Wallpaper or paint on Wooden panels

Hi Laura, I guess you have 2 options if you want to paint your panelling. 1st option, you would need to wash it all down to remove all the old paste. Once that's all removed give it all a sand down and apply your paints. 2nd option, sand down all panelling and apply a product called Zinsser Gardz to all the panelling leave it for at least 3 hours then a light rub down with sandpaper then apply your paints. The Gardz's acts as a barrier and we seal all the paste in. I hope that helps Thanks Nick NTH Decorating

Certainly you do not want to sandpaper (rub down) any stain blocking product like Zinser since you will scratch through the product. Any sanding needs to be done before you apply any paint. OR certainly not apply any product over the top of the wallpaper paste!? You need to wash off the paste with sugar soap until the wall is no longer sticky AT ALL, this will take several times of washing with warm sugar soap and you can scrape off the paste as well. At this point, before you apply any paint, use caulk and filler to fill any holes and cracks. If you want nice looking walls, it is all about these preparation steps. Zinser is expensive, you can just use any oil based undercoat to seal the woodwork. Then paint as normal. Actually it may not be necessary to use a stain block since not all wood produces stains that go through emulsion or vinyl matt paint. Also the stain block paint tends to be non permeable and is the equivalent of wrapping your walls in clingfilm with the associated risks of causing water retention or condensation which does not happen with permeable paint. As you can see it is a complex process and without experience your chances of getting it right are pretty slim and that is why people hire professionals.

In terms of painting the panelling the previous poster is correct, although I would always recommend washing the paste off as opposed to covering it up. That being said I was unsure if you were asking how to paint panels or how to get to your walls to paint them. I'd imagine the panelling was installed because the original plaster on your walls is in not great condition. The way I see it you have a couple of options. 1) if you like the panelling look and simply want it to be a different colour then go ahead and prep and paint it as mentioned in the other answer. 2) if you don't like panelling and just want to paint on a smooth wall then I'd suggest you remove the panelling entirely and then have the walls underneath replastered and then paint on the new plaster. This is the option I would take - but then again I'm not fond of the look of panels. It's completely up to you, option 2 is a lot more work but will give you that new wall look.

Good answer but I'd take of the panel s and plaster the walls if needed