Why can't you just prime and paint over wood paneling instead of sanding it first?

Question

A good primer should stick to any surface if it's clean

Answer 1

I'm a 37 year experienced painter..You can buy a product called peso and simply wipe it down instead of sanding..They also make alot of products avaialble at Home Depot, Lowes ,wal mart etcetera that have products called "liquid sander..No need to sand if you wipe the paneling down with these products prior to painting..

You can buy small quart cans of this for around 6.00

http://www.shop.com/+-a-liquid+sander-p3...

Heres another product as i say there are many variaties of "liquid sanders"..

http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/su...

Answer 2

Paneling has a polished finish. You can paint right over it, but you'll get a better adhesion to the surface if you sand it first. Lots of people "dust" the paneling in their houses with furniture polish which has wax or oil in it.  That will alone will keep paint from sticking to the surface.  

Answer 3

you need to sand to give the surface tooth, ofcourse you don't have to if you don't want to...it is entirely up to you as to how long you want it to stay .

Answer 4

even if it is good it still wont stick to wood unless u sand it because if its rough it will stick a lot better and the paint will stick and last longer

Answer 5

No, a good primer doesn't necessarily stick to any surface if it is clean.  The job of a primer is to seal the surface to give a consistent base for the paint.

Some primers will grip to many surfaces that are difficult to paint.  With the correct primer, you may be OK, but it really depends upon the finish that is on the paneling.  The harder and glossier the finish is, the more difficult it will be to get something else to stick.  If there is little or no gloss, a good cleaning followed by priming with a griping primer should work.  I have always had good luck with shellac based primers for this type of project.

Some of the finishes used on wood paneling are a bit hard and glossy, even for a good shellac primer.  These will need to be sanded a bit to break the gloss -- you don't have to remove the finish, just roughen a bit.  Not too fine on the paper, 120 grit or so at the most.