painting wallpaper?!!

[dazednotconfused]

hello all! we have only recently moved into a new flat & it has a dark blue wallpaper which desperately needs brightening up! it is shiny(ish), card-like and like i say... dark. i have just tried a tester coat of white emulsion on one section, dont know if i was too heavy handed with the paint but i used a paint brush to start with, then progressed to a roller. the places i used the brush are fine but those where i used the roller have long bubbles forming. this may be coincidental but i have stopped the painting anyhow. i know the building was built in

18'something or other so the walls are uneven and i wouldnt trust stripping the paper off incase i bring parts of the wall down aswell they are the old horse hair / mud type... does anybody have any suggestions? my time is limited and im on a budget so any helpful hints & tricks would be very much appreciated. cheers

[al]

Don't know about the bubbles thing. However, you could use a large brush and slap on an undercoat first, as you wouldn't have to worry about perfect finish, etc. so much. Then use a fine sand paper to give it a nice key and rub down with a damp towel. You should be able to paint normally over that then with a roller.

a

[[news]]

did you wash the wallpaper thoroughly with sugar soap before painting ?

have you tried a paint pad ?

was the previous occupier a smoker ?

RT

[Nick Atty]

With luck you'll find the bubbles go down when the paint dries.