Hi marylee99~
I just went through something similar with my bathroom. The wallpaper
was looking dated, and I was eager to quickly make the room look
better!
Here are the easiest ways you can do this in your kitchen:
1. PAINT. The fastest way to "get rid of" old wallpaper is to paint
over it. I have known several do-it-yourselfers who've done this
successfully, and if you're careful, you can get great results.
First, make sure that all the wallpaper's edges are firmly glued down.
There should be no curling. Use regular wallpaper glue to re-secure
any loose spots. If the wallpaper is shiny, you'll need to sand it
down, so that the paint sticks.
Next, prime the wallpaper. The do-it-yourselfers I know who've done
this just used latex, but several websites suggest using an oil-based
primer, since it tends to bond better with wallpaper. When the primer
is completely dry, make sure (once again) that any loose edges are
glued down firmly. If seams or a raised design show through, you can
buy a product like "Paint'n Tex" (available at most home improvement
stores,. but here's one website that discusses it:
http://www.homaxproducts.com/catalog/painttex.html ). I have used this
product, and it, and those like it, add texture to your walls while
hiding flaws.
If you're mainly dealing with seams showing through, you can also
gently file down the seams with fine sandpaper or an emory board. (
http://www.diynet.com/DIY/article/0,2058,974,00.html )
Then paint, as usual.
Here's another website that offers brief instructions:
http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/faq17.html
2. VINYL. If you really don't want to paint over the paper, but don't
want to reapply wallpaper, you could install vinyl on the walls. This
is easy to clean and quite durable; it's adhered with vinyl adhesive.
3. FOIL OR MYLAR. A "foil" or mylar wall could also be installed over
the paper; this gives a very modern, clean finish. (
http://www.hometime.com/Howto/projects/paint/paint_8.htm ) For a
Google cache article that may be helpful for deciding whether or not
you want vinyl, foil, or mylar, check out:
://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ecKB8dH9CqYJ:www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/fcs4/fcs4402/fcs4402.pdf+mylar+foil+wall+cover*&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
4. REMOVE THE WALLPAPER. Finally, you can consider removing the old
wallpaper and painting the wall. This is probably the most labor
intensive of all the possibilities, and it's helpful to know what's
UNDER your current wallpaper. If you know that a properly prepared
wall can be found beneath it, then removing the wallpaper may not be a
bad idea. However, if it's possible that the wall wasn't properly
prepared before some wallpaper was hung on it, then you'll end up
having to do a lot of wall repairs before you can paint. ("Properly
prepared" means the sheetrock was primed and perhaps textured.)
Wallpaper is most easily removed if you score it first (you can buy a
special tool for this at home improvement stores or you can use a
utility knife--but be careful not to cut deeply). Then steam the paper
(with a rented wallpaper steamer...it is definitely the easiest way!),
and scrape it with a wallpaper scraper. The left over glue will have
to be removed with detergent. Here's one article on removing wallpaper
that may be helpful:
http://doityourself.com/wallpaper/howtoremovewallpaper.htm
Good luck!
kriswrite
P.S. I ended up removing 5 layers of wallpaper, then texturing and
painting the walls. I wish I had just painted over the wallpaper!
Keywords Used:
"how to paint" wallpaper
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22how+to+paint%22+wallpaper&btnG=Google+Search
apply vinyl to walls "how to" -"vinyl to vinyl"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=apply+vinyl+to+walls+%22how+to%22+-%22vinyl+to+vinyl%22&btnG=Google+Search
mylar foil wall cover*
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mylar+foil+wall+cover*&btnG=Google+Search
"how to" remove wallpaper
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22how+to%22+remove+wallpaper&btnG=Google+Search |
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