We just wrapped up a house in Naperville that had a significant amount of Paneling. The panels wee secure, good shape just had a very ugly color. To avoid a huge mess we gave the customer the option to paint the paneling. each nail hole was filled, gaps were caulked, we then primed it and gave it 2 coats of paint.
The room looks great, saved some money and gave the room a huge facelift.