How do I fill in big holes in old paneling?

Hello. I would purchase a putty knife and wood putty. Use the knife to push the putty into the holes and try to get as flush with the paneling as possible. Let it dry and repeat if necessary. Then sand to blend in with the paneling. Good Luck!

Hi Rda,

Just a couple of tips. If your paneling is wood and you want to match it, be sure to purchase stainable wood putty. Some wood putty doesn't work with stains. If you're going to paint the whole project be sure to lightly sand the whole thing and use a coat of primer before you paint.

Linda

What I have done is take a piece of cardboard with a string in the middle big enough to cover the whole then hold it in place with string and put compound over hole so all is covered let dry give another coat keep doing til level then when dry cut string close as possibl

Is it possible to purchase replacement paneling that matches and cut out the damaged plank on the seam?

My paneling is painted, with a remodel a window was removed and it was paneled over, since the paneling was painted —this repair not noticeable.

Since you are painting it I would use auto body filler (Bondo) instead of wood putty. It has better adhesion than wood fill. It sets up quite quickly and just before it fully sets up you can scrape it to reduce sanding. YouTube is full of videos.

Hi,

Can you upload some photo's so we can see the size of the problem, so we can better advise?

Hello. If photograph might be helpful.

Is your paneling wood town or heated.

The correction we might suggest could depend on your paneling color.

In my own situation we removed a bedroom window inset in our paneling with construction and they just paneled over the window to match and the painted wall. You can’t even tell the window was ever there. In this way a painted paneling wall situation is a very easy repair.

Take it down an put dry wall

Or new wood panels