The act of painting over wallpaper is — without a doubt — 1 of the near regularly proclaimed "no-nos" in home improvement. In many cases, I'd exist right there with the majority, recommending that you remove the wallpaper for the sake of achieving the best possible painting finish. Just hither, this situation's a little bit different, and if y'all've been thinking about simply painting over existing wallpaper, well, who am I to judge? Just maybe information technology'south the right class of action for you lot likewise.

My kitchen, defenseless up in the 1950s, is the space that I committed to making over this yr. Its textured wallpaper is decades old (possibly not '50s, just certainly something that has faded with the age of the house). It'southward not a decor option that I would be thrilled to live with for years, yet I take a hard fourth dimension pulling the trigger and removing it all prior to painting because my husband and I envision existence able to a total remodel in a couple of years. For us, painting over the wallpaper is a large, temporary cover-up.

Painting over wallpaper can wait really bad. No, similar, actually, really bad. If y'all have long edges of wallpaper unrolling or air bubbles below the surface, you will be better off removing it completely. But if not, with a lilliputian wallpaper training and a few tricks, you can exist left with a finished upshot that you're happy with. Here are my best tips for you.

Clean upwardly loose corners and edges. If your wallpaper is as old as mine, you're bound to detect a corner hither or a seam in that location that isn't attached too as information technology should be. This shouldn't be plenty to deter y'all entirely but should exist handled carefully. I recommend using a potent agglutinative to re-braze those pesky corners. Allow the adhesive to dry earlier you pigment.

Clean the walls well. There are lots of general cleaning tips for keeping your wallpaper in prime condition.

  • Vacuuming is widely recommended for all types of wallpaper. You'll want to remove as much dust equally possible from the surface of the wallpaper before painting.
  • Cheque to meet if your home has a coated wallpaper. You can notice out whether or not your wallpaper is coated past getting information technology lightly wet in a hidden area to check if the colors bleed or wet is absorbed — if information technology'southward absorbed or bleeds, it'south likely uncoated.
  • If your home has an uncoated wallpaper like grasscloth, wallpaper dough should be your go-to.
  • Tips for using wallpaper dough: This product is sold at many habitation comeback and pigment-supply stores. I oasis't had the pleasure of testing it out, just have heard that it's best for getting stains and rest off uncoated wallpapers. As the outer side of the dough brawl gets muddy, knead it until the outer edge is in one case once more fresh. Reuse to your center'southward desire.
  • If your wallpaper is a coated texture, you can wash the wall with a damp sponge.
  • Tips for washing the wallpaper with a sponge: Utilise a clammy (read: not drippy) sponge and dishwashing detergent that has grease-cutting power to make clean the walls. Avoid wiping horizontally, because the sponge volition be more likely to catch on any loose vertical seams. Endeavor with all your might to keep moisture from getting into the seams.

In one case the walls have been glued, cleaned, washed and have air-dried, you should be set to brainstorm testing paint. You might want to start in a hidden wallpapered area (for me, this was backside the fridge) to get a ameliorate sense of how the paint is going to look over the wallpaper and also to notice how many coats of primer and paint will exist necessary.