# Skim coating wood panel disaster



## krislb (Sep 9, 2009)

Hey guys, I'm new to the boards and need some advice on my living room. About a year ago we hired a contractor "friend" to help us remodel our home, there was a living room full of wood paneling at the time. He suggested instead of putting in drywall a cheaper way of getting the same effect would be skim coating it with some sort of plaster-mud type substance. 
Not a good idea in south Louisiana! After a few months it bubbled up and eventually started to peel off of the paneling. It looks horrible. I am wondering if its possible to peel away the rest of the plaster in the room and just paint the paneling, but it has been sanded and I'm not sure how that would look. Any advice would be great, thanks!


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Possible? Sure. Will it look good when you're done? Probably not. 

Shame on that guy for even suggesting that a skim coat of mud would hold up over paneling. Jeez. :no:

The prep work that you'd have in getting that paneling back to paintable shape would be considerable...And in the end you'd have painted paneling...Not a desirable feature! I think you'd be time and money ahead to just remove the paneling and the mud all at once and trash it. Re-install paneling if you like, or sheetrock the walls which sounds like it was the look you were after in the first place. Neither sheetrock or paneling are expensive, and both can be DIY jobs with the proper research ahead of time. There are some great online video tutorials on sheetrock installation and finishing on youtube, and we're happy to help here as well.


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## krislb (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks for the response. I was hoping for an easy fix but it looks like I'll be tearing down the paneling too.


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## Sephora (Apr 13, 2009)

We painted over our wood panel and it looks great. But we never put mud over it.

I hope you work it out!


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## bjbatlanta (Jul 16, 2008)

Joint compound is not intended for use on wood. You could put a layer of drywall over the paneling. Pull the base, hang 1/4" drywall over the paneling. Butt to the door and window trim and flat tape any gaps. Install new base. Or do the teat out and hang 1/2". That would allow you to access inside the walls to update/add electrical, plumbing, etc........


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