Painting dark paneling???

Pyesangel
by Pyesangel
Hi, I have dark paneling in the family room and dark wood cabinets in the kitchen. Any suggestions as how to go about painting them. They aren't 'shiny' more of a 'matte' finish. Thanks for any help.

  7 answers
  • William William on May 19, 2018

    For the cabinets


    Make sure they are clean and dry. Remove the doors and hardware. Mark the doors and cabinets with tape where they go. Lightly sand the doors and cabinets to remove any gloss and roughen the surface for paint with 120- to 220-grit sandpaper. Use a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust after sanding. Prime with a stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123, KILZ,or BIN and have it tinted to the color of the top coat. This will prevent dark or stained surfaces from showing through the top coat. Acrylic, or water-base, paints are low-fume and clean up easily with water. Alkyd, or oil-base, paints require good ventilation because the paint contains solvents that can irritate your lungs and make you feel sick. Alkyd options require mineral spirits for cleanup, but they provide a hard, durable paint finish. Whichever you use, buy the best-quality paint you can afford for a lasting kitchen cabinet finish. Seal with at least three coats with a water based polyurethane. Use a small foam roller and foam brush for a smooth finish.

  • William William on May 19, 2018

    For the paneling


    Make sure the paneling is clean and dry. Prime with a good stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123 or BIN. Then paint like painting regular walls. If the paneling has grooves you can fill them with non shrink drywall patching compound. Just put on enough to fill the grooves. Let it dry overnight. Next day use a damp sponge to smooth the patch. Then prime and paint.

  • Mar21225774 Mar21225774 on May 19, 2018

    I painted our panelling a no. of yrs. ago, and it sure brightened up the room. I scuffed it up, primed, and then painted.

  • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on May 19, 2018

    Williams directions are excellent. If there's any buildup on the paneling, you can use TSP for the initial cleaning

  • Yup, William and laura are spot on. Clean with tsp (trisodiumphosphate) you find it with paint materials, and use a great primer! Seriously, don't skimp on the primer! Oh, and don't even attempt this with a brush! You will be sorry

  • Susan Marie Racine Susan Marie Racine on May 22, 2018

    I filled in the grooves with patch, smoothed that down, then wallpapered over with string (real string) wallpaper. Gave a nice casual texture to the walls,