Removing old wallpaper vs. painting/papering over it.

[AL_n]

I've moved into a house that was built about 20 years ago. A couple of the rooms have been papered with some unsightly wallpaper. The previous owner used one kind of paper for the top half of the walls and another for the bottom half, with a strip of border paper running horizontally, over the join. I wonder if this will stick out like a sore thumb if I just paint over it all. To make things wors, the top half is papered with textured paper in one of the rooms. There is a lot of wallpaper there to try and remove - and I'm not a glutton for work. What are the disadvantages (if any) in just painting over it all?

Thanks,

Al

[The Medway Handyman]

It will look like a dogs breakfast :-)

Hire/buy a steam stripper.

[<me9]

Making it much harder to remove in future!

[Dave Liquorice]

One word, begins with Y.

It'll be even harder to remove at some later date and will look a mess in the meantime.

Is the paper a vinyl one or ordinary? The approach to removal is slightly different but a steam stripper will make things considerably easier for both.

[AL_n]

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Thanks to all for the replies. The paper is ordinary. However, in one of the rooms, it has already been painted over with what looks like eggshell emulsion.

Anyway, once I have steamed & stripped the paper off, what next? Is it better to attempt to get every tiny fleck of paper off and then paint with emilsion, or is it a lot less labour intensive to get most of the old paper off and then paper with lining paper and then paint over that? Sorry if these are elementary questions answered many times elsewhere.

Now that you've raised the question of stripping the old paper, I'd like to mention the walls an an older part of the house. The older part of the house (built 1850) had a slight damp issue in the walls, as they are solid stone w/lime mortar. The previous owner covered the walls in very thin sheets of plystyrene, prior to papering. This seems to have solved the damp issue very well. I guess that if I try to remove the paper in those rooms, I'm going to have to remove the polystyrene too, and that'll all need replacing as a consequence. Perhpas I'll just paint over the paper in those rooms!

Al

Al

[<me9]

If painting directly get /all/ the old paste off, otherwise the paint will peel. If you wet the wall and it feels slippy, further washing is required.

I don't like lining paper, an extra job, and the need to strip it in later years, but with poor walls if may be an alternative to re-plastering.

[Spamlet]

I think personally that lining paper gives a much nicer, matt, finish than painting on plaster - unless you have particularly interesting 'rustically applied' plaster over say, old stone. Some are saying painted paper is difficult to remove: but once you've painted plaster you are stuck with it for good. I have never had any trouble removing painted lining paper, and, with no patterns to line up, it is very easy to apply and covers up quite a few of the minor imperfections in the plaster.

With all your different types of paper, whether painting over the lot 'sticks out like a sore thumb' or gives you an interesting set of textures to break up otherwise boring walls, is a matter for your own personal taste. Eggshell emulsion should be easy to paint over.

Incidentally, I used gloss paint over lining paper on the steamy wall above my bath and it lasted for many years. Prior to that the plaster beneath had been gloss painted, was always covered in mould and took gallons of caustic soda to remove, so that I could treat the plaster with fungicide before lining papering. Once the paper was painted the wall never needed more than an occasional wipe over.

S

[stuart noble]

Unfortunately some of the lining papers marketed as being suitable for paint have a thin vinyl layer sandwiched between two layers of paper. This means they don't stretch, so it can be difficult getting edges to meet on a wonky wall. I prefer to use the thinnest lining paper I can get hold of.

[AL_n]

"Spamlet" wrote in news:i7844q$lat$ [e-mail]:

That's all v.interesting - thanks. I think I'll paint a section of the old paper and see how it looks. If it does indeed look like a 'dog's breakfast' I'll remove it and apply lining paper followed by paint.

Al

[AL_n]

stuart noble wrote in news:srNlo.163912$Q [e-mail]:

I too have experienced that problem. I bought a whole load of lining paper from Focus a few years ago, and it did have that layer of thin plastic sandwiched inside. And yes, it was difficult to get it to conform to the wall which was not dead flat. Where can thin, 100% paper lining paper be bought these days? Does anyone know of any?

Al

[Cicero]

==============================================================================

Focus now sell different grades (1000, 800, etc.) of normal lining paper. I think it's a 'Payless' product.

Cic.

[stuart noble]

Last lot I got was in the B&Q value range. 99p IIRC. Makes good drawing paper for kids if you have any left over

[Andy Dingley]

BiL is just moving house to escape London, so they've gone rented for a year(-ish) whilst they look around for something to buy. In the meantime, the whole family spent the weekend speed-decorating the rental.

It is _much_ easier, and gives a better result, to strip the wallpaper, re-paper and then paint onto flat well-attached lining paper. It's "more work" in terms of stages to complete, but these are stages that just work, not frustratingly trying to patch your way around crumbling plaster holes and anaglypta that looks like the tentacles of Cthulthu. It does also take longer - there's some waiting while the freshly hung paper dries a bit. However you've probably got other rooms to be getting on with.

• Don't paint plaster. It makes it a PITA for the future.

• Don't paint patterned paper. It's easier to strip and hang lining paper than to paint over something non-flat. If you're lucky, old vinyl might dry tear off its backing cleanly and leave you the backing paper as a ready-made paint surface.

• Stripping uses a steam stripper, and good steam-proof gloves. Cheap to buy (Cheap Earlex, not an overpriced one), or you can hire.

• When hanging before painting, torn edges (not cut) and decorator's caulk are your friends for a smooth job.

[AL_n]

Andy Dingley wrote in news:bd4c3646-8453-44dc- [e-mail]:

Ah - a Lovecraft lover!! A man after my own heart!

Ph´nglui mglw´nafh Cthulhu R´lyeh wgah´nagl fhtagn!!! (-;

...Thanks for the excellent tips there..

Al

[Andy Dingley]

I'll leave your brain to the Mi-go

[AL_n]

Andy Dingley wrote in news:a39f0620-1e3a-4574- [e-mail]:

Oh, NO!! Anything but those pinkish, fungoid, crustacean-like entities the size of a man with a convoluted ellipsoid composed of pyramided, fleshy rings and covered in antennae where a head would normally be!!!

[Spamlet]

Thanks: I had not noticed that: and now you mention it, my latest unused rolls do look a bit stiffer.

Cheers, S

[Spamlet]

I found using a steamer rather awkward, but I suppose paper with a lot of paint on would leave not much option. Generally I just have a garden sprayer on a mist setting, and just keep misting one wall while stripping the one previously saturated. Usually comes off very easy; often in one piece. Softly, softly, catchee monkey. (There are also spiked rollers for perforating multiple layers to help the water soak in, though they can be tiring to use.)

S

[AL_n]

Has anyone found wallpaper stripping solution worth using? For example:

've also heard of people using vinegar. Is that any good? What is the dilution ration?

I've also seen mention of using laundry fabric softener, (diluted). Has anyone found that to be effective?

Al

[Chris J Dixon]

looking to do is reduce the surface tension to increase the wetting ability. A few drops of washing up liquid does this.

Having struggled through a few difficult rooms over the years, I kicked myself for not getting a steam stripper earlier. Whilst the working conditions are a little less pleasant, and you need to be careful not to linger too long on any one location, at risk of blowing the plaster, the job is a great deal faster.

If you want to read the accumulated wisdom on the subject, try here