Preparing The Surface For Vinyl Wall Covering Installation

When installing a wallcovering, make sure the surface is clean, dry, and as flat as possible. Cracks and holes must be filled, and the surface should be smoothed. Before applying vinyl wall covering over screw or nail heads, seal them with a blob of oil-based paint. Replace any missing shelves or fittings by inserting matchsticks into the screw holes.

 

Papered surfaces

Walls with wallcovering should ideally be stripped before another wallcovering is hung. However, this is unnecessary if the original wallcovering is in good condition, clean, and firmly adhered, as long as it is not embossed or has a plastic surface. If a few odd patches of wallcovering have lifted, these should be torn away and the rough edges smoothed with a medium-grade abrasive. If the original surface is in poor condition, do not attempt to hang wallcovering on it - it will fall off.

 

Stripping washable

Washables and painted papers are much more difficult to strip because the surface is water-resistant. The diluted washing-up liquid or wallpaper stripper will not be able to do its job until the surface is removed or broken up. To score the surface, use a special-purpose stripping tool with serrated edges, a wire brush, or wet coarse abrasive waterproof silicon carbide paper. If the wallpaper has a particularly stubborn painted finish, a chemical paint stripper may be required. Take care in all of these situations to avoid damaging the surface beneath.

 

Painted surfaces

If the old paintwork has a matt finish and is in good condition, it should be washed down with a detergent solution or a paint cleaner to ensure that all grease is removed. When the surface is dry, the wallcovering can be hung. Sound gloss-painted areas should also be washed down, but a thorough rubbing should follow this down of the entire surface with a coarse grade abrasive. Fill any damaged areas with a filler and, once dry, seal them with wallpaper paste, size, or emulsion paint.

 

Unfinished surfaces

Bare surfaces should be handled as if they would be painted over with the proper primer or sealer. A coat of diluted emulsion paint should be applied on new plaster or rendered in good condition and dry. Painting is not required; sizing can be used instead; nevertheless, the artwork will make stripping the wallcovering easier. As soon as the paint is dry, the wallcovering may be hung.

 

Sizing

Surfaces that are highly absorbent scaling bare plaster and plasterboard is recommended to size a surface before hanging a heavy or embossed wallcovering. However, it is not required to scale painted surfaces or freshly stripped surfaces. Before hanging the wallcovering, apply the size with a brush or a roller and allow it to dry completely. Before applying the wallcovering adhesive, some manufacturers recommend using an animal glue size. However, this wallcovering glue as a size applied at half the strength suggested for hanging wallcoverings. When applying ready-pasted vinyl wallcoverings, use a fungicide-containing adhesive as a size.

 

Conclusion

Vinyl wall coverings hung directly over uneven walls may crease and stretch; on non-absorbent surfaces such as gloss paint, the adhesive may take a long time to dry and so discolor or remove the new wallpaper. Lining paper can be used to remedy these issues while also preventing shrinking.