Ask Danny: Bringing Your Home Into The 21st Century

Is your home looking a little out of this century?

Loraine asks: What’s the best way to paint over dark paneling?
When I was a kid, the old dark paneling like this was so popular.
Nowadays, people want to brighten things up a little bit, and whether you have real wood paneling like this or sheet paneling, the process to brighten it up is pretty much the same.
You need to start out with a 100 grit sandpaper and just sand all of the gloss off the wood surface, wipe it down, follow that with a good quality primer.
After the primer has dried sufficiently, then would be the time if you have the sheet paneling, to eliminate all those little grooves by using drywall joint compounds.
Six inch drywall knife probably will take a couple coats with a little sanding in between to create that nice, smooth surface.
Then, two more coats of a very good quality wall paint and you’ve brought your paneling and your home right into this century.