Can you paint over wallpaper?
ladytopaz
I'm in my new house. It's a dream. But, My dining room is has wallpaper on the walls that I don't care for. Would it cost more put other wallpaper over what I have on there now or paint primer over the wallpaper and paint it. Could that be done or not? I haven't started this project yet, because I'm reading every ones advice and suggestion. But, I did found out what is under the wallpaper. It's Paneling! I can feel the grooves under the wallpaper. Would that make it easier to paint?
shavitto
We bought our first home last year and 3 of the rooms were covered in floral wallpaper. The bathroom and one of the bedrooms I stripped. By the time I got to my bedroom I was tired of it. So, I painted over it. It looks great for the space. It was kind of a glossy paper so you can see the design slightly underneath it. If the paper is in good condition I say go for it. If not the paint might seep underneath. I also used a very dark cherrywood color. Don't know how a lighter color would take. Hope this helps and have fun
catwoman708
If the paper is still securely adhered to the wall, just paper over it. There are paintable, textured wall papers, but they are a little more expensive. I would remove it and retexture the wall before I'd paint over it. I don't particularly care for wallpaper anyway.
ju-ju
if you dedicated a weekend to the project, you could likely remove the paper and paint it yourself for a minimal investment. first, score the paper (they have tools for this at the paint store for about $10) and then spray with a solution made from warm water and liquid fabric softener, wait a few minutes and start peeling. the paper should some right off. if there is an under paper (depends on what's up there), you may need to respray and pull off and/or scrape off the underpaper. unless this paper has been up there for >20 years and is well adhered to the walls or there are multiple layers of paper, this process shouldn't take long at all. wipe walls and paint. a friend of mine did this recently and then painted her room in ralph lauren's sueded paint (to disguise less than perfect walls) and the room looks fantastic!! well worth the effort and from start to finish, it was done in a weekend! p.s.-an option is to cover it with 1/4 inch drywall or even beadboard, and paint that.
Paula_L
Our first house was older and they had painted over wall-paper in just about every room. You could see the seams when the wall was a solid painted color, so it was obvious what they had done. We ended up tearing out the sheetrock down to the studs and putting up new. Later, when you decide on a different color, it will be layers of paint over wallpaper, which will stick out even more. It will be a pain to strip the paper, but if you want to keep the walls looking decent for years to come, it is worth the effort. It's possible the paper was put up to cover some defective walls, but it's hard to know until you get it pulled off. I would never put up wallpaper after the headache we had with our previous house. It's pretty, but it tends to get outdated and then it's more work to redo.Good luck!
smilelyjae
I am in the process of stipping wallpaper in my newly purchased house that was built inthe 50's. What we did not know was that the wall are made out of Lathe and Plaster and not dry-wall! It has proved very difficult to remove the wallpaper. We have tried every way to remove paper and the best has actually been a combination of products. 22oz wallpaper remover solution, 1/4 c. Fabric softner, 1 c. vinager, and 1 Tb. baking soda in 5 gallons hot water. then we sprayed on the solution and let it soak in and then used a scraper to remove the wallpaper. The key has been keeping the paper saturated.Note: Don't bother renting a steamer, it was quite ineffective and can damage the wall.
28yo mom
i bought a home that was covered in wallpaper i didn't like. i primered the walls and painted over them and even 3 years later, it still looks great. i have walls that are both light colors as well as dark. hope that helps
Sjbl
Yes u can paint over it very quickly, Buy Kilz primer and give it a coat or two and you should only have to have one coat of paint, given that the wallpaper is in good condition. I did my kitchen and you can not tell it. Good Luck
mama z
You'll get a better result if you strip the wallpaper first and then paint. There's a product called DIF that makes the paper come off easier. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's. It doesn't take that much time and it will give you a bare wall to start fresh.
j-nean
I just did this very thing!!! It turned out great!! I went to Scherwin Williams paint store and bought a gallon of OIL BASE primer and they told me to tint it a dark blue gray (I was painting over wallpaper w/ floral print and didn't want the flowers to bled through). I painted the walls. Then, used a latex (water base) red colored paint. I only had to use 2 coats of this and am amazed. Walls looks great. TIP: when I taped freshly painted wall ( around the molding ) the red paint pulled off in places but not the primer. The primer was oil base and the red was a latex. The red didn't stick as well to the oil base and pulled off. Let the paint COMPLETELY dry (for a week) and GENTLY pull off the tape. It will work!! And you won't have to touch up!!
p3t
I was always told never use oil base then latex on top 'cause it will bubble and peel. I have wall papered a lot 'cause my home is over 100 years old and it seen proper. Never had much luck with Dif normally just water and a scraper. I have used the 1/4 in sheet rock also 'cause of damaged sheetrock.
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