wood paneling in our den, dining room, and hallway. We would like to paint over it. We want the walls to have a smooth texture with no grooves. We are working on a very tight budget. We think that taking the paneling down would be very hard for us. We are a mother and daughter team trying to do this project ourselves. We want to lighten up these rooms.

Please somebody help us!!<HR>

 

The joint compound method is the best way to go.It will probably take two applications because the first coat will shrink a little. Instead of sanding ( dust galore ) use a damp sponge-wringe it out often. Let the wall dry (24hrs) and then prime and top coat. Good luck.

 

One more tip.Prime the paneling first to assure a good bond with the drywall compound.Also take a look at the room after priming to see if not filling the grooves would be acceptable.I kinda like painted paneling.Filling paneling is not for the inexperienced as far as overall smoothness go.But,anything can be sanded smooth if determined enough.One more thing about filling paneling,the joints every four feet will almost always hairline crack in time(weeks to a couple of months)but can be touched up as needed.Good luck!

 

You might want to think about using a product like Durham's Water Putty in the groove and then drywall compound as discussed
in other posts. The drywall compound might tend to break out if the panel is flexed for some reason. (people leaning on the wall).

The putty is a powder you mix with water and apply with a putty knife. It dries and acts more like wood.

Can get it at any Home Depot or most home centers. Come in big tins, not expensive.

 

I owned a mobile home for 8 years and also grew tired of the dark paneling. We not only painted over paneling, but we also applied wallpaper directly onto the paneling. We did not want to have to fill in the grooves in the paneling as it is VERY time consuming. Instead, I chose a wallpaper that had a small flower pattern with stripes going up and down. The stripes in the wallpaper were subtle, yet the pattern meshed very well with the grooves in the paneling and in fact enhanced the appearance of the wall paper, providing it with a rather elegant look! If you'd like to e-mail me for more information, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. One more thing, be sure you clean the paneling with a cleaner....I can't remember the name of it off hand, but I believe it was either tps, or tsp, tpc? something like that....if you ask a professional painter he will know what it is I'm thinking of. It is a process that helps the paint (or wallpaper) adhere to the paneling better. Hope this helps you!

My e-mail address is: jatmi@email.msn.com