# first home...wood paneling...i need help!!



## Christian (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi everyone, I need some help!!

I just bought my first house. The master bedroom (upstairs of a bungalow style home) is done in wood paneling. The problem is, 2 of the walls are done with cheap (flat with the grooves) type paneling, and 2 walls are done with real wood. The bottom half of the real wood walls have wider (1/2" or so) and deeper (3/8" maybe) grooves. The top of the real wood wall is done with wood "planks" (I'm sorry for my bad description here) that sort of resemble flattened half circles. about the shape of "(" put up vertically next to each other...if that makes any sense to anyone out there...haha.

Being on a budget (who isn't), I need to know what I could do with this room. If it was all cheap wood paneling, I'd just paint it all and be done with it (the grooves don't really bother me). I also thought of painting the cheap stuff and leaving the real wood...but then I wouldn't know how to decorate. What paint color could I use on the fake panel walls that would go with the real wood? (the carpet is a light cream neutral color). Or would it be feasible to paint the real stuff too...even though the texture would be different than the other walls...the color would match. Or maybe paint them a different color like an accent wall? Or would painting the different paneling designs on the same wall look stupid? Or maybe tear off the real wood and drywall those 2 walls but leave the paneling on the other walls (they're much larger, so that's where the cost of drywalling the whole room will really add up). 

If anyone has any ideas that could help me with my situation...I'd really appreciate it!! I'm open to anything at this point...


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## glennjanie (Mar 25, 2008)

Welcome Chrisitian:
I would paint all the panneling for now. Then, after the initial shock of home purchasing wears off and the budget looks a little better, you could consider drywall wherever the paneling doesn't look good to you.
I like accent walls in painted rooms; they make the room look bigger and give more options for decorating.
Glenn


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## guyod (Mar 25, 2008)

You could always take cheap  paneling off. there will be spackling or dry wall behind it. it probably needs some patching but i doubt it isnt anything a $12 5 gallon bucket of spackling cant fix. You could also wall paper the upper half there is very nice wall paper out these days that look like faux finishes. i dont know if you can wall paper over paneling maybe someone else can answer that.


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## learning (Mar 25, 2008)

I recently removed cheap wood paneling from drywall.  Three issues: (a) nails cause a disproportionate amount of damage to the drywall; (b) constrution adhesive; (c) mold.  The nail damage was easy enough to repair, but be careful when you remove the paneling or you'll make "L" shaped holes in the walls.  I was never able to entirely remove the constrution adhesive.  I sanded it as best as I could, added a thin spackle "screen" and primed.  Pretty good result.  Had to use bleach on the walls and that helped-but beware that there could be mold.  Keep the kids and animals away.


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## Christian (Mar 26, 2008)

Thanks for the info everyone.

If I paint all of the paneling, my gf and I were thinking of painting the room a light, calm blue/grey. If I did the wood wall (with the 2 different patterns/textures) in a darker blue to match the stripes on her comforter and act like an accent wall...would that look good?

I know it is difficult without seeing the wall...but my main concern is the 2 different types of paneling (on the top and bottom of the wall). Will it look strange or tacky if I paint it?

Thanks for all of your opinions everyone.

Christian


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## Square Eye (Mar 26, 2008)

Paint isn't so expensive that you can't go back and change it.. Try painting it the way you want to, if it doesn't look right...



She'll let you know


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## Christian (Apr 1, 2008)

OK everyone...I'm closing on my new house on Friday, and I've started planning/budgeting my master bedroom remodel. I've decided to paint all the paneling instead of replacing it (for now at least), and I want to prime with Kilz primer (I'm told that's the best??). 

They have original Kilz (oil based), and Kilz II (latex, water based, $25 more for the bucket). does it matter which one I use? (other than 1 needs more than soap and water to clean up). Will 1 cover the paneling better than the other? Also, should I just clean up and sand before priming? Any other steps or things to look out for?

thanks everyone. this site is a wealth of information.


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## Square Eye (Apr 1, 2008)

Kilz II is much easier to use. I have used it on wood paneling and had excellent results, good coverage, good bonding, etc.. One room should take less than one gallon. $25.00 should buy a gallon of Kilz II just about anywhere.


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## glennjanie (Apr 1, 2008)

Hey Christian:
I like to do things more efficiently and less labor intensive. (Now there are some who would call that, 'being lazy' but I call it working smarter. In your case; rather than sanding all that panneling, I would use liquid sandpaper which softens the present pain and makes it more bodable to the new paint. And its a whole lot easier.
Glenn


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## Christian (Apr 4, 2008)

glennjanie said:


> Hey Christian:
> I like to do things more efficiently and less labor intensive. (Now there are some who would call that, 'being lazy' but I call it working smarter. In your case; rather than sanding all that panneling, I would use liquid sandpaper which softens the present pain and makes it more bodable to the new paint. And its a whole lot easier.
> Glenn



what kind of "liquid sandpaper"? like a deglosser? could anyone give me like a brand name or a product to look for?

also, can anyone recommend what to use to clean the walls? i'm not sure what kind of degreaser or cleaner would work the best.

i'm going to prime with kilz II and then paint. can anyone recommend a type of brush to cut in on the paneling and/or a type or roller to use?

thanks for the info everyone.

christian


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## guyod (Apr 4, 2008)

Killz 11 only costs $13 in my area and it takes 3 coats to fully cover paneling. The guy i work for flipping houses for coats everything in killz and leaves it as a finished color. 2 coats and your paint should give a good finish. I would get a thick roller and push really hard to get in the seams. i used a brush some times but it just takes too long even just painting the seams and rolling the rest.


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## dgpnla (Mar 29, 2009)

Would some of u be so kind as to send me photos of painted paneling (w/out grooves filled)?  For some reason, I can't view any of the photos in "attachments" here.  My email address is [email protected].  I'm seriously considering painting my den paneling using Kilz paint.  Thank you so much!


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## svey (Apr 29, 2009)

In my basement, I've sanded the panel s with a random orbit sander (80 grit), washed everything down with TSP solution, rinsing well, taped all the grove with fiberglass drywall tape.  I've applied joint compound with drywall knive (6 inches over the tape), after the mud dried, I've scraped the high spot. I then rolled more drywall mud on the wall (thinned to whip cream consistency), working 2 feet section, knocking down texture with wide knive.  2 coats with the roller gave me nice wall ready for primer and paint.  It has been 4 years and everything is still looking ok.


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## Christian (Apr 29, 2009)

dgpnla said:


> Would some of u be so kind as to send me photos of painted paneling (w/out grooves filled)?  For some reason, I can't view any of the photos in "attachments" here.  My email address is [email protected].  I'm seriously considering painting my den paneling using Kilz paint.  Thank you so much!



I don't have any pictures handy but the job is done and it looks pretty darn good for the time/money spent. I'd go for it.

If I take some pictures soon I will email them to you.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Apr 29, 2009)

I've never used KILZ II, so I can't comment on the stuff.

However, if the objective here is to paint over glossy panelling only so that it can be stomached until it can be replaced, then I'm wondering if a better game plan wouldn't be to:

Prime it with Zinsser's Bullseye 123 latex primer, and then paint over that.  Zinsser's boasts that their Bullseye 123 will stick to smooth surfaces like glazed ceramic wall tile, high gloss polyurethane, galvanized sheet metal and other smooth materials.  I've never painted over a smoother surface with Bullseye 123, as I typically use it only as a primer over bare plaster or bare drywall.

However, it seems to me if we're using Liquid sandpaper to dull the gloss of the existing substrate, whether a more effective gameplan would be to use a primer that will stick well to that glossy substrate (like 123) and then topcoat over the 123.

I really don't know if this is a good idea or a bad idea.  I'm just saying it makes some kinda horse sense to me.


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## Christian (Apr 30, 2009)

The Kilz worked great. 

I actually didn't sand or do hardly any prep work either. The paneling wasn't very glossy to begin with.


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## dakuda (Apr 30, 2009)

Christian said:


> I don't have any pictures handy but the job is done and it looks pretty darn good for the time/money spent. I'd go for it.
> 
> If I take some pictures soon I will email them to you.



I would like to see the pictures as well.  Please post them in the thread.

I thought about doing that when I bought my house.  I wound up tearing down the paneling and putting up new walls and patching those that I could.  There was paneling in almost every room in the house.


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## Christian (Apr 30, 2009)

I will take some pictures tonight and post them.


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## Albert_23 (Oct 26, 2010)

Any updates on the photos?  I'm really interested in seeing this.


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## donnamabob (Oct 31, 2010)

Drywall would be ideal, but if you can't afford it then you can't afford it. My parents had a similar situation in their family room - so what they did was paint the paneling white and then "antique" it by brushing on some stain. This achieved sort of a white washed look. They then took this a step further and gave it an old farm house look by lining the corners with some old beat up wood boards that they stained to a darker finish. They even bought some raud iron (sp?) pieces to "attach" the boards to each other with. The entire project ended up costing under $200 - and now that they have the money to drywall the room, they're choosing not to because of all of the compliments they've received on the "country charm" of the home.


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## joecaption (Jan 11, 2011)

We just did one like this. We removed all the paneling that was nailed and glued on. Smoothed out the walls and went over the whole thing with 1/4" sheetrock. We used Loc Tite Qwick Grip and very few screws, Looks perfect now and only cost about $100.00 in materials.


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