Painting - paneling

hi,

i have been thinking of painting my paneling that
is in my dinning room. i went to the "how to" paint paneling
instruction on this site. it is pretty easy to do with
the right tools. however, i have a question on what to do
about the natural grooves in the paneling. it said i need to
use a bonding primer- does this fill in the grooves? i would
not like it if my wall ended up to look like a painted paneled
wall (with those grooves). your suggestions would be very
helpful.

thank you
ruby:)

The bonding primer will not fill in the grooves. You would probably have to use dry-wall joint compound to fill, then sand even with the panels, but it would be a lot of work. Have you seen painted panneling with the grooves? It's really a nice look. Painting a solid color will cause the grooves to "fade" and they will be barely noticeable.

Elizabeth

thank you for your reply, does solid color
mean like a bold/ dark color ?



ruby:)

Hi Ruby,

You're very welcome! By solid, I mean just one color, not necessarily bold or dark. A light color would look wonderful on paneling. If you use the primer first, you will get an idea of how it will look once painted. You can even have the paint store color the primer for you for an even better preview. If at this point you still hate the grooves, you can still fill them in even after you prime. I'd be interested to hear how it comes out.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Elizabeth

hi,

i understand now. i will keep u posted- it will be awhile tho, till
i tackel that project. i'm just now finishing up my bathroom.

i also wish u a safe and happy new year.

peace
ruby

Hello ruby3000, edtree has you straight on the track to see if you can live with the grooves. I agree that in the painted paneling looks better with grooves that filled. Long term even when done properly the filled groove can hairline crack. Do as edtree suggests and consider an eggshell finish coat in any color for a very nice look.....Mike



P.S. You probably know this but if you will search the archives for your posts when you make some progress you can leave your updates in this thread so all can follow.

thank you for your reply and for the p.s. hint at the bottom.

chat with you all later

I just painted my grandmothers paneling for her.After aplying a primer coat (plain flat paint)so i could see everything better i caulked the cracks where it put together.Rubed it smooth the same depth as the lines in it,and filled the nail holes that showed with drywall mud. Then aplyed semigloss it looks great.The wood grain pattern really looks good.I decided on semigloss for hers because she picked a kinda dark pink color and i wanted the patern to show.To my surprise it looked great i was aginst it at first because it was very pretty paneling.But she wanted a change.

If you prime with pain flat paint wait for a small spot to dry and check by scathing it to see if it bonds.I suspect some paneling would need a good primer.Like if its really shiney.

for sharing your experience. my paneling is very dark and shiny.
so i will need to get a really good primer. i'm not sure how long the paneling has been up, i have owed the house now for 15 years and i believe the people that had it before me probably did not put the paneling up.

in one way i would like to take it down, but my house is over 100 years old and i'm not sure what type of can of worms i would be opening if i take the paneling down.

thank you again for sharing and telling me the tips u used to make it pretty.

take care

I too have a 100 year old home that some previous owner paneled. While I would like to take the panelling down...I know that I don't want the headache of the lathe and plaster that is behind it.

I did paint the panelling an eggshell flat paint. My window casements and baseboards are the original stain. The paneling looks great. I did not fill the grooves...way too much work and results are "if". I am pleased with the results.

Good luck
Janie