What can I use to paint tongue and groove panelling?

[wilbur]

I've got raw tongue and groove going on the wall and I want to paint it white, but not opaque white, more like a heavy limewash so you can still see it's wood. I don't have the time to faff around with limewaxing and all that and was wondering if anyone knew of a product that would do the trick? Or could I just dilute emulsion paint and then put a matt varnish over it? Suggestions please!

Watered emulsion paint then clear varnish on top. However, it can only be done if the boards have not been painted before.

you can get the stuff you want from b&q, can't remember what its called, wood wash or something. You just slap one coat on with a brush and it comes in all different white shades and other woody colours.

Wilbur, you can probably get a white 'stain' from one of the DIY shops, you can certainly get them in other colours to do what you want. Varnish on top will obviously give a protective layer, probably shiny, but wouldn't be necessary I wouldn't have thought, the stain should protect enough. It also depends where the t&g is, will it get dirty, battered bashed a lot, for example, in the hallway, or up the stairs? A varnish over the top would protect it and stop it getting too dirty. HTH I'm only an amateur decorator

I had a quick look in homebase beansmum, but all their wood stuff seemed to be wood-coloured stains, rather than white. Still there's a big B&Q in Wandsworth - will look there for a bigger range maybe.

Chandra - if I do go the dilute emulsion route, any idea of how much water to add, or just trial and error?

the B&Q in Edinburgh definitely had it so suppose the one in Wandsworth would too, I bought some in white for my bathroom.

B&Q have a good website Wilbur, it's quite easy to search, try that.

the B&Q website doesn't have paint though, which is really annoying.

I do water it quite a lot and then build layer by layer until I get the result I want but you can also water the paint little by little and try it on a piece of wood and once you get the result you want apply it on a single layer above the boards. Bear in mind that showing the details of the wood without showing the brushstrokes of the paint requires lots of care and precision whatever product you are using.

P.S. If you don't like glossy finishes you can find mat varnish on most DIY stores.