Yet wallpaper is finicky stuff to remove.
Somepatches may come offwith ease, with other areas simply refusing to budge.
The alternative is to paint over the wallpaper.
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Can You Paint Over Wallpaper?
Yes, it’s possible for you to paint over wallpaper.
However, this isn’t as simple as rolling paint over the paper and letting it dry.
The wallpaper must be cleaned, repaired, and primed with multiple coats before it’s ready for paint.
First, examine the wallpaper to determine if painting over it is possible.
If it is peeling away in large sections, removing it is a smarter move than painting over it.
Some types of wallpaper won’t allow paint to adhere.
Do not paint over fabric-backed vinyl, textured wallpapers, and coated peel-and-stick wallpaper.
Painting over these types of wallpaper might do more harm than good.
The paint will make it difficult, if not impossible, to remove the wallpaper without marring the walls.
Preparation
With acordless drillor screwdriver, remove items from the wall that will not be painted.
This might include switch or outlet faceplates, pictures and picture hangers, shelves, or sconce lights.
Set these items safely aside.
With the painter’s tape, tape off all areas that will not be painted.
This might include baseboards, trim, door and window casings, and large shelves.
Be careful to only cut through the wallpaper, not into the drywall.
Walk around the entire room with a flashlight held at a low angle to better identify the loose areas.
Warning
Put on a respirator or other breathing safety gadget before opening up the primer or paint.
Ventilate the work area as well as possible.
Add Tape and Joint Compound to Seams
Covering the wallpaper seams keeps them flat.
If paint seeps through the wallpaper seams, the seams begin to curl and peel up.
To reduce dust, you may want to purchasedust-control joint compound.
Add a Second Layer of Primer
Apply a second coat of primer.
Not only does this further strengthen the first coat, but it helps to seal the porous joint compound.
If the wallpaper is in good condition, removing it to paint may damage the walls.
In this case, it can be a good idea to paint over wallpaper.
You must use an oil-based primer over the wallpaper because water-based primer can loosen the wallpaper.
But you might choose either water- or oil-based paint to go over the primer.
Avoid painting over wallpaper in extremely poor, dirty, or moldy condition.
Also, do not paint over coated or fabric-backed vinyl wallpaper.
