If you have attempted to remove old wallpaper you are well aware of what a tough job it is. Although there are many products available to assist you in removing the wallpaper they never seem to work as well as they are supposed to. There may be a easier solution to this problem of removing wallpaper. If your wallpaper is still in decent shape, you can paint over the wallpaper. Before you decide to paint over your existing wallpaper you will need to look at it closely and determine if it is in good enough shape to paint over. If there are any loose areas they will need to be reglued prior to painting. If there are numerous loose areas or rips you should just go ahead and remove the wallpaper instead of attempting to paint over it.

There are several things that you will need to properly paint over wallpaper. You will need joint compound, a utility knife, paint brush, paint roller, paint tray, sandpaper, drop cloths or plastic sheeting and blue painters tape.

Begin by tapping all areas that lie next to the wallpapered surface that might get paint on them. Cover all of those areas with painter’s blue masking tape. Place plastic sheeting or cloth drop cloths on the surrounding floors. If you can, try to attach the drop cloths to the tape on the baseboards, this should help keep paint off of the floor. Disposable plastic drop cloths are normally very inexpensive and easy to use. They are readily available at most paint or hardware stores. Next, remove all switch plates from light switches.

Once you have repaired any loose areas and are sure that they are firmly reattached you will then need to apply joint compound to all of the seams within the wallpaper. Apply a thin coat of joint compound to all of the seams and allow to fully dry. Once the joint compound has dried, use a fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand the joint compound to a smooth finish.

You are now ready to apply a primer to the wallpaper. Using an oil based primer, roller and brush, prime the wallpaper using a thin coat of primer. Using a primer is crucial step in painting wallpaper because it helps the wallpaper to accept the paint and bond correctly. Failure to do so, may result in the wallpaper bubbling up and peeling off of the wall.

Next, it is time to apply the paint. I normally recommend a eggshell or satin latex paint for bathrooms and kitchens and a flat latex for all other areas. Eggshell and satin paints are more durable and tend to hold up better in bathrooms and kitchens. Apply the paint using the same method that you used to apply the primer, except if you are using latex paint, you can clean up with water and you will need paint thinner to clean up the oil based primer.

After the paint has dried overnight, if you have any bubbles you can repair any minor bubbles that may have formed by slitting them with a utility knife and then reglue them to the wall using wallpaper paste. Allow it to dry and wipe off any excess with a damp rag. Then touch up with your wall paint.

Painting over wallpaper is a great alternative to removing the wallpaper and using this method should result in a beautifully painted room.