I am remodeling my bathrooms, but they have old wall paper. Can I just seal it and then texture, prime and paint over it?
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You could but doing that is sure to come back and bite you when the wallpaper blisters or starts to fall off the wall...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
IMERC
You could but doing that is sure to come back and bite you when the wallpaper blisters or starts to fall off the wall...
If that were to happen, wouldn't that mean water somehow got behind the sealed wallpaper? Provided it was properly sealed on the surface.
I dislike wallpaper in a bathroom, cause 99% that I have seen does peel at least at the seams.
If after a proper sealing, the paper does peel then I would suspect moisture getting in behind the paper from the other side.
The sealer will lift the paper and the texture of the paper and it's seams will telegraph thru yur finished product...
In an hour or two you can have the paper gone and it won't be a problem..
High humidity from a shower will "leak" into everywhere...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
What does one do when the wallpaper peels off the drywall paper as well? Skim coat with spackle?
Reason this caught my eye, is in-laws have peeling wall paper in their bath, asked me to help them get it out and return it to just painted walls.
One area they did themselves they put this wallpaper-like sheeting on the wall that is supposed to give a new paintable surface to the drywall. They left gaps at the seams, which is very noticeable when painted. I don't know a way out of this without peeling and skimming. Any ideas?
There are sealers specific to seal the frayed, abraided DW paper... SW carries it...
Roll on DW mud, (thinned) sand, (do this more than once if you have to), prime and drive on...
Lapped and butted seams telegraph too....
Ditch the paper and take care of anything that arises... The lesser of evils and you won't have to look back...
Short cuts here will more than likely end up costing you more in time energy and money... you could end up doing it all over again and then some...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
When it comes to paint and paper, it's all about surface preparation. The more time you spend preparing the surface, the better the job both in terms of longevity and appearance. The prep work can be 50% of the job or more.
To have a professional looking job the paper would be removed, excess glue removed, nicks and dings in the wall are patched and sanded, stains are spot primed and the walls are primed. If papering, you coat the walls with sizing.
Most seam failures or bubbling on wall paper is the hangers fault. Rolling the seams too early or with too much pressure. Uneven glue or pressure as well as not letting the paper book right can all lead to problems later.
If you leave the paper and paint over it now, the job will be harder to do the next time and will probably look cheap. Removing is a messy job. Many are using liquid wall paper remover and a scoring tool. Works well, you have to let the stuff work and go light with the scoring tool. Steamers also work well and you can skip the scoring tool or use it. The good part is the place will get a heck of a good wash down. The bad part is that the existing paper may be covering some beat up walls.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hammer put it so well...
>> The bad part is that the existing paper may be covering some beat up walls.
which is the more reason to remove and fix. My mindset to these types of situations when one is serious about the end result is always " you can't gold-plate s##t" :-)
The best way i've found to deal with wallpaper is with my 15lb wallpaper tool (sledgehammer). I cant stand that stuff and this tool is very effective. When i'm done there is no residual glue and no wallpaper seams.
I have painted over wall paper several times with success. The key is to not use a water base primer, but KILZ or BIN instead. They both dry before their solvent can create bubbles. Two coats, the first one thin and the second heavier or normal. The first thin coat will seal the paper without saturating it. Then texture to your heat's content. Make sure any joints at casing and baseboard are sealed also otherwise moisture will gain access to the back of the wall paper via those areas.