Painting a patterned wallpaper

nirajn123

We have a nice patterned wallpaper in the hallway, which appears to be painted in the past with a nice shade of pastel blue. I am looking to refresh it but keep the same colour as it looks great. 
I have never attempted painting a wallpaper before, will this work, and the current paint seem to be extremely thin - how do I achieve that - I don't want to end up with a thick layer of paint on the wallpaper and no visible pattern at all.

Apodemus

I would think that you might be best to use distemper rather than paint to achieve the effect that you are looking for.  https://roseofjericho.co.uk/technical/traditional-paints-limewash-and-distemper-2/

MovingForwards

I did it years ago, paint soaked into the paper and the pattern was visible under it.
Someone else did theirs years ago, the paper lifted away from the walls but as it dries settled back into them.

I've just done the hallway in a dark colour, quite thick paint and can still see the pattern.

Jeepers_Creepers

That's nice :-)

Do you know the colour involved? I think it should be absolutely fine with normal matt emulsion applied using a short-pile roller, but rolled out thinly. Ie, 'load' the roller with paint as usual, but then roll off the bulk using the raised section of the rolling tray, and then start off lightly applying it to the paper so's the paint is delivered on to a larger area than you would normally. Then work it over so's it's a thin and even coat.

Basically do what is not usually recommend - roll it out as thinly and as far as it'll go! You can always apply a second coat if needed.

What finish is there now - matt or silk?

twopenny

How nice to see something different!

I'd have a soft paint brush to hand as well as the roller to even out anywhere you see is a problem as you go. Remember as long as it's not glaringly wrong no one, including you, will notice when it's just background.

nirajn123

MovingForwards said:

I did it years ago, paint soaked into the paper and the pattern was visible under it.
Someone else did theirs years ago, the paper lifted away from the walls but as it dries settled back into them.

I've just done the hallway in a dark colour, quite thick paint and can still see the pattern.

I think this is it, it is probably going to soak the paint in. Any particular type of paint you used?

nirajn123

Jeepers_Creepers said:

That's nice :-)

Do you know the colour involved? 

What finish is there now - matt or silk?

Thanks. No idea about the exact colour except that it is pastel blue. Its matt, but I could experiment with silk.

Bigphil1474

OP, get some tester pots, and have a go - try different methods in different spots and see which works best for the finish you are after. It's all going to be painted over so no harm. Depending how big the wall is, I'd be tempted to highlight the raised bits in a different shade by hand.

frogglet

This paper is designed to be painted with emulsion. B and Q do hundreds of colours mixed for you.

Jeepers_Creepers

nirajn123 said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

That's nice :-)

Do you know the colour involved? 

What finish is there now - matt or silk?

Thanks. No idea about the exact colour except that it is pastel blue. Its matt, but I could experiment with silk.

No! Silk is 'orrible :-) I just wondered what was already there, that's all.

Seriously, you will be fine rolling this on - short-pile roller (a mini-roller is often easier to use), and roll the paint out literally as far as you can spread it; you'll end up pressing reasonably firmly to do this (ie deliver the paint out as far and thinly as possible), and then finish off with lighter rolls to ensure it's as flat as possible.

You only get texture if the paint it applied thick enough to be 'textured'. I

I'd say there is nigh-on zero risk of the paper lifting, and nigh-on 100% chance of you being utterly chuffed with the finish.

(But...matt, matt, matt :-)   )

MovingForwards

nirajn123 said:

MovingForwards said:

I did it years ago, paint soaked into the paper and the pattern was visible under it.
Someone else did theirs years ago, the paper lifted away from the walls but as it dries settled back into them.

I've just done the hallway in a dark colour, quite thick paint and can still see the pattern.

I think this is it, it is probably going to soak the paint in. Any particular type of paint you used?

Good home (B&Q) walls and ceilings coloured paint, silk.

The colour I opted for was Milltown as it seemed a great one for the era of my home.