What can I do with drywall that is put up backwards. I would like to paint it. Do I have to replace it first?

The people that lived in my house before me did some drywalling and then put paneling up over that. I took the paneling down because I do not like it and discovered that the drywall is up backwards. The white side should be facing out but the brown side is facing out instead. I would like to paint the walls. Do I have to replace all of the drywall, can I paint it just the way it is, or is there a way that I can use this drywall if I coat it with something first? I do not know where to start. My husband tried texturing it and the paper is peeling off also. Any ideas.What can I do with drywall that is put up backwards. I would like to paint it. Do I have to replace it first?
I had the same thing happen the last house we lived in. It will take paint but... it does scratch very easily leaving white marks. The paper side does protect the drywall to a big degree from that kind of thing. You can texture over it also but I would probably rent a sprayer and do it that way I would think texturing by hand would be very hard and time consuming.





Worst case you hate how it looks and buy new paneling (bead board is great and comes prefinished)





Good luck!What can I do with drywall that is put up backwards. I would like to paint it. Do I have to replace it first?
I just began working on the exact same problem in our new (older) home two weeks ago. I decided to prime it with KILZ oil based primer/stain blocker (bad smell-need lots of ventilation) and it worked great. I first primed it and the next day textured it by hand with joint compound and just for kick's, primed it again the following day. It dries quickly and an hour later I was painting with latex paint. It worked great and looks wonderful. I might have been guilty of overkill, but I hate doing something just to have it fail. Also, the kids got to get in on the texturing and it turned into a fun project. I say, do it right the first time and enjoy a job well done!





Good luck!
just prime it and paint it
It doesn't matter that it is up backwards.Call someone who knows how to do drywall taping.