My Sewing room has the 1970's paneling in it too!!! I primed and then painted it..looks great, much brighter and cleaner!! Try drilling pilot holes for the screws and nails, it really makes it easier!! Plus I was afraid I'd get ticked off and really wollup the stuff and put a big hole in it :lol: :lol: :lol: Mine is the main path between the garage and the rest of the house, so everybody dumps their stuff :evil: So I'm in the process of evicting everything that's not MINE!! Enjoy, there's nothing quite like a nice neat sewing space (even if the neat part doesn't last long!)