We have oak-colored wood paneling in our living room and we want to paint over it. My first question is what do we need to do to it in terms of sanding, priming, etc.?
My second question is how do we go about choosing a shade of “white”? Our living room is big but is a little dark. I want it to look lighter, but still cozy. We have dark wood furniture and a light beige carpet. We could paint the walls white or more of a cream color. Even a light yellow or blue would be ok. I want the feel of the room to be clean but warm. I just don’t know how to decide what kind of undertones the paint color should have, or how to go about deciding. Thanks!
We like the look of the painted paneling. We don’t want to remove the paneling, cover it, or fill in the seams.
FREDERIC
Comments
Wash it down and paint it with Killz, then use the regular paint. Try a buff color. It’s warm & goes with everything.
I have painted paneling and I love the effect. First, make sure it is clean! nothing sticks to dirt. Start with a good cleaning, sanding and a good primer. I like Kilz. Primer is cheaper than paint so tint the primer to your wall color. by your description, I would go in the direction of beige or sand color. Keep it neutral and then you can use accent colors. happy painting!
When we painted over some paneling in our basement, we used Kilz paint which has a primer in it (one step painting). We did nothing else - no sanding, etc. It worked fine.
I would suggest using a light cream, beige, etc. White walls tend to “scream” at you and appear stark.
Good luck - I hope your room turns out great. Anything is better than paneling!
You need to use a cleaner to wipe the paneling down that will remove the oils from it. So don’t use something like pine-sol. Then you need to use a really good primer like Kilz or Zinser. I think they make a cleaner especially for painting paneling. As far as the shade, Home depot has a guide in thier stores for what shades look brightest in different lights I would take a few samples home. I used a shade with pink undertones for a basement that we painted over paneling. It looked great.
there is a primer for panelling. it works great - i used it. the paint took very well. home depot. as for color- yellow undertones are warmest. what is your most important piece of furniture? pick paint to complement that.
give it a good wash with sugar soap.use a white undercoat,about 2 coats,then i would go for a cream colour,or an apple green.pure white would make the room too much like a hospital ward.
Depending on the type of paneling, it can range from paper over composite, to thin wood veneer over plywood, If you sand it,, you will likely sand through the paper/veneer and make a mess, so you can either live with the texture or put thin (3/8) drywall over it, and paint. The other option would be to remove it then drywall (in case case go for 3/4)
When i moved into my house 2 i/2 years ago,i too had oak paneling.What i did was cleaned it with soap and water first,making sure there was no residue of soap or film left,then i used Kilz primer(latex).I applied two coats of primer,then finished off with antique white.This color was very accomidating.Its between a white and light yellow.Since i prepped the surface,taking my time to detail,i have not had to repaint or do anything else.
I hope this helps you.
My husband and I just did this in our house.
Clean the paneling with some type of all purpose cleaner. If there are greasy spots(handprints) on it then the paint won’t adhere.
Then we painted with Kilz primer and painted two coats of our color. Looks great!
I painted white over my dark paneling; Eveyone said I had to use Kilz on it first, but I didn*t and after 5 years it is still holding up. Of course if you have young ones who may be pounding on the walls and knock off the paint that is a different story. Try one wall and see how it looks. No sense in doing something twice if once will do it.BTW go to DutchBoy.com or HGTV.com and on their search engines type in Living Rooms; you will get some ideas.
Most of the time paneling had a glossy finish, you will need to sand to remove this finish and give the paint a tooth. You could sand it fairly quickly with a pole sander, then wipe down or vacuum.
Definitely apply a primer first before the finish coat.
wash it with a degreaser first…i used TPS, comes in liquid or powder. you have to clean it first of the kiltz or primer will not hold. it will be a mess, all the oils and dirt will be dripping down the walls as you clean. you will be amazed at just the diff. that will make. prime & paint.
as for the colors…sounds like warn tones would be your best shot. get samples an put them in various spots on your wall to get a better idea.
GL
