# Painting Wood Paneling



## Ian (Oct 30, 2007)

Yo, Ya'll!

I'm hoping someone could offer me advice on wall finishing. The house I just bought is finished on the inside with wood wall paneling, some of it is real wood veneer over wood sheets and some of it is masonite with a simulated wood face.

From an aesthetic preference, the paneling has got to go. Instead of tearing all of the paneling down and replacing it with sheetrock (a financial kick in the teeth) I tried floating the entire wall with drywall mud, the goal being to hide/fill the grooves before I prime and paint. It didn't work. Even with a thick, deliberately troweled texture made with the float knife, the grooves are plain as day.

How can I make the grooves disappear? Should I put a second coat of mud over the first and just try to make it really thick? Or should I fill the grooves with something else?

Thanks!


----------



## Daryl (Oct 31, 2007)

You won't fill the grooves with one coat of drywall mud. Since you've started with this method it would be hard to change in midstream. It could take several coats to fill the grooves. Drywall mud contains a large amount of fliud which leaves the surface as it dries hence the shrinkage. When you say "float" are you actually trying to cover the whole wall surface with a thick coat of material? Drywall mud must be applied in thin layers to prevent cracking due to  heavy buildup to quickly. Only fill the grooves and nail holes for the first couple of coats. Keep your coats as smooth as possible to avoid having to sand your arms off and causing a huge dust cloud! Once the groovesd have become level to the surrounding surface another few coats are needed to fill the grain in the paneling surface. For future tasks like this it is better to lightly sand the surface, Prime with sealer primer then start your filling with two coats of time set compound. 45 min. stuff should give you enough time to work. THis material won't shrink nearly as much. Just make sure you smooth it down every coat. Lets you work at a much faster pace too!


----------



## StevePM (Nov 30, 2007)

I would try to go for a venetian plaster look.  The rough plaster texture will camouflage the lines in the paneling and you won't have to further texture the walls. 

I had some damaged walls in my master bed/bath and did a plaster-look over the top with drywall mud and it looks fabulous.

You'll need to prime the drywall mud after it dries.  I'd suggest tinting the primer to your final wall color to reduce the number of painter coats you'll need to apply.


----------



## Daryl in Nanoose (Jan 13, 2008)

I was curious to how far you have gotten with this project and hows it going??


----------



## booft (Jan 13, 2008)

StevePM said:


> a venetian plaster look



Is this hard to do. Right now I have a den like room that has panel all over it, and someone decided to paint atop it, so it looks like crap. I have no idea what to do with it but its slowly driving me insane.


----------



## ToolGuy (Jan 13, 2008)

Use light weight spackle, such as Red Devil "One Time", to fill the grooves. You can tell the light weight from regular spackle because the container at the store feels like it's half empty. Becuase very little liquid is used in it, it doesn't shrink nearly as much as joint compound. It should fill those grooves in 2 applications. 

Use new (sharp) sand paper to sand it smooth, as dull sandpaper doesn't work well - you need the cutting action. 120 is a good grit to use. 

Prime, paint, admire. 

Not sure but I'm guessing in UK they have something similar but of a different brand.


----------

