Whitewash/limewash wood paneling?

[auntie]

I had some dark knotty pine in my sunporch where I wanted a lighter feel. I white washed it using a thinned paint rubbed on with rags. It looked pretty good. As I recall, I used an oil based enamel which I had on hand.

[dr.girlfriend]

I thought about doing this, but I tested it on a bookcase and I could not get it to look right. In the end, I just painted the paneling white, and love it. It makes such a HUGE difference...together with recessed lighting and wood floors, it turned my cave-like t.v. room from my least favorite room in the house to my most-favorite room. If the paneling is real knotty pine, you have to use shellac-based primer (often three or four coats) on the knotholes or they will bleed through and look like tobacco-stained yellow over time. Here's a pinterest board with befores and afters:

pinterest.com/drgirlfriend/painted-paneling-before-and-after/