Painting Paneling To Update Your Walls

Anyone who grew up in the 70's remembers how popular wood grain paneling was for use on interior walls. Almost every house built during that time had some in at least one room. It wasn't uncommon to see entire homes done in paneling. As the years have gone by, though, this type of wall covering has become quite outdated. There are, however, some homes out there where you can still find it. If you've purchased a home like this, or if you've always had paneling and just haven't gotten around to changing yet, there's no better time to address this issue than right now.

If you want to update your paneling walls, there are a few factors that might effect how you do it, such as the age and construction of your home. Depending on how the paneling is attached, removing it may create more work and expense than you wanted to get into. The only way you can easily remove it is if it was hung directly on the studs. If the paneling is attached to plaster walls or some other material, it could be quite a mess to remove it. This being the case, you may want to consider painting paneling.

Preparing The Surface

When painting paneling, the majority of the time you spend on this project will involve prep work. With any painting project, proper preparation is the key to success. The first step is to make sure the surface is clean and dry. Using some type of de-greasing cleaner should do the trick.

If you have the grooved type of paneling, you can go one of two ways. Some people prefer to leave the grooves when painting paneling, others opt to fill in the grooves to give it the appearance of drywall. If you choose to fill in the grooves, you can do this with some joint compound. Just fill in the grooves and cracks and wait for it to dry. After this, sand down not only the joint compound, but the entire surface as well. At this point, you may notice that some of the grooves are still showing. If this is the case, repeat the process until the surface is flat and flush. Always remember to wipe off any excess dust and debris before painting paneling.

Priming And Painting

Apply a coat of stain blocking primer to allow your paint to adhere better. The stain blocking feature will keep the colors in the paneling from bleeding through your topcoat. After you've prepared the surface and primed it, you can roll on the paint of your choice.

As you can see, painting paneling is not as difficult as it sounds, as long as it is prepared properly. This will not only bring the décor of your room up to date, but it is a lot easier on the wallet than removing or replacing paneling.