Many people don’t know how to get a smooth and even wall when painting because they don’t know how to hide the wallpaper seams. Poorly made prep work can also lead to a lot of common challenges, such as bubbling wallpaper, uneven surfaces, and an overall poor finished outcome.
If you don’t know how to hide the wallpaper seams before painting or preparing the walls, then take a few minutes to read this guide before painting your wallpapered walls.
Just follow these 9 steps:
- Remove any loose pieces of wallpaper
- If the wallpaper has overlapping seams peel them off with a putty knife or a utility knife
- Fill in gaps with a joint compound and spackle the seams to create a smooth surface
- Sand and prime the wall
- Remove the bubbles that might show up when priming with the putty knife and prime those
- Spackle irregularities and the holes caused by the bubbles
- Sand and prime the spackled spots
- Paint over your wallpaper with your desired color of paint
- When the paint has dried, check with a bright light again to see that the paint has an even finish, otherwise paint your wallpaper with another coating
Mostly it isn’t much of a hassle to paint wallpaper but sometimes it can be if it starts to bubble up a lot. Don’t forget to cover the floor before you begin because it can get messy!
Tools and material in this article
Remove any loose pieces of wallpaper
Remove any loose parts of wallpaper. If the wallpaper has a texture and you want a smooth surface then peel the outer layer off. If it doesn’t come off easily you can try to sand it down with a drywall sander or skimcoat the wallpaper.
If the wallpaper has overlapping seams
If the wallpaper has overlapping seams, you’ll need to peel them off with a putty knife or a utility knife. Then sand by using sandpaper with 60-80 grit. This will help to create a smoother and more even surface before spackling.
Fill in gaps and spackle the seams
Spackling the seams is an important step in creating a smooth surface before painting. This will help to ensure that your paint has an even finish and that there are no irregularities.
Use a joint compound with a 4″ putty knife to fill in the gaps and spackle the seams.
Sand and prime the wall
When the mud is dry then sand the walls with a 120-150 grit sandpaper before priming.
When you prime the wallpaper it might start bubbling up in some parts. Remove those larger bubbles with the putty knife and prime.
Priming the wallpaper is an important step in ensuring that the paint has no bleedthrough. If a marking pen has been used on the wallpaper, or if there are stains from oils or mold, then you need to prime with a stain-blocking primer on the affected areas.
Bubbly wallpaper
If the wallpaper bubbles up when you prime the wall remove the loose paper with the putty knife and then prime those spots.
Check for irregularities and spackle
After the primer has dried check with a bright light for irregularities.
I usually use a portable LED work light to find the irregularities and mark them with a pencil, because when you remove the light they won’t be visible. But I can guarantee you that when the sun shines in on the wall, they will be!
Then spackle the irregularities and holes with joint compound.
Prime the spackled spots
When the joint compound is dry, sand with 120-150 grit sandpaper on the spackled spots. Move your hand across the wallpaper, if it feels grainy then also sand the whole wall before you then prime the spackled spots.
Paint with your desired color of paint
Now when the prep work has been done you can finally paint the walls with your desired color of paint. It usually needs 2 coatings of paint for best results.
Final check
When the paint has dried, check again with a bright light to see that the paint has an even finish and no irregularities. If not, you might need another coat.
Conclusion
With these simple step-by-step instructions, you can easily hide the wallpaper seams before painting. If you follow this guide, there won’t be any bumps or ridges to show up in your final paint job. When the job is done no one can even tell that there was wallpaper before!
FAQ
What kind of paint do you use on wallpaper?
Most latex paint is suitable for painting over wallpaper.
Have in mind that a high gloss paint shows irregularities much more than a matte or flat gloss.
Choose a semi-gloss or satin paint for a kitchen or bathroom since they are easier to keep clean.
Flat and eggshell are mostly used in bedrooms, living rooms and halls.
Should I strip the wallpaper before I paint it?
If there are many layers of wallpaper that are causing an uneven surface and with lots of loose parts then you should remove it. Otherwise, there is no need.
If it’s a textured wallpaper and you want a smooth finish then you will have to peel it off or if it isn’t peelable you will have to skim-coat it or try to sand it down using a drywall sander.
If it’s vinyl or PVC wallpaper you can either peel it off or prime it.