Ask The Crusader!

Michael King...THE HOME IMPROVEMENT CRUSADER!

Wall Paper

Question
I have a small wallpapered bath that I would like to paint. How can I remove the paper, which has been on plasterboard for thirty years?

Answer
Don't even try to remove the paper; it was probably put on without sizing or primer, so it would be almost impossible to remove without gouging and scratching the plasterboard. But, you can paint it with pretty good results. Sand the paper lightly to reduce gloss and roughen the finish, apply a coat of latex enamel primer and finish with one or two coats of an eggshell finish latex wall paint. The drying primer and paint may cause wrinkles in the paper, but they are likely to flatten out when the paint dries. Always use thin coats.

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Question
I just brought a 100-year old house. I stripped the wallpaper and found a lots of holes, some the size of dimes. How can I fill those holes and put up new wallpaper?

Answer
Fill the holes with ready-mixed compound, and ignore cracks. If the wall is not too bad, you can put paper over it, or put up a canvas-type covering and leave it white or paint it. If the wall is really bad, cover it with coverall, which is designed to smooth out extremely rough walls.

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Question
How should I hang wallpaper from the top? Where should I cut the paper? How will I know the pattern is in the right position? I came to an outside corner, but the paper overlaps the corner about half its width, and when I try to paste that half round corner, it gets seriously wrinkled. How can I prevent that?

Answer
If the paper has distinct features such as houses, animals or trees etc., make sure the whole figure shows at the top, or nearly at the top. A less featured pattern can be cut almost any place. For outside corner, cut the paper so that it overlaps the corner about an inch. Then use a piece you cut off to continue; you can overlap the two pieces if you have to keep the strip vertical.

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Question
I steamed off wallpaper in my house and the walls look great, but some of the woodwork turned white, and there are whitish streaks on the ceiling beams. I presume the steam caused the stains. How can I get rid of them?

Answer
Yes, the steam caused the stains; just a warm plate set on a table will create a round, white stain. Shellac is particularly susceptible to the stains, but a varnish finish can get them, too! If the beams are rough, live with stains, or try covering them with a varnish-stain. If the wood is smooth, abrade the shellacked or varnished surface, since the stain probably is on the very top of the finish. Rub the stain with Colgate toothpaste, which seems to have more abrasive in it than other toothpastes, enough to remove the stain but not so much as to affect the finish in any other way. If this doesn't work, buy rottenstone at a paint store, wet the stain with any kind of oil so that it becomes wet with the oil, and rub with your hands.

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