I just finished painting the wood paneling in my basement. Thankfully the wood paneling had minimal sheen so I barely had to sand anything. I then used an oil based primer and then two coats of water based interior paint. Everything looks GREAT!! It helps that the basement is pretty dark so if there are any imperfections they are difficult to see. NOW I want to do the wood paneling in my upstairs foyer which gets alot of light because there are cathedral ceilings with very large windows. The difference with this wood panelling is that there is considerable amounts of sheen so I know I will have to do quite a bit of sanding, but my main question is do I HAVE to use oil based primer? The smell and toxins are nauseating and that was fine for the basement because I could take a break and come upstairs away from the smell. Now the smell will be throughout the whole main living area. Anyway around this would be GREAT!! Thanks for your help!!