Painted Paneling

Have you ever lived in an old house?  Yeah me too, I wish I could say it was our first home but nope it's our second home and we still have paneling :(

This sweet Angel baby wanted her room redone

So we called and got an estimate for dry walling her room.......EEEK!!!!  yeah that isn't going to happen sweetie.  

Her room is in the upstairs of a very old, outdated house w/ some really cool angles however having the room dry walled is way expensive so paint the paneling…..eeek I LOATHE PANELING!!! Loathe it…unfortunately I have not lived in a newer home w/ drywall thru-out in my adult life so I am pretty good at painting paneling!  So good that I have had people ask where I bought the stuff.  The gasp when I tell them it was ugly paneling that I painted still cracks me up.  

Here is a before

See what I mean…EEEEEK  I hate this paneling….It is was all over this house.  Slowly but surely I will conquer the paneling and replace it all w/ drywall and or paint!  I will even if it kills me. I know it looks dirty but I assure you I washed it. (our home was a rental for a long time…it was very very abused but cheap)  

1.  Start by washing down the paneling with warm soapy water.  allow it to dry 

First we did our homework and since this is our second OLD  well loved home we knew it could be done, and we could do it better.  We did learn a few tricks from our old old house.  The biggest thing we learned was TINTED PRIMER and how it is your friend.....No really get the primer tinted.  I don't care what you have been told or by who get that primer tinted it will save you a coat of paint later and it is way cheaper than the paint.  besides tinting is free so tint it already.  

2.  TINT your primer 

(note to self take a picture of the container next time)  

We started by using a tinted primer….I bought the 5 gallons of primer from Menards way back had it tinted a khaki…light brown beige color (covers the lines better than plain white)  If you are gonna paint over your ugly paneling, face it you know it's ugly you need primer.    For her room we only used about a gallon and a half .  I use  Kilz brand Primer just my preference.  

3.  gather painting supplies

cheap brushes and rollers

throw away paint trays

I do not use good paint brushes or rollers on my paneling projects.  I buy the cheap paint kit from the cheap store….for $10.  It comes w/ 2 regular rollers, a trim roller, a trim brush, and a couple of foam brushes.  It is cheap and you don’t feel bad throwing it away when you are done.  It really is all you need to get rid of that ugly paneling.  

4.  Start by using the trim brush to fill in the paneling lines like this. 

I usually try to 

5.blend/dry brush in diagonal pattern after I have filled in the lines.  It seems to help when you roll the primer to keep it even.

  

.It takes time…but be patient it is worth it.  

This is the wall between the bedroom entering the hallway and the doorway to the walk in closet.  It's about 4 foot wide.  Now that you have all the lines and holes filled and feathered/blended it is time for the roller

6. Roll primer over the whole surface

This is a shot of that same 4ft wall completely primered….Hubby forgot to tell me he was getting ready to roll the paint on….so I was a bit late.

I have to say that I could live with just the primer….it is wayyyy better than the paneling and already so much brighter.  Now for our daughters room we were trying to go cheap…and since we don’t have a Lowes, or Home Depot, or Sherwin Williams nearby or even a Menards …Yep we went with  elcheapo from the cheap big box store.  

7.  Pick a paint color and type of paint We used a semi gloss  

(S. wanted YELLOW and I wanted white, so a white with a yellow base was used)

8. Roll away one coat will do but 2 coats is best

to save $ you can use elcheapo first and finish with a coat of 

$$ paint

we didn't bother with expensive rollers here either    

 See how it turned out!!!  Make sure you Check out those angles! 

Ok I know I should have painted that ceiling before we started on the walls but really…I hate painting the ceiling and Hubby wasn’t home when I started so we did it last.  Here is a close up. 

See the lines still showing up in this pic…above? 

Yeah that is because the paneling was hung over old plaster walls and isn't tight.  Take your sponge brush and fill it in and or use some caulk to fill the gap.  It takes time.  Just like when you paint drywall you will need to trim it all up with the brush.  The first time is really frustrating….I remember it and I was frustrated beyond words with  those pesky lines.  I have painted paneling and used the pesky lines as guides for striped walls and they also turned out fantastic but that was in our first house, and I don’t have pics. :(  Be patient, turn up the music, and remember the after is soooo worth it!!  

Yeah yeah I know Start with the ceiling!  Someday I will learn this.

and someday I hope to do better tutorials but I think you get the idea :)  

I'll do a late post with how we finished her room and the $$ saving stuff we decorated with.....

YOU WILL BE AMAZED