The Pros and Cons Of Painting Over Wallpaper
Removing wallpaper is never as fun as it looks on home improvement TV shows. If you have ever tackled wallpaper removal, you know that it usually comes off in tiny little bits rather than long strips. If you are looking to revamp wallpapered walls by adding a coat of paint, you might consider painting over wallpaper rather than removing it.
Painting Over Wallpaper: Is It Possible?
Not every wallpapered wall lends itself to being painted. Before you decide to forgo peeling the wallpaper off a wall, choosing instead to paint over the wallpaper, carefully inspect every inch of your walls. If the wallpaper has any tears, even small ones, they will show up when you paint over the wallpaper. Carefully run your hands over every wallpaper seam and make sure that they are solidly sealed. If your seams are not sealed well, it may be possible to purchase a tube of seam sealer and fix the problem, but you will only be able to paint if the seam seals together flawlessly.
It is also important to look for any slits, bubbles or scratches in the wallpaper. If any exist, they will show up when you apply paint. Once you have inspected the walls you can make an educated decision as to whether the condition of the wallpaper makes your room a good candidate for painting over wallpaper.
Painting Over Wallpaper: Prepping The Walls
Any time that you paint, you should take the time to prep the surface of the area you wish to paint. When painting over wallpaper, your prep will be a bit different than it would be if you painted over a painted wall.
Start your prepping process by giving the walls a thorough cleaning. You can use a basic household cleaner for this or buy a degreasing product that is made especially for pre-paint cleaning. Once the walls have been washed and allowed to dry, use joint compound, found at any hardware store, to seal every seam. This will ensure that the seams won't come loose later on, after you have painted. If you are planning to paint flocked or textured wallpaper, slather the joint compound over the entire wall to smooth the surface of the paper. Once the joint compound has dried, you need to sand it smooth.
If you are painting over dark colored wallpaper, you might consider prepping the wall with a sealer to ensure that the color of the wallpaper doesn't bleed through the paint. Whether or not you use a sealer, you should always paint over wallpaper with a strong primer before you paint the wall with your chosen color.
