paneling in every room. We put masking tape on the ruts and wallpapered over it. It was still up 5 years later. Others have filled in the gaps in the paneling and then painted, just a little more work.It really does depend on the end look you are looking for, if you want to keep the paneling then google how to freshen them - such as this site http://www.ehow.com/info_12112063_dated-pane...