NFT: Question for Painters Regarding Wallpaper

but only due to time constraints or pure laziness. It will look different than a regular painted wall for sure but if the paper is properly attached to the wall the paint won't cause a problem.

If it was properly applied it will strip very easily and if it wasn't it will just take a little more time and require some chemicals.

We just bought a large old house that was covered in wallpaper, sometimes 3 or 4 layers and my wife stripped all of it in a couple of weekends. Your bathroom shouldn't take more than half a day.

I would strip it.

First of all priming won’t be enough. You need to smooth over the seams with drywall compound. In the end I don’t t think you save yourself that much time and effort. And if the paper starts peeling down the road you’re screwed. The humid environment of a bathroom makes that outcome fairly likely.

Do it right the first time. Wagner makes a wallpaper steamer that works really well and isn’t very expensive. After removal, clean the walls well to get all the paste off. Then apply a primer. Zinnzer makes a water based product called Gardz that’s fantastic for this. It seals in any residual wallpaper adhesive and also hardens any drywall paper that’s been damaged.

the Golden Rule of married life! Happy wife, happy life!

...to strip. The decorative paper layer should come off with a combination of just pulling at it and a long-handled razor scraper. Scraper

Once the top paper is off just wipe the walls down with a mix of warm water and fabric softener and the glue paper should come off really easy.

In comment 14441588 Jim in Fairfax said:

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First of all priming won’t be enough. You need to smooth over the seams with drywall compound. In the end I don’t t think you save yourself that much time and effort. And if the paper starts peeling down the road you’re screwed. The humid environment of a bathroom makes that outcome fairly likely. Do it right the first time. Wagner makes a wallpaper steamer that works really well and isn’t very expensive. After removal, clean the walls well to get all the paste off. Then apply a primer. Zinnzer makes a water based product called Gardz that’s fantastic for this. It seals in any residual wallpaper adhesive and also hardens any drywall paper that’s been damaged.

Jim a lot of great info here. I appreciate that. I have that one small bathroom, then eventually the master bathroom that will be affected by heat/humidity.

My wife and I actually did our second bathroom together and stripped/sanded the walls of the bathroom, but that took a couple of days to do so. I will investigate this Wagner stripper.

Thanks!

He's been a painter for almost 3 decades.

Based off my experiences, you'd be better off taking a warm sponge and scrubbing the wallpaper off. Even when the wall is completely stripped, you'll want to run your hands on it to feel for spots still heavy with glue. When scrubbing the wallpaper, let it sit for maybe 5-10 minutes before attempting to take it off. Comes off a lot easier.

While its a nuisance right now, you'll run into less problems down the line. It probably won't look good and you run the risk of the paper eventually creasing underneath which would make the paint look messed up. I have seen some people do it but for the most part, you wanna prep it the right way.

My dad has always been a Benjamin Moore guy. Wasn't a fan of Sherwin Williams or Behr. Never used PPG but its good paint.

In comment 14441700 GiantGrit said:

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He's been a painter for almost 3 decades. Based off my experiences, you'd be better off taking a warm sponge and scrubbing the wallpaper off. Even when the wall is completely stripped, you'll want to run your hands on it to feel for spots still heavy with glue. When scrubbing the wallpaper, let it sit for maybe 5-10 minutes before attempting to take it off. Comes off a lot easier. While its a nuisance right now, you'll run into less problems down the line. It probably won't look good and you run the risk of the paper eventually creasing underneath which would make the paint look messed up. I have seen some people do it but for the most part, you wanna prep it the right way. My dad has always been a Benjamin Moore guy. Wasn't a fan of Sherwin Williams or Behr. Never used PPG but its good paint.

Thanks for the reply. Kind of funny you mentioned the three types of paint. I have learned that Benjamin Moore is more of a north of the Mason-Dickson line of the country, and Sherwin Williams is a primary south of the mason-Dickson line of the country preferred paint.

Not sure what paint we'll use for that half bath restroom, but we do know that the wallpaper is predominant forest green in color, and the wife wants a similar paint color in there. Hopefully it should only take a quart to half gallon of the paint.

Thanks again for the reply.

will rent you a steamer...

plenty of non toxic chemical strippers that work great and a gallon at the big box store will cost you less than $20. I have a steamer and made much more progress with the chemicals. As I said, we just did a couple of hundred square feet.

creates a huge problem when trying to get it off later.

In comment 14441804 deegee1 said:

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will rent you a steamer...

Yes they will — it’s $38 per day. You can own the Wagner I mentioned for $50.

I removed the paper with a Steamer. Worked good. Took off as much of the paper and glue as I could with a sraper. Then used (it was mentioned already) Gardz. Worked Great. Didn't kill myself...

In the bathroom the paper is waterproof so it doesn't get mold. That said waiting can be useless. So get a razer blade and cut lines in it so the chemical get behind the Water prof paper.

is wetting it all down can be useless slice lines in the water prof paper and than soak it with chem or hot water with white vineger.

In comment 14441961 mdthedream said:

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In the bathroom the paper is waterproof so it doesn't get mold. That said waiting can be useless. So get a razer blade and cut lines in it so the chemical get behind the Water prof paper.

Such paper is in 2 layers: a top layer that’s waterproof, and a backing layer made of paper which is the layer glued to the wall. Usually the top layer will peel off; a little steam can help if it doesn’t peel easily. The backing layer can then be steamed off or removed chemically.