We're in the process of decorating another room. Today I've been stripping wallpaper and the walls are in very good condition. The plan is to put up lining paper and then paint it.
Apart from a little bit of filling, it looks like I just need to put up the paper and that's about it. But do I go for the heavier 1700 grade or a lighter 1400 or 1200? It will get two coats of Dulux paint when finished.
At some point in the distant past someone put what is probably PVA on the plaster. There is nothing wrong with the plaster and some PVA has come off with the paper... should I also 'fix' the PVA with a new coat? Strip the PVA totally?
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If you think your walls will be disguised by thinner lining paper, go for that. The thicker the paper the thicker the paste you need.
You need to get the PVA off where you can see it, the paste will soften it.
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Cheers Z. The walls are good so I'm not sure why the PVA (if it is that... it's rubbery) is even there. Should be easy to remove. I just wonder why they painted it on in the first place.
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If its new plaster, it was probably to size the walls. Should have done it with thin wallpaper paste tho.
The devon builder will be along soon with his practical knowledge.
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I assume he might Z. I thought it might be to size the walls (Google is a friend again). But it might be something else.
But only some of the plaster was new. At some point in the distant past a picture rail was removed and some patching up on a chimney breast. But the whole room has this 'PVA' coating.
I've used similar for damp before but this is also on the internal and party walls and no problems with damp or evidence of it in the past either.
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Scrub the walls, forget the lining paper (the joins will always show).
When you've scrubbed the walls half-a-dozen times, you can think about painting them.
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"Scrub the walls, forget the lining paper (the joins will always show)."
Depends how good you are at papering. Properly done you should not be able to see the joins
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I didn't say I was doing the papering ;-) I know one can fill the joins and sand too.
But the walls are good but some imperfections. And the removed picture rail re-plastering might show too.
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If the wall's been PVA'd, the PVA will originally have been shiny, and it will come off like flaky paint it it's coming. If it's "rubbery", it is probably not PVA. Wet it, keep it wet, and keep wiping it - it will come off if it's old paste or size (unless someone's used "Evo-Stik").
Make sure that the wall is as clean as possible before lining - specks of grit etc will show through (you can press on them with a rounded hard thing like the handle of a paint scraper to make them less obvious, when dry).
Make sure you fill shallow imperfections properly - wipe filler over using a wide filling knife, or even a trowel.
Use heavy lining paper. Use a normal mix of paste, but let the paper soak very well indeed, it could take 20 minutes or so. Paste one, fold it up, paste another, and another, paste the wall where you're going to hand the first drop, keep going like that. Don't butt the ends up too tight to skirtings, leave a tiny gap. Butt up sides by using your brush to move the whole length a fraction sideways if need be - press on the brush, work it sideways. It's impotrant to try and keep the edges fairly straight, so work the whole drop.
If you put polly filler in the joints, they will shine out through the paint.
Consider putting back the picture rails. You can get them machined at a BM cheaper than you can buy at B&Q. Walls are better with picture rails if high enough.
You can go on the wall with lining paper horizontally above the picture rail, but the lengths can be awkward to handle.
If you paint on previously papered walls, you must clean the walls with water until they don't feel slimy under your fingertips, anywhere. If you paint on paste, the paint will craze and possibly flake.
If you re-PVA, use it diluted 1:5 with water, it should soak in.
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>> The thicker the paper the thicker the paste you need.
You mean thicker in consistency (I disagree), or thicker in application (yes)?
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>> You mean thicker in consistency (I disagree), or thicker in application (yes)?
Yes thicker application, thick paste wont soak into paper or walls
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>> Yes thicker application, thick paste wont soak into paper or walls
You can dunk the (cut) paper into a trough of water, that does the job very well, then paste.
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>> It will get two coats of Dulux paint when finished.
You'll probably need three. The first will be soaked up by the paper, the second will have a rough feel to it and quite possibly look patchy.
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Ta Dave. Painting it won't take long. It's only about 4 x 3.5m and the picture rail was removed long ago.
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>>>the removed picture rail re-plastering might show too.
Removed the picture rail?? Why would you do that?
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>> Remove picture rail...
We didn't! It looks like it was done a long time ago.
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'50s "DIY" house improvement. Also, tack hardboard over the bannisters, and more over your panel doors (chisel off any protuding mouldings first), for that "modern look".
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Always fill the gaps with polyfilla, it will not show, and will give a seamless look.
Sand the wall quickly before papering - will remove all those lumps and bumps stuck on.
Do not put PVA on the wall.
Don't put PVA on the wall.
Keep PVA away from the wall.
Wallpapering is much easier on a damp winter's day than a hot summer's day.
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>> Always fill the gaps with polyfilla, it will not show, and will give a seamless
>> look.
Pfft. There shouldn't be any gaps (overlaps are worse, though. Polly fillah gives a different finish to the paper. It shows.
>> Sand the wall quickly before papering - will remove all those lumps and bumps stuck
>> on.
Lightly?
>> Do not put PVA on the wall.
Why? Edit: Rather why not?
Last edited by: FotheringtonTomas on Mon 17 Jan 11 at 17:17
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There is bound to be a gap as the edges of the pieces of paper are not engineered so as to allow a perfect butt joint. Even if they were, the moment you put paste on them they will inevitably round off.
So Polyfiller for the gap. If you put polyfiller *on* the paper then yes, you will see the different finish. If you put it in the gap then the gap will be hidden.
>>PVA
Why put it on the wall in the first place? Why do you want your lining paper to be welded to the wall when paste realeases nice and easily.
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>> There is bound to be a gap as the edges of the pieces of paper
>> are not engineered so as to allow a perfect butt joint. Even if they were,
>> the moment you put paste on them they will inevitably round off.
'K - however, the gaps should be so small that the paint acts as filler. They should not be visible.
>> So Polyfiller for the gap. If you put polyfiller *on* the paper then yes, you
>> will see the different finish. If you put it in the gap then the gap
>> will be hidden.
Difficult to do, it smudges. I suppose it might be possible to sponge off the surplus, but better not to need to.
>> >>PVA
>> Why put it on the wall in the first place? Why do you want your
>> lining paper to be welded to the wall when paste realeases nice and easily.
It's useful as a sealant - you PVA the wall with PVA:water 1:5, and let it dry. A sweep with some fine abrasive, then dust it, and it's perfect for paste. You can use size, but on unsealed walls if you decide later to paint it's a real swine to wash off. If I had to strip paper that had actually been PVA'd on, I'd be chasing someone with my 12" Sidebent Trimmers - to give them a simple vasectomy!
Last edited by: FotheringtonTomas on Mon 17 Jan 11 at 18:19
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>> There is bound to be a gap as the edges of the pieces of paper
>> are not engineered so as to allow a perfect butt joint. Even if they were,
>> the moment you put paste on them they will inevitably round off.
I am looking at 4 metres of wall I papered, where the butt joints are perfect and seamless and invisible after painting. pollyfilla? - never heard the like. Try papering properly.
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If the bare surface of the walls is good enough, you don't need lining paper. You must balance the time and effort required to get the surface good enough against the time and effort to paste, hang and trim lining paper.
If you decide not to paper, you'll need to thoroughly clean the walls with detergent and rinse; then sand down, filling as necessary. If you do decide to paper, you'll still have to thoroughly clean the walls and sand down, filling as necessary. Thin lining paper is pretty useless and thick lining paper is useful only to cover small imperfections; I would use it only if the alternative was skimming with a thin coat of plaster or similar. In that scenario, unless you're a skilled plasterer, it's probably quicker to use paper.
In my DIY career I have done all these (paint bare walls/lining paper/skimming) as I judged appropriate.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Mon 17 Jan 11 at 18:36
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>> If the bare surface of the walls is good enough, you don't need lining paper.
>> You must balance the time and effort required to get the surface good enough against
>> the time and effort to paste, hang and trim lining paper.
You can, to save time:
Fill where necessary.
On old crazed plaster skim with thinned-down pollie fillsir using a plasterer's trowel. Let dry.
Rub off with sanding block and very fine paper - you should only need to "wipe" the surface.
Paint it.
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I have found that Polyfilla has a different texture to the lining paper (PS IMHO use 1000 gauge) and it really shows when painted.
I try to fill any gaps between paper joints with paint - be a bit heavy with your brush and work-in a couple of coats into the gaps before the main painting starts.
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Lining Paper Grade for Walls - Zero
