The handy thing about waiting to do any interior design until I'd written a book covering the topic is that I can learn from other trailersteaders' trial and error. Turns out wood paneling is best sanded pre-painting, so I scuffed up the finish thoroughly in preparation for dealing with the bottom half of the wall.

I'd also gotten it into my head that I wanted to create a pseudo-stucco texture. So rather than simply filling in the indented lines of the paneling (so it didn't look so much like painted panels), I went a little nutty with the joint compound. As you can see in the image above, I also used mesh tape along the true seams so the thicker-than-usual spackling doesn't crack.

Here's part of the texturing on the upper half of the wall. Time to let it dry, then primer and paint. Fingers crossed my experiment looks good rather than turning into an eyesore.

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Stucco

Not a bad idea to add a bit of texture. I look forward to seeing how it finishes up.

Comment by Chris — Thu Nov 10 22:50:34 2016

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re: stucco effect

You could use structured paint or add silica sand to a suitable interior paint.

Comment by Roland_Smith — Fri Nov 11 01:34:25 2016

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comment 3

I've been enjoying your blog for years! I appreciate your honesty and scientific approach to things. I too have an older mobile home and was wondering about covering up the old panels. It would be great if you could offer a more detailed tutorial of your techniques, or a video! Or perhaps at least a link to any sites or videos you found helpful. I would like specifics about materials used and techniques used. Thanks for all the great content you post : )

Comment by Veronica — Sat Nov 26 04:40:49 2016

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