How can I paint over wall paper?

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Sometimes removing old wallpaper before painting is not an easy project. So when you try to remove the wallpaper that has been glue directly on the drywall without the use of primer can cause some damage to the walls. So it is advisable to paint over wallpaper, if you are not planning on using a wallpaper at all, or  if you choose to remove the paint later, it will not be a big task. In fact in older homes wallpaper is usually pasted on plaster walls and removing those wallpapers can make the plaster to come off and in newer home wallpaper is mostly applied on drywall so removing the wallpaper from this drywall can damage the drywall seriously. So replacing a majority of the plaster or drywall might end up being more expensive. In such cases it is much better and cheaper to attempt to just paint over the wallpaper.

How to paint over wallpaper?

Before you start to paint over your wallpaper, the first thing you have to do is to remove any loose or peeling wallpaper from the wall because usually when you are trying to paint over your wallpaper, you will face two major problems. The first problem is bubbling and the second one is edges which will be visible under the paint. So you have to just pull at any loose edges and peel whatever will come away from the walls. Don’t leave any loose edges untouched because they may peel off later.

After you have removed those loose edges of the wallpaper you need to use drywall mud to smooth out any uneven spots on the wall where you have peeled off. If you see any bubbling after smoothed it, use a drywall knife to cut those spots nicely and then smooth it again with the drywall mud. In fact you can use this drywall knife and smooth the compound over the cracks, wallpaper damage, holes and other damage. Once it has dried, you have to give the base coat on your walls by oil based primer. This primer will prevent any patterns from showing through the paint as well as will prevent the wallpaper peeling from the walls.

Now finally you can paint your walls that were wallpapered before. Two coats of flat or low gloss, oil based paint will allow you to apply color to your wall with no hint that wallpaper was ever there.

How to remove the paint from wallpaper?

You can remove the paint anytime without any big effort, if the paint is still fresh you can normally use ordinary water and a cloth. Use only white cloth to avoid mixing of dyes from the colored cloth to the wall. If you want to remove dried paint, then use rubbing alcohol that is available in stores. When you use rubbing alcohol the paint should easily come off with minimal rubbing. It is much simpler to paint over the wall paper in some cases than trying to strip it down completely. It much more easier than steaming and stripping the wallpaper off.

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