Is there a way to paint over wall paper?
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We have been house-hunting for the past several months and have walked through a couple of homes with painted wall-paper. I would not recommend doing this.
You can see the "seams" where the paper was applied, and in some places where the paper was damaged or bubbled, it looked just HORRIBLE. You could see every flaw. Sometimes people painted over textured wallpaper and that looked even WORSE. It was a huge turn-off to this potential homebuyer. Not to mention, like the person above answered, it would be a pain in the butt to remove wallpaper that has been painted. No thanks!
So my point is... if you ever find you have to sell your home, you'll really drive down the value if you paint over the wallpaper. Another of your answers calls this a "quick fix" and that's just what it is. Do the job RIGHT in the first place by removing the paper and then painting, and you will be MUCH happier with the results.Trust me. Good luck...
prime it
I am not a professional painter and they may have a better answer for you. I have done this to many walls for a quick fix. If you have ever tried to remove wallpaper than you might agree?
I use a really good primer over the wallpaper, let dry for a day or so and then paint wall with wall paint. Good luck!!
You can try but the results could be iffy. You would want to prime and seal the paper first so ask your paint store for a suitable primer ( explain where it's going ) Wallpaper adhesive is water based, so to paint over it as is, with a latex paint, it may result in the paint soaking through and loosening the glue. If primed, the paint would "float" on the wallpaper surface and not cause it to become unglued and peel away.
When painting with a solid colour, any seams, imperfections or texture on the paper will telegraph through and be maganified. So be prepared to see flaws that weren't noticeable on the unpainted paper. The glossier the paint finish you choose is, will again make these imperfections even more visable. I suggest you use an eggshell finish or at the most, a satin or velvet finish. Also, dark colours will magnify any flaws more than a lighter colour would.
One more thing to consider is that painted wallpaper will be a pain to remove. Now that it has been sealed and coated with paint, it won't be pourous enough to absorb removers ( such as "Dif", etc.) which help loosen the glue to remove it. It will even be more resistant to using a steamer to remove it, which, combined with scraping, will be the only way to get it off now.
prime first,two topcoats
I have done it when customers absolutely want it done but tell them from the beginning 95% its going to bubble and look BAD
I hate removing wall paper but if it were for my home I would spend the extra time.by the way.it is about the same time and less materials than prime and wait seal and wait one coat and wait second coat and wait..and definitely better than doing it and then deciding to remove the wall paper after painting over it
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