Hi wallpaper lady. My name is Conny and I’ve been installing paper since 1981.
I have a job coming up with large bullnose arches and read that you have a colleague that invented a gadget to help with that.
Would that be something you would share with me or that I could purchase?
Btw totally agree with the self adhesive paper. What a crock.
Thanks so much. Conny Snyder
Hi. I found a wallpaper border in a Ziploc at a yard sale, but alas no product information. I have no idea if this “Daisy” border is pre-pasted or not. There is just enough border to use as a chair rail in my half-bath, so I do not have any extra with which to experiment. Additionally, I have no idea, if it’s not pre-pasted, which product to use for hanging said border. I am a complete neophyte when it comes to wallpaper, borders, paint, adhesives, tools needed, etc, so I am “flying blind.” Any, and I mean ANY, guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated! I have asked several people, even some in the trade, but no one seemed interested in advising me. My border is less than 17’ and I really want to DIY this small project. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my email, and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Hi Tammy. Thanks for reading my blog!
Chances are, your border is pre-pasted. You can check easily by wetting your finger and just touching a small dot on the back. You will be able to feel the paste activate and get slimy or sticky. Then just let it dry and you will be able to activate it later when you are ready to put the border up.
Even with a pre-pasted border, most installers would add a little extra paste. Especially in a bathroom where you are going to have humidity.
But there is more to it than just drawing a level line and putting up the border.
If your walls are textured, the bumps will show under the border and look bad. And the texture may well impede good adhesion to the wall, depending on how thick it is.
If you have flat paint in the bathroom, it may suck the paste off your wallpaper.
If you have gloss paint in the bathroom, it may be too slick for the wallpaper to adhere to.
That is why we professionals prime with a wallpaper primer before hanging. But with a border, the is pretty difficult, because it’s pretty impossible to measure accurately enough and then brush the primer on just the area where the border will run around the room.
If you want to give it a go, if you have flat paint on the walls, I would go to Home Depot or Sherwin Williams and get a gallon of pre-mixed clear vinyl wallpaper adhesive. I would suggest Roman’s 838 or 880. Or Sure Stik Dynamite 780 or 785 or 234. Do not get clay base paste.
If there is gloss paint, there is something called VOV for Vinyl Over Vinyl, which is made to stick wallpaper to glossy surfaces. It is sometimes called Border Adhesive. But I’ve heard that they have taken the VOV off the label, for fire safety reasons, and now they are calling it something else. Maybe Super Heavy Duty Adhesive – something like that. You would have to read the label to see if it will stick wallpaper to vinyl or other glossy surfaces. That stuff is usually available in quarts, which is all you need.
If you do that, be warned – when you change your decor, you will have a devil of a time getting the border off the wall, and that VOV adhesive will likely stay behind, leaving you with a gummy stripe around the middle of your room.
If your border is pre-pasted, wet the back, either with a spray bottle or by running it through some water, like in the sink. Fold it in accordian pleats, pasted side to pasted side. Lay it on a protected surface, something you can wipe clean like a shower curtain. Use a brush or your hand to smear the adhesive of your choice on the back of the border, to augment the pre-paste. You would follow the same procedure if the border is not pre-pasted.
Fold in accordian pleats to make it easy to handle, and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Putting it in a plastic trash bag will keep it from drying out during this “booking” time.
Then spread it out on your wall, following your horizontal level line. Use a wallpaper brush or a damp sponge to smooth out bubbles. Wipe up any paste that oozes out and onto the wall.
Remember not to wrap the border all the way around the room. You need to cut it vertically in the corners. You wrap it a tiny bit, like 1/8″ – 1/4″, then cut it vertically, then you take the piece you just cut off and position it on the wall, overlapping that tiny 1/4″ area.
This helps accommodate crooked walls and shifting foundations. You will lose a bit of the pattern in the overlap, but will enable you to have the paper will fit tightly into the corner.
That’s about it. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
THANK YOU!!! That’s more information than anyone has offered me. Most said “watch a YouTube video” or my favorite “just Google it, it’s only a border”. I am going to go peruse Lowe’s & The Home Depot and see what I can find with regard to adhesives. I’ll keep you posted. Again, thank you!!! BTW, I am married to a Texan (Harlingen- way down south), but we live in Delaware, my home state. He misses TX, but work keeps us north for a few more years. Someday, I’ll be an honorary Texan, I hope! Be well & stay safe, T-
I just quickly want to say that I greatly appreciate you for replying and saying “thank you.” Occasionally I get queries like yours, and I like to help people, so I might spend 20 minutes or more researching materials and typing a reply. Virtually NONE of them has bothered to even let me know she received my email, let alone utter a word of thanks. So you stand above the crowd! AND – you’re a Texan at heart, so that is a winning hand! Happy DIY’ing, and let me know how it turns out.
May 24, 2010 at 4:19 pm |
Thank you again for the great job you did on our world map. It looks great & we’re really pleased with the results. You did an amazing clean up also.
July 26, 2020 at 2:18 am |
Hi wallpaper lady. My name is Conny and I’ve been installing paper since 1981.
I have a job coming up with large bullnose arches and read that you have a colleague that invented a gadget to help with that.
Would that be something you would share with me or that I could purchase?
Btw totally agree with the self adhesive paper. What a crock.
Thanks so much. Conny Snyder
July 26, 2020 at 5:04 am |
Hi Conny. Thanks for reading my blog! And it’s always fun to talk to another installer. You did’t mention where you are located. This link should hopefully answer your questions. If you need more help, please email me at wallpaperlady@att.net
https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/trimming-along-bull-nosed-edged-walls/
December 5, 2020 at 5:24 am |
Hi. I found a wallpaper border in a Ziploc at a yard sale, but alas no product information. I have no idea if this “Daisy” border is pre-pasted or not. There is just enough border to use as a chair rail in my half-bath, so I do not have any extra with which to experiment. Additionally, I have no idea, if it’s not pre-pasted, which product to use for hanging said border. I am a complete neophyte when it comes to wallpaper, borders, paint, adhesives, tools needed, etc, so I am “flying blind.” Any, and I mean ANY, guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated! I have asked several people, even some in the trade, but no one seemed interested in advising me. My border is less than 17’ and I really want to DIY this small project. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my email, and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
December 5, 2020 at 7:57 am |
Hi Tammy. Thanks for reading my blog!
Chances are, your border is pre-pasted. You can check easily by wetting your finger and just touching a small dot on the back. You will be able to feel the paste activate and get slimy or sticky. Then just let it dry and you will be able to activate it later when you are ready to put the border up.
Even with a pre-pasted border, most installers would add a little extra paste. Especially in a bathroom where you are going to have humidity.
But there is more to it than just drawing a level line and putting up the border.
If your walls are textured, the bumps will show under the border and look bad. And the texture may well impede good adhesion to the wall, depending on how thick it is.
If you have flat paint in the bathroom, it may suck the paste off your wallpaper.
If you have gloss paint in the bathroom, it may be too slick for the wallpaper to adhere to.
That is why we professionals prime with a wallpaper primer before hanging. But with a border, the is pretty difficult, because it’s pretty impossible to measure accurately enough and then brush the primer on just the area where the border will run around the room.
If you want to give it a go, if you have flat paint on the walls, I would go to Home Depot or Sherwin Williams and get a gallon of pre-mixed clear vinyl wallpaper adhesive. I would suggest Roman’s 838 or 880. Or Sure Stik Dynamite 780 or 785 or 234. Do not get clay base paste.
If there is gloss paint, there is something called VOV for Vinyl Over Vinyl, which is made to stick wallpaper to glossy surfaces. It is sometimes called Border Adhesive. But I’ve heard that they have taken the VOV off the label, for fire safety reasons, and now they are calling it something else. Maybe Super Heavy Duty Adhesive – something like that. You would have to read the label to see if it will stick wallpaper to vinyl or other glossy surfaces. That stuff is usually available in quarts, which is all you need.
If you do that, be warned – when you change your decor, you will have a devil of a time getting the border off the wall, and that VOV adhesive will likely stay behind, leaving you with a gummy stripe around the middle of your room.
If your border is pre-pasted, wet the back, either with a spray bottle or by running it through some water, like in the sink. Fold it in accordian pleats, pasted side to pasted side. Lay it on a protected surface, something you can wipe clean like a shower curtain. Use a brush or your hand to smear the adhesive of your choice on the back of the border, to augment the pre-paste. You would follow the same procedure if the border is not pre-pasted.
Fold in accordian pleats to make it easy to handle, and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Putting it in a plastic trash bag will keep it from drying out during this “booking” time.
Then spread it out on your wall, following your horizontal level line. Use a wallpaper brush or a damp sponge to smooth out bubbles. Wipe up any paste that oozes out and onto the wall.
Remember not to wrap the border all the way around the room. You need to cut it vertically in the corners. You wrap it a tiny bit, like 1/8″ – 1/4″, then cut it vertically, then you take the piece you just cut off and position it on the wall, overlapping that tiny 1/4″ area.
This helps accommodate crooked walls and shifting foundations. You will lose a bit of the pattern in the overlap, but will enable you to have the paper will fit tightly into the corner.
That’s about it. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
December 5, 2020 at 9:40 am
THANK YOU!!! That’s more information than anyone has offered me. Most said “watch a YouTube video” or my favorite “just Google it, it’s only a border”. I am going to go peruse Lowe’s & The Home Depot and see what I can find with regard to adhesives. I’ll keep you posted. Again, thank you!!! BTW, I am married to a Texan (Harlingen- way down south), but we live in Delaware, my home state. He misses TX, but work keeps us north for a few more years. Someday, I’ll be an honorary Texan, I hope! Be well & stay safe, T-
December 5, 2020 at 9:54 am |
I just quickly want to say that I greatly appreciate you for replying and saying “thank you.” Occasionally I get queries like yours, and I like to help people, so I might spend 20 minutes or more researching materials and typing a reply. Virtually NONE of them has bothered to even let me know she received my email, let alone utter a word of thanks. So you stand above the crowd! AND – you’re a Texan at heart, so that is a winning hand! Happy DIY’ing, and let me know how it turns out.