Learn How to Save Money by Painting Over Wallpaper

Painting over wallpaper is often a better solution than removing the wallpaper to paint, when you are remodeling a room. In older homes wallpaper is usually applied over plaster walls, and removing the wallpaper can cause the plaster to come off, requiring a real involved plaster repair. In newer homes the situation is different but often just a bad. In newer homes wallpaper is often installed over drywall, and removing the wallpaper can damage the drywall underneath by removing the paper layer that holds the drywall together. Replacing a majority of the drywall or plaster in a room can really be a budget buster. In either case it is often much better and cheaper to attempt to just paint the wallpaper.

There are two major problems when you are trying to paint over wallpaper. The first of these is bubbling, where the wallpaper will begin to pull away from the wall in certain spots. The other major problem is edges and seams being visible under the paint. In this article we will look at some tips and techniques to combat both these problems.

To begin you will need to address any loose wallpaper. If you have a spot that is visibly loose, the best coarse of action is just to cut and remove the loose paper. After you get rid of any loose paper you then should go back over the hole you have now created with drywall joint compound. The idea here is to cover, fill, and smooth out the hole. When the drywall compound is dry you will come back and sand it to a smooth finish. It might be necessary for you to put multiple coats of drywall compound to get the finish that you want.

You also should pay special attention to the edges of the wallpaper and any place where the wallpaper is seamed or overlapped. This bump of paper, while not really noticeable when it was only wallpaper, will show when you go to paint over it. You will need to cut away the overlap, and then cover the spot in joint compound, just as you did for the loose paper.

Give attention to all the edges of the wallpaper, the corners, and top near the ceiling and bottom near the floor. All of these edges should be sealed with joint compound, or paintable caulk if you have it. The idea here is again to seal the wallpaper completely to the wall, so that none of it begins to peel once you start to paint it.

After you have taken care of any loose wallpaper and the seams, then you should turn your attention to the wallpaper finish. If the paper is very glossy you should lightly scuff the surface with high grit sandpaper. This will make the surface better able to accept the paint. Be careful not to gouge the wallpaper. You are trying to just remove the gloss. If the paper has a very heavy texture on it, then it might be necessary to skim coat the whole wall with joint compound. The important thing is to ensure that your base is ready to accept paint.

After you have finished with wall prep, then the next thing to do is to paint the wall with a good latex primer like Kliz. The primer will seal the wall and will create a surface that is ready to accept paint. The sealing will help to get rid of any grease or oil stains, seal in odors, and seal nicotine stained wallpaper. Primer will also keep the color of the wallpaper from bleeding though to be visible with your new paint coat. I recommend that you do two coats of primer, and possibly three, if the wall requires it.

Once the primer coat has dried, and you are happy with the finish, you can begin to paint the walls like you would any other wall. If during the course of painting you notice that the paper starts to bubble under a painted area, you will need to cut and remove the bubble, coat the wall in drywall compound in the area, prime, and paint again. When finished you can enjoy your new freshly painted walls.