Wall Prep for Paint?

[Fred Mayfield]

So, about 9 months ago my wife decided she wanted to strip the wallpaper off the bathroom walls and cover the walls and ceiling with ceramic tile. She felt it would help with the mold problem. I didn't think it was a good idea so I haven't been much help. ;>)

In preparation for my daughter's October wedding in the backyard, the wife and daughter stripped the old wall paper off leaving a nice shredded paper kind of finish. About a month ago they agreed that they needed to just paint the walls. Now, with 18 days to go it's obvious they're not gonna get it done. I gotta help.

How do I get the walls ready to paint? Do I finish stripping the paper off the walls completely or just get the loose stuff off and blow some texture on the wall? I assume I need to prime the walls and then put a top coat over that.

Ultimately she thinks she still wants something else, but we need something besides brown paper for the wedding.

Oh, it's a small bathroom with a shower. I installed a ceiling vent several years ago which is switched on almost every time someone takes a shower. (With teenagers though, it still gets pretty steamy in there.) Now, the one thing I didn't do right was vent the fan through the roof. Instead I have it strapped to a rafter so I know there's more moisture in the attic than necessary and that's not good. It's an old ranch style house with big vents at either end of the roof and both soffit and ridge vents.

Anyway, any help with 1) getting paint on the walls and 2) addressing the mold issue would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Fred. (Life is good, don't blow it!)

[franz frippl]

Two ways to do things: the easy way and the right way.

I had a house with wallpaper in every room. In addition to wallpaper, there was at least 5 coats of paint on the wallpaper. Made removal difficult. Finally had to scrape with razorblades to get every last speck of paper removed.

The best way to prep wall is to remove all paper and glue. Wash the wall. Paint. If there are stains, you might want to use a product such as Kilz before the final coat.

Do the job right and maybe the frau and kid will let you have a good time at the wedding.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

See how I removed everything except for the combination of two things that will make you want to kill yourself a year from now? There is no way textured walls belong in a bathroom, especially if you have mildew problems. Imagine trying to run a sponge across a textured wall to remove mildew. No. Error. Don't do it. If you have magazines, books, brochures or people in the house which suggest textured walls in the bathroom, get rid of them immediately.

Later in this discussion, someone may say they have textured walls in their bathroom and it's fine. They are lying.

[Al Bundy]

"Fred Mayfield" wrote in news:cMAMi.1070$ [e-mail]:

DON'T PAINT OVER THE WALLPAPER. It will give you more grief in the future than you want to deal with.

Get the rest of the paper and backing off the wall. Rinse well to get any leftover glue off. Fix any damage from removing the paper, old holes, nicks, etc. Prime (or the areas you fixed will show in certain light). Get primer tinted to 3/4 the final color you choose. Paint. 2 coats is always the bomb.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Good advice. One thing missing:

Whatever drying time is mentioned on the paint can, it's a lie. Multiply by

1. Make that 3 if it's a damp environment. If it says 24 hours, that means nobody takes a shower in that bathroom for 72 hours. A week would be even better. There's nothing you can do to speed things up. Not a fan, nothing.

[Norminn]

Spray the brown paper with a spray bottle and warm water. Let first appl. soak in about 10 min., spray again, wait a bit but don't let it dry. Scrape gently and it should come off with ease. Probably more glue and paper left - repeat process.

Where is the mildew? If it is along where the seams were, it probably if from the paste getting wet from condensation seeping into seams or along edge. Wash the wall well till all paste is gone, using a little bleach in the water. Rinse well. Dry well. Prime if the paint beneath isn't sound. Paint.

[hallerb]

a wall paper steamer will save tons of work and rental is cheap

[scott21230]

I agree.