Gib a Lockwood style house

[donthatetheplayer]

thanks Don. sounds complex. i would probably use a professional painter.
what do you mean when you say if you were doing up to sell you wouldn't use the product? is that because of price given you need 2 coats to cover up the old varnish?
would be great if you can post some before/after photos. it's hard to imagine how it looks like when done.

A pro-painter should be fine with this product if they are really a pro. It's really just corners that prove difficult to get right. After a few days looking at the half of the room I've painted I quite like it.

I think this look will appeal to some but not others and the risk of it turning out looking "messy" is there so I'd go with a sealer/primer then a couple of top coats in a neutral colour if doing up to sell. Nothing to do with price, just the look of the finished product. I guess if a pro painter is doing it the risk isn't there.

I don't know how to add pics sorry. Also, it really doesn't photograph well at all! Looks much better in person than any pics I have taken - another reason possibly to avoid if trying to sell. Maybe a good photographer would get a different result but on my phone camera it looks very bad!

[MAXNZ]

Most of the times painted lockwood comes out very nice if properly done... don't slip, slap and slop...

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[donthatetheplayer]

I thought I better give an update before anyone takes my advice with the whitewash paint product. So, we finished painting the room about 80% done with two coats of whitewash. My wife hated it. I just thought it looked bad. I didn't quite hate it... It just ended up looking like a very cr*ppy job or like it was waiting for a top coat.

So we went back to the beginning. We sealed it all with a sealer/primer and then two top coats in "Resene zylone sheen waterborne low sheen" black white colour with a semi gloss acrylic enamel trim. We used no more gaps around all the skirting etc. We had to lay the paint on pretty thick between the panels to paint out any darker spots/gaps. The result is awesome. It looks fantastic. We are really pleased with it.

My advice would be steer clear of the whitewash product if painting out old varnished timber panels. Painting with a primer/sealer and two top coats gives a really nice finish. Definitely use a gap filler around the edges, windows, skirting and trims. It takes longer but makes the finish 100% better. You don't need the gap filler between individual panels. By the time you have put three coats of paint on and laid it pretty thick in the panel joins you will achieve a nice look.

[grip]

Thanks Don I was contemplating the whitewash product. But figured I would wait a while to see if you really liked it. Glad to hear the resene black white worked out.
Some people choose to use no more gaps for all the lines between individual panels so you get a flat wall finish. Interesting you chose to leave it as-is so people can still tell it's a Lockwood wall and not plasterboard.

[donthatetheplayer]

I think the painted timber panel looks good. I wouldn't fill all the gaps between every panel. It would take forever, you'd use a lot of gap filler and I think it would look pretty messy. If you want a flat finish I'd re-gib. I guess it depends on the room this is in. For us, it's a second lounge so it's quite nice to have a bit of a change from the rest of the house. For this room, I definitely wouldn't gib over. I'm very happy with the finish and highly recommend this approach if you're wanting to modernise old stained timber panels.

[Sooz13]

I've done a test wall on my Lockwood using Resene house wash and then their recommended sealer. Did not sand at all. Then two topcoats of acrylic paint. Looks great. Only concern is that I may not have done a thorough enough job of washing off the cleaner before sealing and therefore sealer and paint may not be as good as it should be. Time will tell. Sealer is a pain. Consistency of water and runs like it. Constantly catching runs. Left 2 days or more before painting.
I have since spoken with a local hardware and paint retailer who says many of his painter customers use Bin Sealer (American prod) for sealing over varnished surfaces and they swear by it. No sanding, seals, primes and stain blocker. Been around for years apparently but not advertised much.
Thought 'd try this next time as might be better and easier than Resene's watery stuff and hardly any waiting time for stuff to harden before doing top coats.
Has anyone used it?

[Don't believe the Hype]

Used BIN on a project just last week... First time I used it. Quite watery consistency but easy enough to use... Two coats over varnish only a few hours between coats... Then rolled 2 coats of wall paint. Looks great, I highly recommend BIN given the time savings on preparation.