Oil-based primer!

[Mad Mark]

In the midst of our crazy (light) remodeling binge, El and I have finally gotten around to the downstairs bathroom. We got rid of the oh-so eighties light fixture, and then had to tackle the equally appalling coral and blue striped wallpaper.
Well, guess what? To paint over wallpaper, you have to use oil-based primer. Ever tried painting with Elmer's Glue-All? This isn't far from that...and the stench is amazing...amazingly bad. I'm going to have to apply at least four coats of this crap, and then I'm going to have to sand it! Next time, we'll save up our pennies, and call in the pros!
(And this doesn't even touch on the joys of trying to decide whether to paint around or temporarily remove the one-piece toilet we have down there!) :eek:

[twoBshorty]

Um, can I ask why you didn't just remove the wallpaper instead of painting over it? When we redid the kitchen years ago, my dad used one of these:

Wallpaper steamer (http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-1-Gallon-Wallpaper-Steamer-705/dp/B0009XEL4O)

[Mad Mark]

Um, can I ask why you didn't just remove the wallpaper instead of painting over it? When we redid the kitchen years ago, my dad used one of these:

Wallpaper steamer (http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-1-Gallon-Wallpaper-Steamer-705/dp/B0009XEL4O)


When we first moved in, we removed wallpaper upstairs...and found it had all been improperly applied. The drywall underneath was not happy! Figured it would be easier to go this route than go through that again.

[Cokeman]

When we first moved in, we removed wallpaper upstairs...and found it had all been improperly applied. The drywall underneath was not happy! Figured it would be easier to go this route than go through that again.

Do you still feel painting over the wallpaper is the easier route? I ask because I believe I'm running into a similar situation here.

[gallden]

Get a wallpaper remover and spray it down with warm water and some vinegar and it should take it right off. I've done it a bunch of times. (I do construction. )

[Mad Mark]

Do you still feel painting over the wallpaper is the easier route? I ask because I believe I'm running into a similar situation here.

I think three things killed me this time. There was a border on this paper, and we were advised to sand down the edge. That created rough patches which were brutal to get paint on. Second, I simply wasn't expecting this primer to be this thick. The Elmer's analogy was not much of an exaggeration, if at all. Third, the room is tiny. There are only two small areas you could consider rolling. I've found that the sponge brushes are working better than a real brush did, but this stuff just kills them.
However, it beats what we went through last time, when the wallpaper took the paper off the drywall when it came down, forcing us to skim coat all the walls in that room. (Apparently, those walls weren't primed before they were papered.
In the end, I'm going to have wound up laying down four coats of primer, sanding everything down, laying down two coats of paint, and likely lightly sanding that as well. Far more work than I would have wanted, but it's going to look so much better than that lame wallpaper did!