Painting over tongue and groove wall covering

[Andyboy]

Got a gastly teak coloured tongue and groove wood clad fireplace wall. I was told that it is covering up a bad plaster wall. I don't have the time to replace it yet but would like it the same colour as the other walls....white. Is it just a case of filling in the grooves with wood filler sand it down then paint over??

Probably just answered my own question but thought i'd ask anyway.

[polarbear]

Hi,
If it is a teak Tongue and groove then you should use an aluminium wood primer before painting as teak is a very oily hardwood,then put a coat of normal white primer on after this you should see all the cracks and grooves that need filling,DO NOT fill with ordinary powdered filler as Tongue and groove is a movable surface and the filler would start to flake after a few months,fill with a flexible filler such as decorators mate,once this is done lightly rub down afterwards then simply coat until you have your desired colour,preferably with an oil based paint.
hope this helps

[mrfixit]

Wow, sounds like a nightmare job, personally I would face my demons and remove a section of the cladding and see how bad it really is. Filling in the gaps on your cladding doesn't sound as if it will work to me. You could end up having spent hours of your time and a bit of money to no avail.

[polarbear]

It sounds rather difficult but it is relatively easy,no matter how well tongue and groove is filled it will eventually start to show gaps but then again so does all wood.