Wallpaper Sabotage?

[Grey Goose]

My wife has decided she really, really wants to put up a decorative wallpaper border in the baby's room. Not fully wallpapering the room, thankfully, just one of those 8" tall borders where you wet the backing and stick it to the wall.

I know in 6 or 8 years we're going to end up taking it down. Teddy bears and butterflies don't look so good to a kid who wants to be a grownup. Is there anything I can do before the paper gets applied to make the eventual removal easier?

I'm not saying sabotage the job altogether, but are there any shortcuts that will make it stick up there for a while but not be a high quality adhesive job?

I've just finished removing wallpaper from a closet, and any hints to make the inevitable removal easier would be appreciated.

[m Ransley]

A proper primer, and Sizing.

[xrongor]

i dont know what will make it stick less but i know what will get it off easily later... a sponge. dealing with a little 8" border isnt anything like trying to remove it from an entire wall.

and as someone else suggested, paint the wall first. or you can always staple the paper up. the baby wont notice if it looks sloppy or not...

randy

[NorMinn]

This must be your first child :o) Six years from now you will want to remove the crayon, dried banana and dents from golf or baseball practice. My son put a divot in the kitchen tile when he was four years old - perfect form :o)

Put wall size on (according to mfg instructions). Probably will help to purchase a strippable vinyl.

By the time my kids were 10 or so, I decided their rooms would someday be anthropological wonders - future scientists will marvel at the smashed bugs on the ceiling, all the hearts with "JA + --", and the alphabet in black ink that starts out 1/2" tall and ends with 6" Z at the last. I found a dried dog dropping the day after my daughter left for college. Hadn't seen the floor in years :o)

[lounge_lassie]

I used to hang paper professionally so maybe I can be of help a little here. It's *much* easier to remove borders than sheets. And, it's

*much* easier to remove pre-glued paper than the kind you have to apply the glue on yourself. Mainly because the pre-glued paper is coated more evenly, and you don't have to guess at the moisture content of the glue or how to apply it.

Despite the reasoning behind the eventual removal, you don't want to do a shoddy job. One, because it will look bad, two, because it will make the removal more difficult, and three, you want to keep your wall in good shape after the removal. Prior to putting the decorative border up, make sure your wall surface is relatively clean (dust & grime free). TSP is always a good choice.

When you are applying the border, smooth it gently as you go along. I used a flat-edge squeegee-like scraper to smooth out the bubbles. You don't have to use a lot of pressure. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being extremely light and 10 being extremely hard, I'd say use about a 4. If you do end up with a bubble, just use a little razor blade and make a tiny clean slit to let the air out; then smooth over it again.

There are a couple of methods of removing old wallpaper/borders off of your wall. (I'm assuming that your closet wall is not made of wood?) Some people like to use a steamer to get the wet heat through the paper to the glue side. I was a little more patient--I just used a sponge soaked in hot water. Just keep sponging the paper as you're working your way down, and wipe the wall off behind you (this is a rather wet process--so make sure you have drop cloth, newspaper, etc. to protect your floor). If you're lucky, the paper will peel off in strips (kind of like paint after jasco has been applied.)

Don't forget that you can also paint over the wallpaper if you tire of it later. You'll probably have to prime over it, but well worth the effort if you don't the trouble of wallpaper removal. Good luck, and have fun!

[lounge_lassie]

I used to hang paper professionally so maybe I can be of help a little here. It's *much* easier to remove borders than sheets. And, it's

*much* easier to remove pre-glued paper than the kind you have to apply the glue on yourself. Mainly because the pre-glued paper is coated more evenly, and you don't have to guess at the moisture content of the glue or how to apply it.

Despite the reasoning behind the eventual removal, you don't want to do a shoddy job. One, because it will look bad, two, because it will make the removal more difficult, and three, you want to keep your wall in good shape after the removal. Prior to putting the decorative border up, make sure your wall surface is relatively clean (dust & grime free). TSP is always a good choice.

When you are applying the border, smooth it gently as you go along. I used a flat-edge squeegee-like scraper to smooth out the bubbles. You don't have to use a lot of pressure. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being extremely light and 10 being extremely hard, I'd say use about a 4. If you do end up with a bubble, just use a little razor blade and make a tiny clean slit to let the air out; then smooth over it again.

There are a couple of methods of removing old wallpaper/borders off of your wall. (I'm assuming that your closet wall is not made of wood?) Some people like to use a steamer to get the wet heat through the paper to the glue side. I was a little more patient--I just used a sponge soaked in hot water. Just keep sponging the paper as you're working your way down, and wipe the wall off behind you (this is a rather wet process--so make sure you have drop cloth, newspaper, etc. to protect your floor). If you're lucky, the paper will peel off in strips (kind of like paint after jasco has been applied.)

Don't forget that you can also paint over the wallpaper if you tire of it later. You'll probably have to prime over it, but well worth the effort if you don't the trouble of wallpaper removal. Good luck, and have fun!

[dbird]

put it up with thumb tacks... then pull the tacks out later when she wants it down......

[Renata]

Generally for wallpaper, which would probably carry over to a border:

Clean and apply sizing (this is where it might get tricky for a border that has an uneven edge, 'cause the sizing shows on the paint, so you'll prolly have to follow up with touching up the paint). The sizing makes stripping MUCH easier.

For stripping, water and vinegar do a marvelous job. Score the paper, or strip off the top layer of paper, then apply the solution.

Renata