This is a tutorial for painting over polyurethane - in this case it’s a table but polyurethane is used on many surfaces.

http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/02/how-to-paint-furniture/

shellac based primer

Thanks for the ideas. My MIL doesn't have the type the panelling in the pic pp posted. It's one big wall of wood with decorative rectangles indented 10x. Will try painting and see how it goes.

Anonymous wrote:11:27 is right on the money. Do a light sand, and clean with a degreasing agent. I'd use a coat of primer, too, since wood tends to be pretty dry, and it will help to prevent any bleed-through of the grain when you go over it with your color of choice.

I love the look of off white shiplap.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a7/43/84/a74384dbed3174536d77a43d849c1048.jpg

11:27 is right on the money. Do a light sand, and clean with a degreasing agent. I'd use a coat of primer, too, since wood tends to be pretty dry, and it will help to prevent any bleed-through of the grain when you go over it with your color of choice.

You probably will have a couple of issues. The wood most likely has some type of smooth, hard finish (such as polyurethane). The finish is really smooth, so paint will easy chip off. Also, there tends to be oil/grease built up on the wood that keeps the paint for adhering. I would go over the wood lightly with sand paper to rough up the surface and clean with a TSP solution to remove any oil. then you patch any deep scratches and prime and paint. Be ready, however, for cracks in the winter because the wood will dry and shrink more than the dry wall.

I would match the wood wall to the other walls. The remaining grain adds some nice visual effect. You may want a different color for the mantle to work with the fireplace.

My grandmother had this done in a beige, but all the walls in her living room were wood. I didn't do the paint job, but the person who did clearly used a few coats of paint. Not something I would choose, but it looked fine - better than the wood did.

My MIL wants some help updating her house. It was built in the early 90's and has an entire wall in her family room that is wood. The wood is an oak color and has a lot of grain in it. There is also a brick fireplace on that wall. The mantle has the same color wood as the wall. She wants us to paint this (can't afford to outsource) and I'm not quite sure what to do with it? Can this just be primed and painted over? What color would look best? Should it match the wall color (which are a neutral beige) or should it be painted white? She will be putting in darker hardwoods in the near future (but currently has grey carpeting). Has anyone done something like this before and help would be appreciated!