Painting over wallpaper

aaryal

Just moved into a new home. I want to do some serious renovation work next year but for the meanwhile, I want to do a cheap-fix which is to paint over the wallpaper.

Any suggestions on this? From what I've read so far, it seems like using a primer as an inital coating is essential.

Any suggestions on how best to stop the paint spilling all over the skirting board?

Also, any suggestions on whether to go for oil or water based paint?

Thanks.

flashg67

My thoughts would be standard emulsion - cheap and gives good quick coverage. Oil based paints are generally for woodwork.


You could mask the skirtings, but practice a bit and you should be able to do a neat job with a decent quality brush and a steady hand. Wipe off spills whilst wet with a damp cloth as you go.

aaryal

flashg67 wrote: »

My thoughts would be standard emulsion - cheap and gives good quick coverage. Oil based paints are generally for woodwork.


You could mask the skirtings, but practice a bit and you should be able to do a neat job with a decent quality brush and a steady hand. Wipe off spills whilst wet with a damp cloth as you go.

Thanks for the good advice here. What exactly is standard emulsion? Did a quick google but keeps giving "Dulux" results so thought of just asking you instead.

Masking sounds like what I'd do aswell. For the big walls, I'm just going to prime them and then paint them with a big roller.

aaryal

aaryal wrote: »

Thanks for the good advice here. What exactly is standard emulsion? Did a quick google but keeps giving "Dulux" results so thought of just asking you instead.

Masking sounds like what I'd do aswell. For the big walls, I'm just going to prime them and then paint them with a big roller.

Just got my answer here regarding emulsion paint:
http://www.emulsion.co.uk/

Water based paint that gives a matt effect (as opposed to glossy).

Just what I wanted, thanks.

pendragon_arther

If you do your 'cutting in' first before rollering there's no need to mask as you won't need to get so close to the woodwork.

Annie1960

I did this when I moved into my first house, 30-odd years ago.

No need to use primer - this is usually oil-based and used for wood, metal etc. Just emulsion. As pendragon_arthur said, get a small angled brush (Harrison are very good) and cut in (i.e. paint) the edges of the walls first, to the ceiling and skirtings. Then use either a big brush or a roller to do the rest.

Many of the modern paints are 'one coat' which give better coverage. I've never found one coat was enough, you may well need a second, but with standard emulation you may even need a third coat.

What type of wallpaper is on the walls? If it is very porous you may need a 'mis-coat' first, i.e. dilute the paint 50:50 with water, then when that has dried give it a normal coat.

movilogo

If possible, get the wallpapers ripped. You can do it yourself with a wallpaper stripper [costs £25 or so]. It is a laborious process but worth it.

Alternatively, if the wall paper is not showing any sign of peeling, you can simply paint with emulsion - no need to apply primer.

Le_Kirk

Before applying any paint, make sure that all of the existing wallpaper is stuck down properly - sometimes after some years, paper starts peeling off at ceiling/coving or skirting or joints between drops. If you decide to go ahead with painting, take the advice above of using a 50/50 dilute first, then just normal strength paint. If you are masking the skirting, use low adhesion masking and test a small area first, say behind a chair or cupboard to make sure it doesn't pull the paint off when you remove it.

aaryal

Thanks everyone for the useful advice here. Already learnt quite a bit with your comments

Ectophile

If you're not used to painting, go for a non-drip emulsion. These are thicker and less inclined to drip or flick off the end of the brush. All DIY stores sell non-drip as it's aimed at DIYers.

Trade emulsion is cheaper. But it's runnier and if you don't know what you're doing, you will end up with paint everywhere.

Don't forget to cover the floors if you want to keep the carpets. There will be drips even with non-drip paint.

If you get drips on skirting boards or other woodwork, wipe it off quickly before it dries. It's easy enough to get off of gloss paint while it's still wet. Keep a load of old rags or a kitchen roll handy.

Edwardgdee

Painting over paper is quick and easy but should you later decide you need to strip the paper then you have set yourself up with a problem.