garage wall ideas

[FirstGenZq8]

sometime in the future i'm going to be doing a full garage revamp.

currently my garage walls are finished in 70s wood paneling; i'm sure it has a real name. does anyone have any ideas of what to do with it to update it a bit? any pics of what you did? i don't want to remove it as $ is tight. any help is appreciated.

please ignore the LT1 in the way of the wall.

 

[APEowner]

I've had really good luck with just painting over '70s paneling. It takes paint quite well and the vertical grooves just add a nice texture. I was skeptical when it was first suggested to me but I've done it several time since then and it's looked really nice every time.

 

[JC23]

I agree with APEowner. I did a lot of that in a house that was paneled. There are, however, conditions. Is the paneling solid or is it that garbage cardboard type? Do/will you have a need to get behind the paneling for like running elec or air? Do you plan on hanging anything like cabinets, signs and racks?

In my new construction garage, I used that T-111 or whatever it's called as an inside wall. I used the primed style so it wouldn't be rough and give off slivers. It also made it easy to paint as well as hang stuff solidly. It worked great for haning stuff, too.

To cut costs, you can do one wall at a time. Good luck and welcome aboard, FirstGen!

 

[lupinsea]

please ignore the LT1 in the way of the wall.

Ha. Sure.


The easiest thing you can do with the paneling is to paint over it as APEowner suggested. If you want a different look, you could try peeling it off the wall and turing it so that the groves are horizontal. Then paint it. Sometimes the a different orientation can add some interest to it.

But I'd probably just paint it.

 

[FirstGenZq8]

i'm about to finally tackle this project, do i need to prime this type of paneling before paint?

 

[Jack Olsen]

Lightly scuff it with some 100 grit and prime it.

Industrial gray would look cool on that pattern.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

To insure no peeling and/or bleed-through, I would wash the panels with TSP solution, scuff them as Jack suggested, prime them with at least one coat of 'Zinnseer Bulls Eye primer' and then do your finish coat. You might consider spot priming all the vertical grooves and then follow with one generous primer coat doing one wall at a time to blend the two primer coats. This might allow you to be satisfied with only one 'color finish' coat. Remember, a good paint job is all in the prep work!

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

I failed to mention that the paint department counter person can tint your primer if you know the desired finish color; this helps get you that 'one-coat' finish color. Tinted primer saves you time and money in the end.

Also should mention to allow drying time for a TSP wash-down, and don't forget to do a vacuum and wipe-down with a tack-cloth after scratch sanding.

"Do the job right, do the job only ONCE!"

 

[CD1]

To insure no peeling and/or bleed-through, I would wash the panels with TSP solution, scuff them as Jack suggested, prime them with at least one coat of 'Zinnseer Bulls Eye primer' and then do your finish coat. You might consider spot priming all the vertical grooves and then follow with one generous primer coat doing one wall at a time to blend the two primer coats. This might allow you to be satisfied with only one 'color finish' coat. Remember, a good paint job is all in the prep work!

This is what I was going to recommend. Use a quality primer and the correct nap of roller and you can get it done in one coat, just don't overload the roller and be patient to get good coverage.

I failed to mention that the paint department counter person can tint your primer if you know the desired finish color; this helps get you that 'one-coat' finish color. Tinted primer saves you time and money in the end.

Also should mention to allow drying time for a TSP wash-down, and don't forget to do a vacuum and wipe-down with a tack-cloth after scratch sanding.

"Do the job right, do the job only ONCE!"

The tinted primer would have saved us some time with our kitchen redo a few years ago.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Put in a chair rail and paint the top. Put in some white pegboard at three and leave the top and bottom. Put in pegboard from the ceiling down, leave the bottom.

 

[Kevin54]

I'd be curious as to how it is fastened to the wall. You might just luck out and it is only nailed. If so, and it is over drywall, I would peel it off. BUT....if it is glued, or just over studs and you don't want to put drywall or such on, then scuff, clean, prime, paint.

Or you could look into a wallpaper type of covering. Mud the grooves of the paneling then put the covering over the paneling. I want to say it is called "sisal" but I don't believe that is correct. Any wallpaper store would know what you are talking about though. The DIY shows use it quite a bit to cover unsightly walls and paneling.

 

[chevy265]

My dad redid his house a few years back. It was full of 70s paneling. He removed the paneling and drywalled one room at a time. (4 bedroom house) took him over a year. By the time he got to the last room, he was tired and cheated. He leveled the grooves in the paneling with joint compound, scuffed,primed and painted and you cannot tell the difference between that room and the ones he did the hard way. He said if he would've tried that first he wouldnt have hung a sheet of drywall!

 

[mpire]

Just throw some 1/4 inch sheetrock over the paneling.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Leave it be.....Call it the "That 70's Garage." Maybe get a few 70's era cars and props....And make every Saturday night, "Roller Disco Night."

 

[Falcon67]

Our old house has that on the inside. We repaired and replaced some with MDF panels and carried the "theme" into the other rooms that had wall damage. MDF glued over sheetrock makes for a nice stiff wall and supports the old sheetrock. Anyway, I sand the panels and prime with a good primer, then two coats of paint. Looks good. Be careful with 70s era panels - the older, probably 70s, damaged stuff that I pulled down is very fragile. You can bust it into pieces easily with just your hands. If you have panels that are loose and try to pull them off to re-glue, you will very likely come away with several pieces.

Or you could look into a wallpaper type of covering. Mud the grooves of the paneling then put the covering over the paneling.

I recommend not even going there. My strong personal opinion. Not only does it look like **** (I had rooms full of "mudded panels" - somebody got an F in texture class) but the mud will flake or crack off the panels with any good bump. Paint the panels or cover with 1/4 sheet rock - don't mud that stuff. You can use spackle or drywall mud for small holes, but the panel in that area needs to be stuck good. If it can flex at all, hard mud will pop out.

>please ignore the LT1 in the way of the wall.
Ford guys always ignore LT1s...

 

[mpire]

You know, a few pieces of MDF and a little time and you could whip up some really nice wainscoting. Then just sheetrock the top half and then paint everything.

I am using 1/4 inch masonite in my foyer. Then covering it with 3/4" MDF pieces cut on the table saw, then using some nice quality trim to make it look like high end paneling. Then a nice chair rail and thats it. Trim work is easy if you have the right saw and a nail gun.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

I suggest you follow these step by step directions

1) Load LT1 in truck
2) Bring LT1 to my house
3) Spot prime grooves
4) Prime panels
5) Paint
6) Enjoy the ice cold 6pack I gave you for the LT1