Wood paneling

Leanna
by Leanna
We moved into my grandparents old farm house. The living room has old dark paneling on the walls. I would like to paint the paneling a lighter color. Any ideals how i need yo do it?
  3 answers
  • The easy answer is paint. But that is not always the case. Most of us older folks used lemon oils on the wall paneling, and even more so if its real wood and not plywood type paneling. In any case the trick to being successful with this is the prep. You will need to wash the walls down really well to remove any older oils that could be on the surface. A light sanding once its cleaned first in next in line. Do not need to go crazy with the sand paper or sand sponge, but enough to dull the surface if you can. Then clean the walls again. Follow by a good quality primer. If your grandparents were smokers or there were smokers in the house, I would uses a Bins primer Ideally oil based if you can deal with the odors for a few days. Once dry follow up with a good quality paint of your choice. If you do not seal properly the wood, there will be all sorts of color issues with the final coat. With prior smokers, you can put a dozen coats of primer and paint and the yellow can still bleed through. Oil base will seal any nicotine from coming through the surface.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Sep 02, 2014
    Woodbridge is totally correct! Smoking odor is awful to get rid of...it has to be sealed off! Just make sure you do not rush through cleaning it after sanding! Please post before and after photos!
  • Peggie B- Peggie B- on Sep 02, 2014
    My kitchen and family room were