Updating Wood Paneling

White wash the paneling or paint it

Try doing a web search for "painted wood paneling," for IMAGES, and go from there. You'll be able to go to the web page/article from there. This is just a shortcut to seeing some folks' projects. Doing a regular article search with the same string will take you to wonderful information.

You could always paint it. There are many techniques that you could use like pickleing that allows the wood grain to show through, or even solid paint.

If you don’t want the grooves, Wall Liner is the perfect solution for old paneling. Once installed, you can paint the wall liner and you have a flat colored wall.

I am sorry I dont have any pictures

😊

Whitewashing is not that difficult and certainly brightens the room.

https://homesteady.com/how-7664642-whitewash-interior-walls.html

You can fill in the lines with a sanding compound, sand smooth, prime and then paint. Works well.

I agree, pictures would be helpful. Please provide some. What would you like to accomplish besides updating since wood is a timeless look?

Paint works well over paneling. If you want to make the kitchen brighter that is a low-fuss low-expense option. Cleaning and proper surface preparation is the key though. You need to get years of accumulated cooking residue off and dull the surface before cracking the paint can open.

If you planning to sell, remove it. Otherwise it can be painted.... I use semi-gloss Kitchen & Bath paint and added 1/2 c of baking soda to make it a chalk paint finish. If it has the vertical lines you can decide if you want to fill those with joint compound and sand smooth for a smoother wall look. Otherwise, I cut in the ceiling, corners and vertical lines first, then rolled it out using a smooth foam roller or a low nap roller. I did pre-wash the walls. You can also prime it so you don't have to do two coats,, I just did 2 coats.