Recently, I decided to repaint one of our rooms at The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment. The walls have been pumpkin orange for about ten years. Pumpkin orange paint paneling. It was time for an updated look.
Wouldn’t you agree?
I decided to go with white walls. This room would not be easy to update as I would have to paint paneling…an entire room of paneling.
My dilemma
Normally, I would use my Homeright Finish Max Finish Sprayer but I had left it at home. Business was slow so I decided it was the right day to paint this large room. Unfortunately, I had also left my Homeright Easy Twist paint roller at home as well! So I pulled out the dinosaur…the paint roller and paint tray. And off I went.
Ten minutes in I was really chiding myself for leaving the Homeright sprayer at home. With the sprayer, I would probably be able to finish the entire room in about an hour. It would have been ideal for easily getting the paint into the grooves of this paneling. Even the Homeright paint stick would have reduced my labor and time substantially. The simple fact that it has a quick fill attachment completely eliminates the need to pour from a paint can. I love these two tools so much as they have saved me hours and hours of painting time over the last year. Here are my affiliate links should you be interested in these great tools:
But, alas, my middle aged mind left the golden tools at home. As anticipated, the roller worked ok on flat surfaces but did not get into the grooves of the paneling. The grooves were not smooth so even the coverage with paint brush was horrible. My Irish temper beginning to flare, I glanced around at the huge room and thought perhaps I should just do this another day with the more efficient tools. But, again, retail business is crazy and Lord knows when I would have another hour or two free to tackle this project. So I trudged along with my roller and paint brush.
My Eureka Moment
I had rolled the paneling vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. The grooves were still unpainted. I dabbed the end of the roller into the paint and brought it dripping to the paneling. I held the roller at an angle and used just that end of the roller to try to get into the grooves. This successfully got the paint into about a two inch strip of the first eight foot groove. Essentially, the grooves were still unpainted. I switched to a brush and dabbed and pulled the brush through the grooves. The result was splotchy grooves. Again essentially, the grooves were still unpainted. I continued to roll and ignored the unpainted grooves. I would just have to deal with this later.
About 1/4 way through the first wall, I turned the roller vertically to paint under a shelf and the roller dragged through one of the grooves completely painting the groove! Eureka! A short cut!
My “aha” moment was promptly followed by a “well…duh” moment as is usually the case when I watch one of those quick tip videos that are all over Facebook these days. You know…the ones that show you how to speed peel a potato with your cordless drill, or how you should REALLY be shucking your ears of corn or peeling your banana.
It’ funny that I’ve not heard of this simple trick before. I’ve been painting all of my life but I honest have never had to paint such a large area of paneling. So I’m still laughing at this silly little tip that saved me so much time.
Here is a short video:
How about that orange??? This room has been so orange for so long that I think I might actually miss it! Um…NOT!
Here is the same painless process with my Homeright sprayer. I
The main lesson to be learned here: NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR HOMERIGHT TOOLS! But, if you do, and you have to paint paneling, use this shortcut!
Since I have shared my little earth shattering, time saving tip, you are free to go about your daily life armed with the knowledge that there really is an easy way to paint paneling! You, my friend, are very very welcome!
Happy Painting!
What a difference some paint makes!
Much better, yes?
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