painting panelling

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Dear Eeya, We've successfully painted panelling several times. Here's how we do it - Before beginning to paint, clean the panelling to whatever degree it needs, sometimes a thorough wiping with a damp cloth is sufficient, or a good scrubbing may be required for really nasty old dirt. Fill any holes and sand around them to flatten the spot. If the seams are wide or very noticeable between sheets of panelling, I use caulking to seal the cracks. The rest of the grooves I just leave alone although some people fill and sand them (too much work!!). Shiny panalleing may need a light sanding, but the flat dull type doesn't need sanding. Prime with a water based primer-sealer-stain blocker like Zap or Kilz. If you are going to a much lighter color, two coats of primer over dark panelling helps with the final coats. Then topcoat with whatever water based color you desire. It usually takes two coats of top color to get good coverage. I usually use a satin or eggshell finish, but the choice is up to you, each sheen has it's advantages and disadvantages. You do have to get paint into the grooves at the top and bottom with a paint brush as you cut in the edges, but you don't have to use a paint brush on the whole length of each groove, just press hard with a medium nap roller and the paint will go into the grooves as you roll the walls. Inspect your work carefully as you go to correct any missed spots or streaks where too much paint leaves a trail on the wall - trails leave a bump when they dry. Sometimes I will start with just one or two walls in a room and see if that gives enough of a change. Other times I just dive in and paint the whole room. You will be amazed and delighted with the change. You can do any kind of faux finish you like on the walls as long as the grooves don't make your pattern look funny - I don't think a marble finish would fool anyone applied over the grooves of old panelling, but lots of other stuff would look nice. You could even paint each strip an alternating color or for a more subtle look, use the same color but one strip eggshell, the next satin or semi-gloss. Looks kind of like a damask striped tablecloth. You can also apply wallpaper borders over painted panelling, just use vinyl to vinyl paste.
Good luck and happy painting!