Paint

[Jay_HD_CHI]

We've all seen the great things that we can get done with paint these days; from faux finishes to textures or just a good ol' satin sheen on the wall. But sometimes our walls aren't always picture perfect, or in the best shape--so what then?

Well, one solution that I personally find pretty nifty, is a new type of wallpaper that we're carrying, a paintable wallpaper! Now, before you jump to the conclusion that it's any old wallpaper and is as dated as could be, hear me out.

This wallpaper, or wallcovering as we can call it, really goes that extra step. It will help you to cover up the following:

• old drywall that has a few dings or holes, with slight cracks in it
• old peg-board that needs a bit of an overhaul
• cinder-block walls with small cracks
• or even existing wallpaper that has just got to go!

They come in different textures and designs to help you get the look you're going for--and the best part...you can paint over them with the paint you already have! Any interior based paint will work just fine over these (I recommend a latex base for best cover) and you can have it in any sheen you want! Here is a quick demo of just how easy it rolls on for you.

The rolls are pre-pasted just like wallpaper would be, so follow the same steps you would by using water to activate the glue. Also, make sure to prime the wall with the appropriate type primer as well. To help you get the right amount, the packaging includes a simple formula to help you measure your room.

[ Length x Width ] divided by [ 50 ] = # of rolls needed to cover.

Availability varies by store, so stop by your local Home Depot paint or decor department for more details or check out our full selection of paintable wallpaper online.

Feel free to shoot me your questions..I'm more than happy to hear you out!

Let me know~

[Jay_HD_CHI]

Hey community,

I got a question from one of our users about the paintable wallpaper the other day. I thought it would be some useful information to share with the rest of you, so I'm going to post up the question and my response here. That way perhaps if in the future someone has the same question, they know just where to go!~ = )

I got pre-pasted vinyl coated paintable wallpaper.  The plan is to put it over a skim-coated horse-hair plaster wall.  I primed the wall (Kilz2) and am now ready to hang the paper.  I know I need to wait a few days before painting it, but I was wondering....do I need to prime the wallpaper before adding my paint color of choice? 

I'm thining of doing a deep maroon/red...so if I need to prime the wallpaper, do I need a tinted primer, or can I take the rest of the kilz back to the store and have them at tint to it?  I did to a test run with scraps of the wallpaper, one primed then painted, one just painted, and I can't tell the different (except that the raised pattern isn't as raised in the primed version).  But I don't know if it would start peeling off later without the primer.  This is for a stairway wall- if that matters.

Thanks for the question = )

When the paintable wallpaper originally came out in our stores, I built our display using a bright green color. At the time, I too was curious of how it would cover and whether I would need to go over it a few times or prime it and start again. I ended up only rolling on one coat and I was surprisingly impressed with the coverage of the color. Now I did choose to leave a bit of the area white to give it the faux finish look, but the areas that were color turned out great.

I went back later on and used the primer just as a "curiosity thing." I found that when I applied the primer, the color came out looking great, but not a huge difference. What I did notice however, and I think you may have as well, was that the depressions from the texture filled with primer before the paint went on. I found that by using the two coats that I did, the raised textures were less prevalent and I personally feel as if it effected the look of the wallpaper. I just didn't like how it turned out by doing it that way.

I would suggest either painting it on with two coats (you shouldn't need any more than that) or using a Paint & Primer combo, like the Behr Ultra. That way you get the coverage of two coats in only 1.

[RuthB]

When I bought the prepasted paintable wallpaper, the store associate recommended paste for it. Is that really necessary? If so, do I still wet the paper and them apply the paste?

I am applying it over one layer of old paper that I cna't remove because it is on top of very old plaster. I have primed the old paper with Shieldz.

[Pat_HD_ATL]

Hello RuthB!

Pre-pasted wallpaper does not require additional adhesive.

It is manufactured to be applied using that familiar process: 1) reverse roll the paper, 2) wet roll with water in wallpaper tray, 3) "book" and allow to set about 5-10 minutes, and 4) suspend onto prepared wall originally using a vertical level mark as your guide on the first piece and then using the pattern of the preceding piece as your guide on the remainder.

Your prep with Shieldz sounds exactly correct ... although I would typically recommend an oil-based primer over existing wallpaper.

Hope this helps and your project looks great when you're done!

NOTE: The manufacturer says, "Pre-pasted for quick and easy installation."

[SoonerGirl58]

We're currently freshening up a rental house with the paintable wallpaper by covering up wood paneling. We followed the directions on the roll on how to wet and book the paper, but it kept tearing and the layers separating when we put it on the wall. We bought some wallpaper paste and haven't had any trouble since.

I do have a question about the seams. Do you need to roll the seams so that they are not visible once the paper has dried?  We used the plastic wallpaper "knife" for smoothing out the bubbles when putting the paper up and used it on the seams, but they still show. Do we need to use a seam roller or will that flatten the texture out?

[Jay_HD_CHI]

Hey there SoonerGirl58,

Sorry to hear about the problem with the wallpaper : /

I am glad to hear that the paste worked out well for you. I found that scuffing up the paneling a bit prior to installation helped a bit when I was building the display I mentioned before. Gave it just that extra bit of adhesion that it needed.

I never had any problems with the seams showing in the displays that I've done with the product, and the textures themselves are pretty resilient, so don't worry about flattening them. What I used for the seams was a light foam roller, which gave me the ability to add pressure where I needed but also go over with a soft touch so that I don't press the paste too much. It worked out well for me. You can use a generic seam roller though, that will just add more pressure to it.

If you need, add a bit of extra paste just under the seams and roll over it to make sure it grabs on to the adhesive, and then let it dry. Just make sure it doesn't push any to the surface, because you'll see it once you start to paint.

Hope that helps!~ Best of luck with the project and keep us informed on how it goes =D

[ordjen]

This amazing "new" wallpaper has been in Europe for at least 50 years .It is known as Raufazur in Germany. It allows for interesting texture and hiding of often less than perfect walls. It is a reinforced paper that can be dry stripped years down the line.

Indeed, a hundred years ago, even new plaster walls would have been covered with canvas. It covered hairline cracks and allowed , that after years of oil paint build-up, the entire surface of the wall could be stripped to bare plaster once again.

One interesting version of the textured papers gives the look of a tin ceillng when apply on the ceiling. It can then be painted with a metallic paint. My own brother used this product many years ago on his ceiling. He painted over it with a gloss oil paint and then gave it an antiquing glaze. It look great with his old fashioned decor.

[Jay_HD_CHI]

Most interesting...I did not know that : o

Thanks for sharing a bit about the history of this, ordjen. I'd love to hear more about the paintable tin that your brother used, I know that we have a product similar to it, with the Fasade PVC Ceiling Tile, but I haven't attempted to paint one of these before. What product did he use by chance?

Thanks again for sharing with us = )

[ordjen]

I cannot recall the brand names of the papers I have used in the past. They are roll papers that are hung like normal paper and then may be painted over, although they need not be. They mostly come out of Germany and England.

[nef_angel]

I also used the textured wallpaper on my ceiling then painted it with a metallic white paint. When the paint dried it ended up looking like a silver metallic color. It is a beautiful and unexpected color because I had used the same paint on my walls and they were white metallic..