The Devil Wore Wallpaper: Turn Your Walls into a Paint Striping Paradise

Sept. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- Walk into a bedroom and it’s staring at you, perhaps even laughing at you: the hideous wallpaper that either the previous homeowner put up or something a family member suggested you do to “save time” during your last project.

And now you’ve decided it’s time – time to painstakingly remove that hideous wall covering and replacing it by painting some vibrant colors and some brilliant striping, courtesy of the U-Stripe It & Design tool’s functional practicality.

Follow these simple steps and you’re well on your way to paint striping paradise!

1)   Create tiny perforations by using a scouring tool.  Doing so allows the wallpaper remover to penetrate to the wall and the bonding agent.  Be careful, though, as using the scouring tool with too much pressure applied may harm your drywall and thus make your simple wallpaper project that much more complicated.

2)   Read the directions (!) on the label of the package to mix the appropriate ratio of the wallpaper remover and water in a medium-sized container.  As an alternative, filling a bucket with the warmest water your hands can handle and adding a little bit of laundry detergent as an inexpensive option.

3)   Grab a soaked sponge and apply the remover to a smaller section of the wallpaper.  Once applied, allow for the mixture to soak through to the surface for 5-10 minutes.  If the mixture begins to show signs of driving, you’ve waited too long!

4)   Now that your wallpaper surface it prepped, start peeling it, working from the corner of the wall inward.  For any stubborn remaining pieces, use a scraper to remove that any stubborn backing that remains

5)   Here’s the step that most seem to ignore: grab a scrubbing brush and scrub the surface of any lingering glue.  All too often, do-it-yourselfers will continue to use the scraper tool to attempt to remove the stubborn glue backing.  Persisting to use the tool may make for a bigger project: filling in wall gouges with compound.

6)   Remove the remaining solution and glue residue with a water-soaked sponge.  Failure in doing so may cause your applied paint to flake or crack once dried.

7)   As a final step, use a primer on the wall such as KILZ to prep the wall for painting.

So that’s it – in just seven steps, you’re well on your way to freeing yourself from wallpaper purgatory and on the road to a painted promised land filled with striped lines.