how to cover paneling!!

[niknat]

I have one full wall in my living room that has paneling. I would like to cover each indention somehow and then texturize the entire wall. If anyone has done this and has pro and cons I would love to hear them. I have heard of using mesh tape, and also thick wallpaper, but is it possible to mud the groove somehow and then texture over that?

Thanks for any input

PS: if "mud "is recommended what type should I use and is this a tedious process?????

[tudor]

I'm going to try the method described in this link too, but if you get to it before I do, let me know how it works:

Covering Paneling With Drywall Compound

Basically, you prime the panels, then put sheetrock web tape over the edges, then roll on Sheetrock mud with a paint roller. It sounds easy enough, although kind of tedious. If I get around to it over Labor Day, I'll let you know how it goes. I have a small paneled room I'm going to experiment on.

[Drywall DIY Guy]

I have taped corners of paneling where they met regular drywall and it worked fine. We then painted. This was a basement spare room. I didn't tape the edges as this was just a spare room but now I think I should have to get a cleaner look. I left the grooves in place - they don't look bad when painted.

A couple of things to note:
-Make sure the surface is clean. I think a good cleaning, let dry, and then sand lightly to slightly buff the surface would insure good primer and compound adhesion.
-Make sure you have a nice level surface with edges securely fastened down near your joints. You might want to add some nails set below the surface near the edges to insure this before taping. A "springy" surface will not allow you to tape properly.

The vertical ridges could easily be filled. To fill them you will need multiple coats since the compound will shrink. I see the author only seemed to use one coat. Yes, only one coat will show shrinkage. You will need about 4, yes 4 coats with all-purpose mud. That's how many coats needed to complete screw depressions anyway. Filling this way is a lot easier than taping and there is no need for preventing cracks, as tape normally serves the purpose for.

To tape the edges and corners, use a regular taping technique as shown at Taping Drywall Step by Step Instructions - How To Tape Drywall

[niknat]

Drywall Guy

Do I still need to prime my wall first if it is already painted with a dull paint? Also the last paragraph of your post stated to use multiple coats of mud instead of using tape, is this correct? That was worded funny; what I mean is Do I still need to use the paper tape if I plan on using the recommended 4 coats of med?

Thanks

[Drywall DIY Guy]

If the wall is already painted with a dull paint, and the paint is holding up well, then all you really need to do is scrub it good and let it dry.

For filling the grooves, you pack the groove with mud and then scrape it level. Let it dry. After it dries, the mud will have shrunk in a bit leaving a shallow depression.

Put more mud in the depression and scrape it level with your taping knife. Let it dry.

Repeat until there is no more shallow depression. Then sand lightly if needed with a sanding block.

If you do this, you will not have to tape the grooves. You still have to tape where the panel edges meet and at the corners and ceiling if you are not using a ceiling molding.

[tudor]

Well, you are certainly right about more than one coat being needed to get the surface smooth. I was having trouble filling in the grooves and ended up using my short roller as a kind of squeegie on the grooves to fill them in. If I had gotten more primer in the cracks it probably would have helped too. My walls don't look too bad but they still look like paneled walls with drywall mud on them. I'm do another coat at least--this is a little upstairs room and the alternative is to remove paneling and wallpaper on top of plaster--some choice. Thanks for the advice!