Can you paint over wall paper?

We are moving into a trailer on a piece of land. I think the last time the previous owners decorated they chose a lot of washed out browns, pinks, etc. I want to use a pale tangerine in the living room. It will compliment the brown wood. But the bathroom and bedroom are just horrible and washed out looking.





Please help us.... we are very new to all this....Can you paint over wall paper?
Go to home depot, or it's equivalent, --- I am sure they have dealt with that question many times. (My opinion, scrape down the wall paper as much as possible, then use a flat paint (It will work as a primer for about 10 years) and then apply your desired color. -- For long time endurance, you could fur out the wall, sheet rock it, and paint it. Or fur it out and use white paneling.





edit: Shin makes a good point. If you are a perfectionist, painting over wall paper will drive you nuts. -- Why? It will show all the imperfections of the wall paper job and your scrape job.





--- Wall murals might camouflage those imperfections.





Of course, lots of towel racks, with beautiful towels hanging, will also camouflage the imperfections of the wall paper, in the bathrooms, after it has been scraped and painted.





Trophy shelves and pictures would help to camouflage the imperfection in other areas of your house.Can you paint over wall paper?
Yeah of course you can paint over wallpaper, especially as actually it takes ages and ages to strip wallpaper by hand. Bare in mind that obviously, uneven and textured wallpaper will give the paint the same effect. Also if the wallpaper is coming away from the wall it'll be easier to just rip it off, it'll come off in complete sheets, and you can start on the bare wall.


Sometimes it's better to paint straight onto wallpaper if the wall underneath is really lumpy where the plaster has crumbled or come away.
It depends.


If it is paper and it is on there good then yes but it will take more paint since the paper will soak it up. Maybe put a coat of primer on it first.


If its vinyl then no, it will peel off pretty soon as vinyl will actually repel the paint. Oh sure it might look good at first but in less than a month you will see it start to peel, especially in areas where there is humidity.


Now if its a real PITA to get off one thing you may could try is applying a thin layer of joint compound over the paper. This helps seal it all off and make it smooth.


One thing I have noticed is many people don't know how to lay wall paper worth a damn and there are usually bubbles or bad seams. This becomes a nightmare when trying to paint over it as the paint seems under the seams and then it starts to peel off and or bubble up more.


My final suggestion would be to just put Sheetrock over he existing Sheetrock. Something thin like 1/4 inch and then you gave a clean slate to work with.





Congrats on your move. Hope all is good with you these days.
Yes you can paint over wallpaper. It won't necessarily bring on mold; I've done it with great results.





BUT the wallpaper has to be tightly attached to the wall. Otherwise the liquid paint will pull it away. If you want to paint over brown with a lighter color, use a primer first. Then paint your lighter color.





also, be sure to wipe down the wallpaper first so you don't paint over dust! Good luck.
Well I painted over the wallpaper in my bedroom about two years ago and its been fine, except for the fact that I have the odd bumps under the paint where the wallpaper is undrneath. But my mate painted over the wallpaper in her house and the paper all started peeling off underneath ... So you could do it, but it would be a risk .. and it might look okay (like mine does) but it may look lumpy, or at worst it may start to peel off. but if you want it to look its best then you should strip the paper first. Hope this helps.
Yeah for sure. Even though it may cause a few problems in the distant future to paint over wallpaper (like eventual peeling), imagine how long it would take to strip it all off by hand.


Anyway it basically looks the same as painting over a bare wall so definitely go for it.
Yes of course you can, but it's better to strip the wallpaper off and start again, it might take more time to do so but it's better in the long run.
you CAN, but you really shouldn't











it will look alot better and last much longer if you peel or sand off the wallpaper first
I would rather commit seppuku than paint over wallpaper...it would drive me crazy....it can be a bit time consuming, but if you are staying there for more than a year, I'd do it.
I'm not sure but it is most likely a yes.


Of course you can paint over wallpaper.
You can , but it brings on future problems like Mold and Damp.
Yep. You can paint over wall paper
Yeah


But its most likely gunna look crappy
U should peeel the wallpaper off!!!!





althou. it works





but peelin wallpaper is not hard and its fun!!!