How To Paint Over Old Wallpaper 

Thank you for the information. I hate removing wallpaper and it seems every house or apartment I have purchased has it. I used this method in the last rehab where the wall paper was everywhere. It worked well and saved me a ton of time.

Another way to quickly finish a room is to clean off all loose paper then spray spackling on the walls to leave a nice textured look that you see in expensive homes. I've done this before with great results.

This is great stuff man. I have tons of wallpaper to cover and I have gallons of BIN shellac left over from a painted pressure treated 6x6 raised beds garden build. Thank you very much.

I just painted wallpaper,that the seams were curling and fraying,, so I cut 2 inches at the 6 seams...spackled, sanded, primed with zinzar high-hiding oil primer,, 2 coats, then painted with s.w. duration, and it came out pretty good

Great step by step advice. Thank you for being spot on and budget conscience with many other researched sites.

Straightforward, useful information, Sir. Thank you for sharing the wisdom. This will help me provide a quality product for my customer.

I've painted over doing most of the same, (especially the Bin) except I just sanded the seams and smoothed them into the paper it worked well when the paper was tight. I've also painted old wall paneling there I definitely taped seams.These were home projects good enough for me.

I have to do this almost to a T but I'm going to see if I can just sand my seams down since they are not too elevated. This is excellent instruction.

I truly appreciate this video. Thank you for your time

I really like the way you describe and set up this video and how to etc very good job

Great job explaining the steps! Thank you so much.

Wow, this is a lot of work. Wallpaper is the devil.

That ISN'T spackle it's joint compound... yes there IS a difference. Spackle is made with vinyl and joint compound is made with gypsum.

great info! i'm getting ready to start this project in my guest room.

Thanks!! I will try this when I repaint the bedroom over the summer! Very cool tips!

really great work info.... sooner i am going to work on 50 rooms. this is going to help me a lot. thank you.

Thanks John. Just exactly what I was looking for!

great video, thanks for the instructions!

I followed this method, not quite to the letter but close enough and I am astounded by the results! This helped me solve a long standing problem in my powder room. That BIN Shellac is rough, it stinks but I got through it. I didn't get to use the BM primer, but I still got great results. I will use the BM High Hide Primer on my bright coral bedroom walls. Thank you, this was very valuable information.

I had hoped to remove the wallpaper in our dining room, but whoever installed it did not "size" the walls beforehand. Trying to remove the wallpaper in other rooms took a lot of time, was very frustrating, and ended up destroying the drywall. So, I decided to try this technique. I just finished prepping and painting the dining room (about 12 seams). It looks great and you would never know there's wallpaper underneath. My only additional comments are 1) I used an oil based primer rather than shellac based; worked very well. I agree do not use a latex based primer. 2) Sanding the (wallpaper) seams/joints generated a lot of dust. I vacuumed often and hung plastic sheeting over doorways to keep the dust from getting all over the house. My thanks to Jon P for this video.

Thank you, so much! I just bought a house that has wallpaper EVERYWHERE😣. I'm going with this technique to do those ugly walls. Thank you.

Great video thank you for sharing. I have to paint over a section of wallpaper the old homeowners left in the kitchen.. The seams look terrible. I appreciate the info. This looks the easiest.

good job jon ... you covered that well

Great video and advice. Thank you.

Great video ! I have been working on a mobile home and the walls are a pain to work with. there is wall paper with strips covering each wall board

Ffn hell man ,i wanted an easy way,this is like building a new pentagon.

Thanks for the video, we have to do every wall in an 1875 , 2300square ft home that has wall paper on every wall. Several hairline cracks as well. not looking forward to it but this is our most cost effective solution so far, Cheers Mike

Nice work Thank you!! Great info

Great process. I am going to do this on a few areas of my kitchen where the paper is not coming off. Question: the shellac based primer is tintable. Can I just use that instead of the fresh start/acrylic primer?

Thank you for sharing with us. 🥰

Thank you so much, you are AMAZING!!!

how do you remove the wall to get it on the table to work on like that?

Hey thanks for this walk-through. I've got a room with wallpaper glued directly to unfinished drywall. I might try this method and see how it comes out vs. adding 1/4" sheetrock. I can always do that later if this doesn't work out...

I have taken wallpaper down in my two bathrooms and it was a nightmare. A friend who has taken wallpaper down in every house she's lived in couldn't believe how difficult ours was to remove. We are finally ready to take our kitchen out of the 1980s and I just can't bear removing the wallpaper. Thank you for giving a great explanation for addressing my biggest fears!! I believe if I invest the time and follow your steps, we will be very pleased with the painted outcome. Will going over the smoothed joint compound with with the 10" scraper and then sanding it blend the texture so the paint will be smooth? Or should I go over the entire wall with joint compound for an even finish? Thanks again for a detailed tutorial!

great video, thank you!

'appreciate the details, Jon! ... wish me luck! Thank you...

Great video , after applying the primer on the wallpaper Can i use water base paint ?

Interesting.... thanks for sharing!

great video

Thank you for the video. I just moved from Europe to the UK now, and these materials not familiar to me..so im a bit confused. i would like to paint over wallpaper on the ceiling. i needed to remove some part which came off, but lot left. this wallpaper surface is rough, so i thought i might need to use a filler to all the surface to get a uniform surface. So i have a few question to you. 1, I'm do not understand what you use on the jointing tape. i can buy here gypsum filler. Gyproc easi fill. (A gypsum based material for both bulk filling and finishing joints. Has a 60 minute working time.) it is good for the job? 2, after i use the stain block primer and apply the jointer tape, can i use the filler in the whole surface( to get the uniform surface)? 3, after this can i use emulsion paint on this filler? or i need to use a primer again as you said in the video? 4, on that high hiding primer can i use emulsion paint? 5, I think i can not buy here Benjamin moore paints, so what kind of primer i should buy? what kind i should look in the shops? Many thanks Gabor

great video. Question is that I have a shiny -yellow wall paper so do you think there will be a problem painting over it ? I may have to use more coating.

I am working on a nursery, and to save money about an old dresser. I'm going to be painting it white. Does that same high hide primer that you used in this video work on finished furniture? Thanks for all the great videos.

I liked the idea of coloring the primer to just do one coat . Also the spackle idea

Painting over wallpaper no matter what kind of primer you use can still leave that old wallpaper peeling and large areas pulling away from the plastered walls. Even after you pull those loose areas off reprime and patch them you can still have other areas loose and bubbled. It is not the way to go. There is so much work involved painting over the old wallpaper you should just do the job right to begin with. Removevthe wallpaper with chemicals or steamer, after you remove the paper wash the walls with a deluted mixture of the wallpaper remover and hot water to remove old paste on the walls. Let dry over night, prime, patch and paint. I do this for a living, this is the only way to go unless you re drywall.

If the wall paper isn't peeling, there is no need to remove it. I did a job without peeling off the wallpaper and it turned out perfect. I caulked all the edges with clear caulking, and applied two coats of oil based stain blocking primer from SW. I then topcoated with an eggshell paint and it looked amazing. No bubbles. No peeling. Taking off wallpaper is recommended only if the paper is already coming off the wall. Other than that, you can get great results if you know what you're doing.

What type of paint do you recommend for the final step? Latex? Oil? Is there a preferred finish? Thank you.

Great tip on not using water based primer.

Great video. I just bought a rental. The wallpaper in the kitchen is painted and the seams really show. Thanks for showing how to proceed with it.

Helpful video. But should every wallpaper seam be taped over, or only those where the wallpaper is peeling?

Please provide suggestion what to use first on dark wall papers and then add light color paint for bathrooms ? Also please recommended what and which type of base primmer to use n which type of color paint to use for bathrooms/ rest rooms

We usually caulk where the walls meet the ceilings to give it a finished look. We like the orderless kilz..thinned down..however depends on where you live with epa regulations. Hard to get.

Thanks,John! I have an older home with plaster walls. Will your method work with wallpaper on plastered walls?

What has your experience been with textured wallpaper (iridescent stripes)?

What you recommend after removing the wall paper??

Thanks for the tips. Nice concise, and informative. I plan on trying your method with 1 addition. I plan on texturing over the the wallpaper then painting.. Will that extra step of texturing change anything?

Also- do you think this would be the best option if the wallpaper was applied directly to the Sheetrock?

Hi Jon will this work on flocked red wallpaper with foil gold background its been on for 47 yrs. thanks Joy

I've painted over old wall paper twice now . I used water based paint . . My brother said I should have used a sealer. But it's worked out alright.

Pretty good with a trowel John

So do we prime twice? Different types of primers? Is it necessary to prime twice? Can I sort the loose wallpaper, spackle, sand, primer and then paint or do I also need to prime into between sorting the loose wallpaper and spackle

Hi! My boyfriend and I have been living in this apartment for over 2 years now. The kitchen has hideous old fashion fruity wallpaper. The landlord gave me permission to paint over it but I'm realizing that it might be harder than just painting over it. This is an old house and the edges between the wallpaper and the ceiling are sort of cracking and I know it would look even worse if I tried to paint over it. Can I use spackle in the edges between where the wallpaper ends and the ceiling starts to cover up cracks before I paint? Or is there a different product that would work better for this?

great info.

Have a ? If I prime. The walls with the oil based primer that you described in video when it’s time to paint can I use the lattex paint over the oil based primer?

Do all wallpaper seams need to be taped and spackled-over, even the ones which seem to be intact? I'm guessing yes, but can you confirm this? Also, if I use an oil-based primer, must I use an oil-based paint to paint over it?? Thanks.

thanks for sharing

Great info Jon! I'm doing this project next week. Quick question, is it absolutely necessary to use joint tape or can you just mud them without the tape?

can you apply mud successful over a painted wall? noticed imperfections after painting

hi i have a question. do i have to use de the BIN primer all over the wall or just where i have problem areas and seams? thank you

Hi Jon, i'm planning to paint over my wallpaper in my bathroom the way you described it in your fine video. My question is, what do you recommend I use, a water or oil base paint for my finish coat.....Thank you.

I am painting and old wall that has paint. The wood is too soft. So I'm just going to apply primer on top of the paint. What primer do you recommend me for my project?

question do you have to use two primers if you are not spackling or sanding?

I literally removed and wallpaper in a tiny bathroom for 5 days! I’m talking, every day, 7 hours sometimes, EACH DAY. I hit brown paper, I primed, then joint compound, sanded, then primed and ☑️

what if you want texture? Would you mud over wallpaper after priming?

Lets make this project more fun.. what if you like the pattern of the wallpaper and it's in decent shape - but the color(s) is/are horrendous? Can it just be stained?

Just now watching this 6 years later. Great advice. Have a question though - I am tiling over wallpaper. Can I tile after the joint compound sets up and I sand? Or do I have to use the primer as well like you show in the video?

Great info! Just put down a 2nd coat of B.I.N. First coat went well but I didn't want to overdo it. Went heavy at first and then backed off when I started seeing bubbles. The bubbles went away when the paint dried. Coat 2 of B.I.N. yielded very few bubbles. I'm ready for the joint tape. Some people said to skip the tape and just put the joint compound in the seams and sand. I see from your responses here that is not such a great idea as the seams may peel. I noted that you applied tape, compound, 6" blade, then 10" blade all in same session. Any advantage to putting down compound, taping, 6", dry, apply more, then 10", sand? BTW, this is already looking pretty doggone good. I have one section where some paper came off and frankly, its scary. I can only imagine the work that would have gone into peeling that stuff off, patching, and then going through the patch, prime, paint process. In deference to others posts who are against this process, how long will this last and should I expect any issues such as peeling in the future? If so, what do your recommend? Can I cut, patch, and repaint the sections that develop problems? Thx again.

Any thoughts on the caulking question?

Thank you for this video. I have to do a small bathroom that has 6 layers of wallpaper and paint. Repair men want to charge me from 100$ just to paint over it to 1700$ to do a complete remodeling with drywall replacement. I just want to do it cheaply and best for me right now.

great points ill download this video if I ever need to do this type work...thanks for the video...

GREAT VIDEO! My only question is why can’t you use the same shellac primer for second coat.? Are you using high hide specifically because of bleed through?

We just had our bathroom walls skimmed. Do I just use primer now and then paint?

if the wallpaper is not coming off, can i skip using the tape and go straight to prime and paint? and will the design of the wall paper show through?

We moved into a 100yr old farm house and the original wallpaper is textured and beautiful but it is smoke stained.... I would love to paint over it.... Is that an option and what would the best way to do that be?

Great info Jon! My question- what should I do if Wallpaper was not cut in the corners. The installer did not cut the corner when he installed the wall paper. Should I cut the corners before painting?

Will this work over vinyl that has been glued to raw sheetrock?

What would you suggest if your wallpaper has texture?

I read that caulking the seams and where the wallpaper meets the baseboard is a good idea. Do you do that?

... 01/24/2020: Great tips using an oil-based primer so no bubbles in wallpaper. But, I have seams that are lifting. What about using a tool that cuts tiny holes in paper, and then use the primer?

Stripping back old wallpaper to get a clean finish on to paint to me is a must. Wallpaper warps, bubbles and peels and the amount of time and money it takes to cover the paper is better spent on a spray bottle (filled with water),a good scraper, (some plaster if needed for small patch ups if you get carried away scrapping), sugar soap, and a decent paint that works to the room you are wishing to paint. Painting over wallpaper just equals more work later down the track when wall, old glue, paper and paint decide to part ways.

can you tell me what brand of spackle you used. Is it different from sheetrock mud?

Hi great video, is this ok for mobile homes as well? Also what if there isn't any lifting is the mid necessary?

Bollocks! Loads more work than necessary. Just get a thicker paint (wallpaper cover up) that covers the joints. You will be there all week with a 7x5 mtr room.

I like to prime after my mud work so I can see what imperfections are left to turn. what's​ your opinion?

Hey Jon, what's the point of using tape if your have to Spackle over it anyways?

In the video, you said sand the whole room. Do you mean the entire surface of walls, or just where there is joint compound?

are you using the words spackle and sheetrock mud interchangeablely?

You did not recommend a spacific type of paint at the end of the video. Can I just use any paint product? Oil based? Acrylic?

thanks

Why do you use acrylic primer for the second coat? Do you use oil-based for the paint?

my coverage was great in the first step. is it a must to tape the seams even if there are no issues with them? (I didn't have any lifting that i needed to cut away)