What to do with mobile home walls

Stella Dipple
by Stella Dipple
I live in a mobile home and can't paint because it peels right off. It's not an option for expensive fixes ,we live on disability. Can anyone give some helpful hints?
  14 answers
  • Jonnie Hammon Jonnie Hammon on Oct 04, 2015
    Have you tried a paintable wallpaper? You can cover it with luan, as well. In case you are not aware, luan is very thin sheets of wood, approximately one quarter inch thick, maybe less. Talk to your home improvement store, it is paintable. Have you considered putting material up on the walls? It's really easy to do. Soak it in liquid starch, squeeze it out, then put it up, like you do with wallpaper. Run a squeegee over it, and leave to dry. Add moulding, at top, and bottom , and around doorways, windows, cabinets, etc... Easy to put up, and easy to take down, leaving no marks or damage. You just have to wash the residue off, when you want to change. I would advise using solid colors, patterns tend to lose their appeal quicker than solid colors, do.
  • Jud1370054 Jud1370054 on Oct 04, 2015
    Well I have painted some. Depends what the walls are. In the really old ones, with old flat panel , I painted it and it looked like barn siding. Now we have a new manufactured home that has the thin drywall with a finish on it. You can't patch this stuff. My home is going on 10 yrs plus old and we are facing on replacing some walls (which I have found a thin regular dry wall to replace it with). Also we are going to paint some rooms too. I have seen people paint the walls before, that has a primer in it and it takes 2 coats no matter what color of wall your going over. If someone has better advice please let me know too. We have to start fixing leaky faucets. In order to replace the whole faucet we have to tear out a section of the wall.
    • See 1 previous
    • Katie Katie on Oct 05, 2015
      @Jimrusk in our manufactured home we would have to cut a hole in the drywall behind our tub/shower faucets to access them if they need to be changed. You don't have to tear it all out though if you don't mind an access panel cover. You can get them at any home improvement store. Just cut a hole that size in the drywall (watch out for wires) and when you are done attach the cover. They can even be painted the wall color. Our sink faucets were easily accessed from underneath but ours is a 2000 model.
  • Katie Katie on Oct 04, 2015
    A good bonding primer on clean walls should work just like it does on laminate cabinets. I used Kilz on the cabinets in our manufactured home. If not I'm with Jonnie, try paintable wallpaper.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Oct 04, 2015
    It sounds like you have alot of humidity going on in your home.Make sure you are using a good primer like kiltz let throughly dry and then paint.
  • Irishkay Irishkay on Oct 04, 2015
    Ive painted those kinds of walls before without peeling. We primed the walls really well. As a matter of fact. Those walls get painted pretty regular!
    • Sharon Sharon on May 01, 2016
      I'm looking into painting walls in my mom's older mobile home. Do you have any before and especially after photos??
  • Janet Glabas Janet Glabas on Oct 04, 2015
    I had a mobile home years ago.....it had that pre fab wallpaper walls.....I used Kilz first and then painted the walls whatever color I wanted. Also make sure walls are clean......smoking made my mother's walls unpaintable and I had to put up wallpaper instead.
  • Theresa Hardin Barnhill Theresa Hardin Barnhill on Oct 04, 2015
    You can also use an etching primer like BINZ it's sold at Lowes
  • Jimrusk Jimrusk on Oct 04, 2015
    First you need to clean the walls with a lemon essential oil mixed with water sprayed on, then wipe off with clean towels. This gets off any dirt and greasy residue. Then as everyone suggests, use a primer, either by itself first or a primer/paint combo. Works great. I have painted many mobile homes in the past.
  • Connie Connie on Oct 04, 2015
    TSP, Tri sodium sulphate substitute (paint and hardware stores carry it. Diluted in hot water, it will cheaply and effectively remove smoke residue from surfaces. Clear rinse with wet rag after cleaning. Your walls need to be CLEAN and dry prior to priming. Even if you do not smoke, candle smoke and cooking oils can cling and cause a barrier that prevents paint from adhering. And the surface needs to be DRY! any moisture between the paint and wall, including a lot of interior humidity can cause peeling and paint failure.
  • Judi Judi on Oct 04, 2015
    After cleaning the walls as above, Home Depot has a primer especially for that purpose. It is called B.I.N. Primer by Zinsser
  • Anita Taylor Salter Anita Taylor Salter on Oct 04, 2015
    Wall paper is also a nice option
  • Jud1370054 Jud1370054 on Oct 04, 2015
    Well Jimrusk, I don't know how to explain it, but will try. I'm changing all of the faucet , not just the nobs and no way getting to it (the pipes). Does that make sense. But I will show your answer to my husband and see if he understands....your way. The toilets do have shut offs. Thank you for your advice. Maybe we should get a plumber....hum.
  • Che1926689 Che1926689 on Oct 08, 2015
    I have covered all of the printed wallboard and paneling in my home using the tissue paper treatment, or with fabric. I get tons of compliments on both types of applications!!
  • Kayo Frazier Kayo Frazier on Oct 09, 2015
    Here's my 2 cents...1st are the walls smooth, tongue & groove paneling or something else? This makes a difference on what you can do to change the walls cheaply. Painting the walls is probably the cheapest way to make big changes. If the walls are paneling it might be feasible to drywall but you would have to hire professionals. Depending on the size of the room you can get a non-toxic gallon size called Simply Green to clean the walls. Make sure you allow the walls to dry for 24 hrs. This is something I found on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/532621093409115414/ that you can change to suit your tastes. You can collect scrapbook papers, wrapping paper, whatever else you want to use & paste it to the walls w/ wallpaper paste. You can put it either on a big wall to make an impact, or a small wall as an accent to whatever else you decide to do the room. Hope this helps.