Why You Should Remove Wallpaper Before Painting

Why you should remove wallpaper before painting? Quality wallpaper can last as long as 15 years and bring rooms to life with color and pizazz. But there may come a time when the wallpaper no longer works with your room’s décor or your ideal for the overall look of your home. If you want paint where the wallpaper is, you have two options: you can paint over the wallpaper, or remove it and paint the bare walls.

Franklin Painting of Farmington, CT, suggests that you remove the wallpaper, prep the bare walls correctly and then add the paint you love most. Here’s why.

Why You Should Remove Wallpaper Before Painting?

Problems with Painting Over Wallpaper

Adding fresh paint over old wallpaper can lead to these four problems:

1. Lots of Paint

It may require a primer and multiple coats of paint to keep shapes and patterns from the wallpaper from showing through the paint. This is particularly true if you’re painting a lighter shade over darker shades in the wallpaper.

2. Visible Seams

Wallpaper is typically applied in strips with slightly overlapping seams. When painting a single, solid color over the wallpaper, the seams will likely be highlighted and more visible.

3. Bubbling and Peeling

Moisture in the paint can penetrate the wallpaper and cause it to peel or bubble. Even without paint moisture, you may experience some peeling down the line that will be very difficult to repair well with touch-up paint.

4. Future Removal Problems

If, at some point in the future, you decide to remove the wallpaper after it has been painted, you could face a significantly more challenging and time-consuming task. The paint will likely bond to the wallpaper, making it harder to peel off or strip. In some cases, the wallpaper may tear during removal, leaving behind stubborn adhesive residue. Additionally, you may have to deal with damaged drywall or uneven surfaces that require repair before reapplying a fresh coat of paint or new wallpaper.

Surface Preparation Is The Key To An Outstanding Paint Job

A significant part of the training that apprentice painters go through is learning all the tricks and techniques for surface preparation before painting. Surface prep can take up 70% or more of the time involved in a painting project, and it’s time well spent.

Leaving wallpaper on before painting is not a good prep practice. For interior walls in a home or place of business, quality preparation typically includes:

• Thorough sanding to remove bumps and irregularities in the wall surface
• Thorough washing to remove dirt, grime and sanding dust
• Filling in nail, screw and other holes and smoothing them out
• Repairing cracks in the wall

These tasks are just for the walls. There are a number of other prep tasks needed to get a room ready for painting.

Wallpaper removal

Removing Wallpaper – especially if you have no experience in the process or the right tools – can be a nightmare job that takes a lot of time. It’s usually better to have professional wallpaper removers handle this work. Many residential and commercial painting companies provide wallpaper removal services.

It’s also better in most cases to have your walls and other interior areas painted by experts. Like wallpaper removal, painting can be a lengthy process with a lot of hits and misses if you lack experience and the proper equipment.

We Remove Wallpaper and Produce Stunning Results With Fresh Paint

Franklin Painting Provides Top – rated painting services, including wallpaper removal, throughout the greater Farmington, CT, area. We’re prompt, reliable and fully experienced in all types of interior and exterior painting projects.

Speak with a Connecticut painting expert today by phone, or reach out through our contact form.