# Plastering over paneling



## TNRocks (May 2, 2007)

Has anyone applied plaster to paneling? If so how was it done and how did it turn out. Don't want to hang drywall (whole house) trying to get it ready to sell and need to dress it up. Thought appling plaster to the paneling would save me time and money. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.:whistling2:


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

I did it. Make sure that you tape the joints, and apply it thin, thick. Also, is this real wood paneling, or just plastic over masonite? If it is the later, you will be better of maybe just putting in an allowance for the buyers to tear it out if they wish.


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## TNRocks (May 2, 2007)

What about the grooves that paneling has ever 8 - 10"? Did you tape them also or did the mud cover them? What type of mud did u use?


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

It was about 17 years ago when I did it for a mobile home that I lived in. I used All Purpose compound. As for the grooves every 8 to 10 inches, just apply as normal. It is the joints every 4' that need taped.


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## Plaster Brokers (Jul 27, 2007)

I would have thought hanging a few sheets of dry wall would be a much better option.

Plaster and wood dont mix well together. As mentioned the all purpose cement would be the best option, if you went ahead. 

Cheers


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

It was a old trailer that the kitchen needed a better look, due to the brown plywood paneling got old looking.


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## redpen (Dec 13, 2008)

Bump..

Any other thoughts on this. I just ripped down some wallpaper and found this in my new house in the kitchen...


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## Jack of most (Jan 21, 2009)

Personally I'd just get rid of it or put 1/4" rock over top, tape and float.


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## Jer (Jan 22, 2009)

Six or seven years ago I asked a contractor friend if I could texture over a wall that was real wood paneling. He said yes he does it all the time on re-hab jobs. He said to take a sander to the paneling to rough up the surface then use all purpose joint topping to fill the grooves and then texture the wall as usual. So I did and It turned out great...until just a few months ago when small cracks started to appear. Now it is starting to peel off here and there. My advice is tear out the paneling and sheetrock it.


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## Bob Mariani (Dec 1, 2008)

Wood moves, plaster does not. Need we say more. One way it will work is to use Nu-wall. Look at this site. At least it will help with the flexing issue and is much easier to apply then a skim coat of mud. http://www.thewarnerco.com/global/html/nuwall.htm


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## jeabou (Jan 12, 2010)

i have successfully plastered over old paneling this way:
1- score the entire surface in a generous crosshatch pattern with a box knife.
2- lightly scrape with a putty knife and vacuum the surface to dislodge debris.
3- fill in only the vertical channels with a light pass, allow to dry hard.
4- use a wide blade to put a skim coat on the entire wall so that the crosshatched scoring disappears. allow to dry hard. the vertical channels may still be lightly visible as might some of the cross hatching; this is ok as long as the surface is relatively uniform; don't worry about "smooth" as the skim coat will just become part of the final texture.
5- apply final mud generously; creatively skip trowel, pucker or texture.
6- knock down lightly with sandpaper; i go REALLY slow with good pressure and vertical strokes so the grit falls to the floor instead of into the air.
7- cracks sometime persist in odd areas like at top corners of door jambs; i don't mesh these; finger paint painters calk into them, then re-coat LIGHTLY with mud texture pattern.
8-coat with drywall sealer, then paint your color. 
9- practice brings consistency to texture stroke; re-do/touch-up is easy.
10- it can take a week to do the whole process, and i stage it to avoid burnout; i'm scoring the latest area while the drying & painting process is in progress in other areas; do zones and not entire walls; lazy man's method.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

It will not last, but rough up the surface, prime first so the compound has something to stick too, thin fill in the gaps/grooves first with drywall mud, not plaster. Wet or conventionally sand all that down. Then skim coat. Prime and apply two coats of paint. You just created a look with all the quality of a cheap Hollywood stage set. It will get the house sold though. 

If you are in a hurry, buy "hot" mud in bags. It comes with setting times of 5-120 minutes or so. The clock starts ticking the minute you add water to the stuff so factor in the time it takes you to mix it. It tends to be harder than than the mud in buckets but not so much you cannot handle it.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> It will not last, but rough up the surface, prime first so the compound has something to stick too, thin fill in the gaps/grooves first with drywall mud, not plaster. Wet or conventionally sand all that down. Then skim coat. Prime and apply two coats of paint. You just created a look with all the quality of a cheap Hollywood stage set. It will get the house sold though.
> 
> If you are in a hurry, buy "hot" mud in bags. It comes with setting times of 5-120 minutes or so. The clock starts ticking the minute you add water to the stuff so factor in the time it takes you to mix it. It tends to be harder than than the mud in buckets but not so much you cannot handle it.


I would think this would just be extra work for the new home owner that will just tear it out. Have you bothered to try and remove a piece and see what is under it? It might be nice plaster or drywall under there. I would think that any good Realtor( and I have dealt with many) would tell you to spend the $ wisely and remove it and put new drywall if necessary.:yes:


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Majority of the time, Liquid Nails is used, and it can be more work than worth it. I would rather tear out paneling in a home and then fix the underlying stuff, to make it look better. Plastering over drywall is the worst idea out there.


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