How To Paint Paneling
Interior, Painting & Finishing, Video by Danny Lipford
A lot of people are considering painting 70’s paneling in their own house. Danny gets some tips from a professional on just how to paint that paneling and its trim.
21 Comments on “How To Paint Paneling”
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July 27th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
What can I do to get rid of the lines in the paneling. Because it looks just like painted paneling to me. thanks Norma
Danny Lipford Says:August 18th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
About the only thing you can do other than replacing the paneling is to fill in the grooves with drywall joint compound using a 6in drywall knife. Then you will need to sand, prime and paint the walls.
August 28th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I have used textured paint with a degree of success however it depends on whether you want textured walls or not.
Depending on how thick the paint texture is you will still see lines when the light hits just right if you aren’t very careful in painting. filling the grooves is the obvious answer..texture painting is the easy way out but not always the best solution.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I covered the grooves in my paneling by covering it with a wallpaper product that I purchased at Lowes. It is basically a heavy white paper with no pattern that I put up like wallpaper and gently smoothed over the paneling. There were one or two places in the panelling that was irregular and that showed thru the paper, but otherwise I was well satisfied with the “sheetrock” look of the wall.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Yes I have used that same paper on a home we lived in that was built in the 1800s and of course all the walls were in perfect condition..cough….
It didnt work that well for me in that situation…I used textured paint there as well then decorative painting on top. It came out beautifully. Wish I had pics..unfortunately we rented the house and when we moved out a contractor bought it and put up an apartment complex..what a shame. Three fireplaces..etc. But the sills were bad and alot of work would have to had been done to restore the home which is why we moved and bought our house here on the lake which brings its own set of problems like flooding.. which I am dealing with now.
January 20th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
After experimenting with many different paneling “groove fillers”, I found something that worked and seems like it will be durable. When I tried Joint Compound, spackling, caulk – paint just scratched off easily. It is Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler it is paintable and sandable, comes in a tube and only $2 at target. Be sure to sand excess using a drywall sanding block (it is soft) spray some water on the filled in areas and it is very clean to use. This stuff probably only works if you have paneling with shallow grooves. Use a sanding block to Sand in the grooves a bit before applying.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
I have just bought a mobile home and it has all the walls and cieling covered with wood paneling. I want to paint them but what type of paint should I buy???
March 21st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
i would like to paint my paneling, but i am not sure of the color that i would like to paint, (furniture is victorian style) colors on the furniture is pink,mavue,blue,gold,teal,beige, my rug also has the same colors (the wood color is cherry) and my curtains are a mauve color, do you have any suggestions or tell me where i can look to see what color would go well???
April 17th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
WE just bought a mobile home,even though it is nice every thing is late 70’s early 80’s paneling.I’d like to know the easiest way to paint it without any seams or shadows of them showing.It also has a huge sorta window sill behind the bed in the master bedroom,it looks like plywood,how could I make it look more like real wood.Al so some of the panels on the hall ceiling needs replaced.I’d rather just put in a plaster ceiling,how? And the bathroom had a look of puffy glow in dark stickers on the walls and ceiling.I took them off but they left a lot of residue,if I paint over it it will show terribly.How do I remove all the residue?
Thank You.
May 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Sorry I am so late answering these questions but I have been ill and not paying alot of attention to the site. Martha m: I would use a latex eggshell or satin paint of good quality. I like the texture effect but if you are going for a “cottage feel” then perhaps whitewashing the paneling is the route to go. remember to sand the panelling a bit to give it “tooth” to let the paint adhere to.
Milly: As far as your question goes, look at a color wheel. Find the predominate color of the room..in your case it sounds like mauve. Then look across the wheel to find the complentary color.. you can also go monochromatic or autogolous, but for suggestions try going to behr.com or valspar.com and they have actual rooms that you can try different colors on. If you subscribe to the behr site you can upload your own pics and actually see what the colors will look like on the walls. You have alot of colors going on there. I would tend to stay with a very neutral color such as ivory.. with a tint of green red or yellow in it depending on what colors you want to highlight. When you have so many colors going on, make sure you find a good focal point so the eye isnt going crazy when you walk into the room. make sure when you enter that it focuses on one thing then its more soothing to the eye.
Denise.. you can faux finish anything to make it look like a wood finish.. gel stains are good for that. as far as the ceiling goes you dont want plaster you probably want sheetrock.. and the residue can be removed easily usually with a product called goof off or sometimes wd 40 will take it off. if that doesnt work there are stronger adhesive removeers on the market. just make sure that it doesnt damage the material underneath.
I hope this helps.
July 6th, 2008 at 7:58 am
I am attempting to remove 2 layers of wallpaper over hardwood paneling in our bedroom. Our home was built in 1957-58,we live where my husband grew up.
What is the best way to paint the paneling after paper removal. (my husband likes the paneling, he remembers it from a small child)uhgg . Is it okay to prime/paint only?
Should I fill in the grooves first?
September 17th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
do you think drywalling over old paneling is good idea?
January 19th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I have a 1950’s beach cottage with knotty pine wals and want to paint them off white to give that beachy feel. I was told that there is a primer that adheres to polyurethane. That way I don’t have to sand the whole darn room. Is this true and do you know the name? Thanks
January 28th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
[...] Is it really wallpaper? Or, is it decorative paneling that looks like wallpaper? Many of the older mobile homes had paneling on which there was a pattern stamped so the panels looked like wallpaper. If you are not the original owner, it is possible that a previous owner wallpapered over the paneling. Check carefully to see if there is a seam that is raised or coming undone. Find a corner to see if you can lift any wallpaper. If you do, indeed, have wallpaper, it needs to be removed. The panels likely have plastic strips between them. Lazy wallpapers often paper over these. The plastic strips can be removed and the gaps filled with spackle. When dry, sand smooth. Removing wallpaper requires a little patience. You can buy a paper tiger, a little gizzo that punctures little holes in the paper, at the local paper/paint store. The more holes the better. Put a tablespoon of fabric softener in a quart spray bottle of water. Saturate paper. Use a putty knife to lift and peel off. Wash walls down afterwards to make sure all adhesive residue is removed. After you have removed wallpaper or have determined that you simply have decorative paneling, you need to very lightly sand, apply oil-based primer and apply a couple coats of latex paint. In the following video, the painter used a tinted acrylic primer. DIY: How To Paint Paneling – Danny Lipford [...]
February 5th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I am trying to decide what color and how to paint over the notty pine walls and ceilings. I love it but the stain is too dark. I have a new white bedroom set, and I would like to make the room like a seaside cottage look, as I live on the water. If you have any suggestions, I would appreciate it. Sarah
Ben Erickson Says:February 5th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Sarah,
For info on painting knotty pine, check out our article How to Paint Knotty Pine.
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I have a mobile home that has panelling that looks like wallpaper and has a shiny texture. Can I paint over this and would I need to put Kilz or a type of primer first?
Ben Erickson Says:April 3rd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Hi Jacki,
It’s probably a vinyl coating, which does not hold paint well.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I just purchased a manufactured home built in 2005, I love the home but I hate the walls, they are textured but I can’t make out if they are wallpapered or if its a panel every couple of feet there is a strip running vertically,that has the same print on it… can i remove that strip and paint the walls?
October 24th, 2009 at 10:41 am
i am having a problem with painting my paneling. I cleaned the paneling and primed to get it ready for painting but now i am painting it with white paint, i have had to apply 3 coats of white paint. The paint is holding to the walls but it seems no matter how many coats i put on it, it wont cover up the dark color of the paneling. What else should i do?
March 16th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I am trying to paint my mobil home I have used primer and it still peeling off the paint in some places.It also has paneling that looks like wallpapper.I am at a stand still.Please help!