How to Cover the old wall panel

Wood paneling was widely used as a popular interior decorative item in the past. If your home has wood paneling, after many years of use, you may need to cover the old wall panel to transform it and keep your home looking good.

Converting interior wall paneling can be costly to renovate. Therefore, we need to understand the condition of the wall paneling and choose the right method and the least costly way to complete the renovation of your home. You will need wood paneling cladding to suit the decorative style of your room.

Here we offer some ideas for covering up old wood paneling to make it look new and modern

Paint the old wood paneling

If you are on a budget then you can choose to repaint old wood panels. Repainting is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to give a room a new look.

Before repainting the wood paneling you will need to clean the old paint. Let’s start with some preparation work. Place a newspaper or rag on the floor where the paint is to be cleaned to avoid the paint staining the floor. To avoid damaging the furniture, you can also place masking tape along the wall area and the area of the furniture you want to paint. Next, we start to remove the old paint from the surface of the boards using a paint stripper and a paint stripping tool.

Please note that you should wear safety clothing and rubber gloves when using paint, paint thinner and paint stripper. And open the doors, windows, and other exhaust systems in your home to help vent the paint odor.

After removing all paint, sand all surfaces of the panel using 220 grit sandpaper. If you see cracks, nail holes, and other defects in the surface wood grain. You can fill these depressions with wood filler, which can be purchased at most hardware shops.

Apply the wood filler along with the defective areas, dry, and sand with 220 grit sandpaper. After several iterations, you will have a smooth and flawless wall panel.

Next, we can paint the wall panel. Choose a color that matches the style of decor you want for the room. Paint with smooth, even strokes from the top of the panel downwards. You can also use a roller so that you can save a lot of time. For the window and entrance wood paneling, you should use a small brush to apply.

After applying the finished first coat of paint, allow it to dry completely for about an hour or two. When the first coat is completely dry, apply the next coat of paint. It is important to avoid adding too many coats as this could damage the wood paneling by absorbing too much paint.

Cover the old wood panels with wallpaper

Another easy and inexpensive way to refurbish old wooden paneling is to apply wallpaper to it. There are a number of tools and materials that need to be prepared before the wallpaper can be installed. These include lining paper, scissors, a hobby knife, smoothing tools, heavy-duty wallpaper adhesive, a paste brush, and wallpaper.

Once all the tools and materials have been prepared, we are ready to proceed with the wallpaper installation. Before installing the wallpaper we should first install the wallpaper liner. The purpose is so that the surface of the wall will be flat and easy to install the wallpaper. You can also choose a heavy grasscloth wallpaper if you do not want to use a wall liner to cover the gaps in the wallboard.

Upgrade your interior wall paneling

If you have a larger budget and at the same time you want to make your interior design more unique and appealing. Then you can choose to upgrade your old wood paneling to composite wall paneling.

Composite wall paneling is also known as WPC wooden paneling, a product made from a mix of recycled plastic and wood fiber. Composite wall panels are available in a wide range of colors and surface patterns to choose from. You can also have composite wood panels customized by the manufacturer to suit your different design ideas.

Compared to traditional wood paneling, composite wall panels meanwhile offer many different advantages. For example, it is more popular because it is moisture-resistant, mold-resistant, insect-resistant, maintenance-free, and long-lasting.

The variety of composite wall panels gives you more choice. You can decorate your room with a combination of dark and light colors to give it a more vibrant and attractive look. You can also choose matching composite wall panels to match the furniture you already have to make your house more comfortable.