How to Paint Paneling

I'm not sure if I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd received a couple of copies of Falling Star magazine with my story, "Date Night at the Drive-in" inside. Here is a picture of the magazine. I wish the story was available online because I really like and want more people to read it.

It's been a busy summer, which is great. My son Sam and I have been going to baseball games every week, sometimes two or three times a week. Add that to his Tai Kwon Do, Kung Fu, and swimming lessons, and we don't have many free nights. Right now my wife and I are painting our living room. It is paneling, so we are just painting over it. Every room in our house is paneled and I've painted three of them so far. It looks great when finished, but it's a lot of work. For your reading pleasure, here is an article I wrote about painting paneling. I published it on Yahoo Contributor Network, but I think they've shut that down so this is now the only place to see it. It's a Gary Sprague interior painting exclusive. You never know what you are going to learn here.

Tips on How to Paint Paneling

Gary Sprague, Yahoo Contributor Network

     

If the dark paneled walls of your living room remind you of bell bottoms, ashtrays and The Brady Bunch, it may be time to make a change. Unless you like that sort of thing, of course. But for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that you want to move into the twenty-first century.
How can you get rid of the paneling? Well, taking down paneling and installing some other type of wall board, such as sheetrock, can be time-consuming. It can also be expensive, especially if a professional contractor needs to be hired. A good alternative is to simply paint over the paneling. But how can I do that, you ask? It's pretty easy, especially if you pay attention to a few details.

Tape It
As with any interior painting job, you will want to get some painters tape and cover up trim, electrical outlets, and anything else you don't want covered in paint

Don't Use Paint Mixed With Primer
You will need to put down a coat of primer before you paint the paneling. Paint mixed with primer is a great time saver on some surfaces, but it doesn't work on paneling. Sorry, but you'll have to put down a coat of primer first. Use the same color paint and primer, if possible.

Use a Paintbrush to Cover the Seams
Before applying the paint with a roller, paint the seams with a paintbrush. Yes, that's right, every single seam. A roller, even an extra-thick roller, will not go deep enough to fully paint the paneling seams. It's a much longer process, yes, but it really does a much better job. Unfortunately, this will need to be done for both the primer and the paint.

Use a Good Quality Paint
Painting paneling usually requires more than one coat. With a good-quality paint, you can get away with two coats. With a poorer quality paint, it will take a least three, especially if the paneling is dark. Trust me, I made this mistake once. The extra cost of the better paint is worth not having to do an extra coat or two.