Painting vinyl wallpaper

[jicms]

Hi
I wish to matt paint over intact, low sheen, plain, vinyl wallpaper. What is the best way of preparing the paper to enable the paint to adhere? (I'm sure this is not Ideal but I can't cope with stripping the paper and relining it!)
Thanks for any help.

 

[footprints]

Clean down to remove any surface dirt just clean water on a sponge (don't go mad with any cleaner unless it' really bad) then a coat of Zinsser Bullseye 123 it will key to the surface fine.

Worth mentioning that while Zinsser dries in about an hour and can then be overpainted, it can take a couple of weeks to achieve full strength so avoid any scraping of the fresh paint work for a while as if you go at it with a finger nail sometimes you can scrape if off. That said it's unlikely to happen, just be aware of it.

 

[emilybronte]

Much cheaper and more satisfactory to remove the vinyl wallpaper in the first place. Think about it. It is waterproof and was never intended to be painted with water-based paint. If you are careful you can peel off the vinyl top layer, leaving the paper lining intact, ready for painting. Or take the whole lot off and paint the bare plaster.

 

[jicms]

The paper doesn't peel, it seems to be more of a low sheen wipeable standard wallpaper. It's not an option to do this as it's the landing and stairwell which I wouldn't attempt myself.

I did look for Zinsser, B&Q had a different version for £40 but several days later my test painting seems to have set and now doesn't wipe off. So with two coats I think it will be fine.

I do have a border that I will need to strip off, hopefully without too much damage!

Thanks for all the advice.