Charlie:
Wendy, from Spring Branch, says that she wants to paint over her wallpaper in a bedroom to transform it into a nursery for their grandson. The hubby said he heard you talk about a paint that would do just that, magically cover the wallpaper with one paint. I can’t imagine such a … Anyway. .. But wait. It gets better. They went to both Lowe’s and the Depot, and they said they had no idea what they were talking about.
Tom:
Nor do I. But-
Charlie:
Okay. What would you do to paint over wallpaper, Tom? What are the steps for doing this?
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Tom:
You seal it with a pigmented shellac and they do have it at the Lowe’s and Home Depot. I had a caller the other week, a couple of weeks ago, who said, “Tom, where do you get pigmented shellac?” So they called the Home Depots and they said, “Oh, we don’t have that. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” On their shelf, there’s a product by Zinsser called B-I-N Primer. You can get it at Home Depot and Lowe’s. That’s why I tell people don’t go to isle 9. Go to a paint store and talk to the professionals when you’re buying coatings. It is coatings. It’s not just paint. As far as that goes, pigmented shellac. If you go to Home Depot and Lowe’s, Zinsser B-I-N Primer. Seal all the wallpaper down with it. Just paint it and let it dry. If you get any bubbling, which you might, or any seams that want to pull a little bit, once it’s all dry, just take a putty knife, scrape them off. Then you can go back with your joint compound and float the seams and floats the areas that are rough, maybe some holes where pictures were, and get it nice and smooth.
Here’s the key. Don’t sand the joint compound. You smooth it out with a damp sponge. Then you can go back and either wallpaper, texture and paint, whatever else you might want to do there. That’s how you seal down that wallpaper. If you don’t, if you paint it or you put some floating compound on there, some joint compound, the water will get behind the wallpaper and it’ll just start to bubble up. This is a paintable vapor barrier, so no more moisture can get through it to the wallpaper.
Charlie:
It’s almost exactly how we did it last time when we did that at my house. I did one other step.
Tom:
You called Rudy.
Charlie:
First step.
Tom:
Yeah, no. Rudy know’s how to do it.
Charlie:
Firs step. Yeah. That’s exactly …
Tom:
It’s a lot of work.
Charlie:
Because before that, we decided we wanted to remove some wallpaper.
Tom:
No, no, no no no no no.
Charlie:
Yeah. Let me tell you. These people put this thing on there with wonder glue.
Tom:
No, you know what they didn’t do? This is what I warn people.
Charlie:
Yeah?
Tom:
There’s a thing called sizing that you paint on their first before you put wallpaper. Everybody skips that step.
Charlie:
Right.
Tom:
That’s why once it’s down without the sizing, it ain’t ever coming off, except in little tiny pieces, like if somebody’s, you know-
Charlie:
Yeah. That’s exactly it.
Tom:
The guy in the end of Huckleberry Finn, who’s trying to get out of the cave, you know?
Charlie:
In the end, Tom, it would have been easier to take a claw hammer to the sheet rock and redo the wall.
Tom:
That’s true. In some cases, that happens.