Can you paint over wallpaper?

This is something that every home owner or tenant thinks about once for sure, whether they can paint over a wallpaper or not?

Can you actually paint over wallpaper?

Peeling off an existing wallpaper can be tiresome at time, especially when you have to do it yourself. So the answer is – YES you can paint over wallpaper.

But still there are few situations that you need to pay attention to when thinking painting over wallpaper –

• If the wallpaper is extremely damaged with air bubbles and pronounced tears, then painting over it will not effectively hide the underlying issue.
• A darker shade of wallpaper will need multiple coats of paint, especially if the new paint to cover the wallpaper is lighter in colour.
• If the wallpaper is heavily textured, then hiding the texture will not be easy.
• Do you have the necessary skilled labour and material to get the job done? Or is the option to peel and re-paint more accessible to you?

How to paint over wallpaper?

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Fix the problematic areas/spots

Use adhesive to seal off peeled portions of the wallpaper as well as the edges all over.

Replace damaged sections with leftover rolls of wallpaper.

Step 2: Prep the surface

In case of textured wallpapers, apply a layer of gypsum joint compound to even out the surface.

Sand down the edges and joints gently to make them less visible.

Apply a coat of oil-based primer to the entire surface. This is an important step that will protect the wallpaper from the paint’s moisture.

Step 3: Paint the wall

Paint the entire wall in your desired shade of colour. Preferably, apply an oil-based paint. The number of coats required will depend on the texture and the shade of the wallpaper.

Now – How about putting up wallpaper over a painted wall?

Yes, without a doubt, wallpapering over painted walls is possible.

Here’s how:

Ensure that the surface is even. Therefore, get any leakages or dents in the wall fixed before applying the wallpaper.

Once the surface is evened out and all major issues fixed, apply a layer of primer before gluing the wallpaper.

If the wall is in a great condition, gently sand the surface and apply a layer of primer to the wall before layering it with the wallpaper.

So, we hope this blog must have given you some insight on how to paint over wallpaper and how to install wallpaper on painted wall. For stunning wallpaper you can log in to www.ultrawalls.com.