Skim coat paneling to create a new look for your walls.
Over time, paneling can begin to look worn and shabby or simply outdated. Painting paneling is one option to update your wall's style, but it can prove challenging to cover up the dark wood beneath. Alternatively, you may desire to wallpaper over it, but do not want the ridges to show. One option is to skim coat your paneling with joint compound before painting or wallpapering. With just a little practice, your walls will soon look fresh and new.
Instructions
1. Sand your paneling if it is particularly smooth, to aid in the skim coat's adhesion, or if any paneling is flaking off, to provide a level surface. Clean paneling with a damp cloth when finished, and allow to dry.
2. Mix setting-type joint compound, called "mud," in a ratio of about 2 parts mud to 1 part water, in a mud or paint tray, or use ready-mix mud if desired. Make setting-type mud thick enough to stick to a joint knife when lifted up -- like cake frosting. Add water or more mud as needed.
3. Start at the top of the wall, working first across and then down the wall, applying mud lightly -- a thin, filmy coat, as recommended by the House Flipping Helper website. Use a joint knife to work, making all strokes in the same direction. Lay mud on thicker during the stroke, then immediately follow with a stroke to remove excess mud, wiping it back into the pan after removing. Ignore small ridges that form; allow mud to dry 24 hours.
4. Sand over the first coat lightly to remove small ridges left from mud application. Apply another coat of mud, working in the opposite direction from the first coat.
5. Continue sanding, applying and drying each coat of mud until surface is smooth and covered as desired. Note that smoother, lighter colored paneling will require less extensive coverage than rough, dark colored paneling.
6. Allow your wall to dry thoroughly after the final coat of mud. Finish by sanding the entire wall, from the ceiling working downward, to complete the skim coat finish. Cover the wall with paint or another desired product to complete.
Tags: skim coat, colored paneling, , joint compound, joint knife, paneling with, small ridges
