Emulsion over wallpaper

Joined
19 Nov 2005
Messages
166
Reaction score
0
Location
Bedfordshire
Country
United Kingdom
I thought I read on here that it was unwise to paint emulsion onto a vinyl type wall covering. Will this always fail and is there a solution(apart from taking the paper off - which he does not want to do!). Thanks
 
Presume its a solid Vinyl ?
Not a good Idea really. Though it depends on your taste. Without a primer emulsion wont adhere properly and any emboss on the vinyl will grin through, each coat will take all day to dry and you may get 'mud cracking' in the corners. I have'nt used it myself yet (on vinyl) but this may be of help.
http://zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=11

On the other hand if your paper is similar to a blown vinyl which is semi porous then you can safely emulsion over that.

Good luck.
 
Vinyl is often cited as a material that paint will not stick well to, and I expect the reason for that misconception is that window companies will not recommend painting their white PVC windows.

Most commonly, people will assume that the reason for the recommendation not to paint white PVC windows is that the paint won't stick.

Actually, the real reason is that PVC has a very wide "glass transition temperature range" over which it transforms from a hard stiff material to a soft flexible material. The bottom of that temperature range is well within the temperatures that can be expected in outdoor environments, and so the recommendation not to paint PVC windows has more to do with preventing the PVC of the windows from getting any warmer than it otherwise would than it has with adhesion problems of paint to PVC.

Fact is, people with PVC siding on their homes paint that siding all the time without problems with the paint adhering to the PVC siding. The only restriction is placed by the manufacturer of the PVC siding, and that is to not paint the siding any darker than it's original colour.

The rational for that recommendation is that the darker the paint, the hotter the PVC siding will get on a warm sunny day, and the greater the liklihood that it will be in that "glass transition temperature range" where it converts from a stiff solid to a soft flexible material and sags under it's own weight.

This is why siding companies that make PVC siding recommend that you don't paint the siding any colour darker than the original colour of the siding... to prevent it from sagging under it's own weight on a hot day and permanantly deforming as a result.

But, that said, PVC is not a difficult substrate for paints to stick to. People paint PVC siding all the time with normal latex and oil based paints without problem. So, with PVC (or vinyl), the thing to keep in mind is more the transition temperature range at which this plastic goes from a soft (sag-able) material to a strong, stiff material than any problem getting paint to stick to this plastic.

Paints stick well to PVC. It's the concern over how the colour of the PVC is going to affect it's temperature that's the prime concern, and it's the temperature of that PVC that determines whether or not it starts to sag and permanently deform that's of utmost consideration.
 
Sorry.

I guess what I'm saying is that painting over wallpaper is never a good idea in my books cuz eventually the glue holding the wallpaper on is gonna let go, and the wall paper is going to start coming off anyhow. Having one or more coats of paint over that wallpaper is just going to make it harder to take down in future. If it were me, I'd take the wallpaper down, and then paint.

I guess what I was trying to say is that if he does want to paint it, I don't believe that it being vinyl is going to cause a problem with the paint not sticking. People paint vinyl siding all the time. But, I don't know if his vinyl wallpaper is smoother or rougher than vinyl siding.
 
Nah, do it properly, strip the wallpaper, wash the wall with sugar soap to remove the paste, prep the walls and repaint. C'mon, if I have to do it properly so do you. Also you can rest in the knowledge that in years to come some hapless DIY'er is not going to be cursing your name.
 

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top