How do you spackle a wall of paneling?

Question

I was wondering about some ideas on doing my wall. I have brown paneling in my kitchen and I was thinking of covering it with sheet rock which is a good cover up but quite pricey and then I had a friend tell me about using spackling and sort of mudding the walls. I tried that and it looks ok but after I painted it I could still see the lines from the paneling. I was wondering if you all had any ideas on a texture that wasn't too "loud". I tried using a balled up rag and that was just a headache for the whole kitchen. Any other ideas that would be less time consuming?

Answer 1

What's under the paneling?  My guess is either bare studs, or more sheetrock.  Can you remove the paneling?

If there is a lightswitch or outlet on that wall, remove the cover plate and look.  You should be able to see drywall if it's there.  

One warning - some installers will glue paneling up.  If that's the case here, you'll still have to deal with glue on the studs or drywall behind this stuff.  But if there are just bare studs, you can hang sheetrock without much trouble.

Answer 2

first you needed to do at least 3 coats sanding lightly after each if your not a profesional, then your work will pay off, yes you can also apply coats after painting,you will need to paint again once your done

Answer 3

It takes a lot of practice, you have to get the feel for sanding. You cant just wipe it. You have to let it dry and sand it smooth. I think it would be easier to hang drywall myself.

Answer 4

Maybe you could kilz the wall after the spakling. Make sue you sand the lines evenly first.

Answer 5

Dont use anything called spackle especially not that lightweight stuff, ughhh, it just falls off your knife.Easiest to rip off panelling . and spot patch the nail holes behind it, than to fill groves 2 or 3 times.