Is it wise to paint over wallpaper?

  13 answers
  • Joe Gemmill Joe Gemmill on Jul 01, 2018

    Only if you want the next owner to hate you. If you seal off the paper with paint, it is a royal pain to remove. Don't ask me how I know. :)

  • Sandy Sandy on Jul 01, 2018

    i own a house that was wallpapered in the 70's a couple of times. the entire house was wall papered on drywall. then the previous owners had painted over it several times. i still can see the seams. An attempt to remove it in the bathrooms was disaster and required 100% refinishing of the drywall. im sure i will either have to strip and refinish all the rooms one day OR will tear out drywall and replace it. SO - my answer is DO NOT PAINT OVER WALLPAPER

  • Deb K Deb K on Jul 01, 2018

    It has been done before, it's not the vinyl type is it? It won't stick too well to the vinyl. otherwise just make sure there are no loose spots or bubbles.

  • Deb K Deb K on Jul 01, 2018

    Found this Apply a coat of oil-based primer to the entire surface of the walls before painting. This helps seal the adhesive within the paper and away from the moisture in the paint. We recommend Fresh Start® All-Purpose Alkyd Primer (024). The wallpaper is now ready for painting.

  • In my opinion - never ever in a million years. I have removed more wallpaper than I care to admit, and when it had been painted over, it is 100 times harder to remove. You will invent new swear words. A couple times it was not worth the time and effort, I just cut the walls out and replaced the drywall. That was a cheaper and faster solution.


    Plus by removing the wallpaper, the end result will look far more professional, rather than a sloppy Harry Homeowner DIY job.


    Which do you want to live in? I want to be proud of my accomplishments and show them off and not be embarrassed and try and hide or camouflage the mistakes.


    Strictly my opinion, take it for what it is worth.

  • Lsherbach Lsherbach on Jul 01, 2018

    David, It can be done, but as Joe and Sandy said, take the time to remove the wallpaper, it may be more time consuming but you won't be sorry in the end.

  • B. Enne B. Enne on Jul 01, 2018

    Not really...only if the wall will fall apart underneath.

  • William William on Jul 01, 2018

    Not only will it be hard to remove in the future, the moisture in the paint can make it bubble and separate.

  • Emily Emily on Jul 01, 2018

    No.

  • Imjhale Imjhale on Jul 02, 2018

    Agree with the NEVER, EVER answers! It will ALWAYS look like painted wallpaper b) It will be either stuck there until the end of time or screw up walls in the removal process or c) Fall off the wall in spots or bubble up into a bigger mess. Worth the time to remove! I just did 2 large rooms, one was wallpapers over wood paneling - Ugh! I will rent a steamer to finish the last two rooms

  • Ellis Ellis on Jul 02, 2018

    No, it's a disaster to do this. It either bubbles up the wallpaper immediately, or else it doesn't, and years later there is a monster removal job. I have had to go the route of Sandy, above, and redo whole rooms of drywall.

  • David R. Updegraff David R. Updegraff on Jul 02, 2018

    Thanks, all, for the answers! I will remove it!