Stains Bleeding Through Wallpaper and Primer / Stain Blocker – Continuation to March 9 Post

Re my post from two days ago … I do think my fears were correct, and the mottled look was not part of the pattern , but was from discoloration from some substance in or under the wallpaper . Even after applying the BIN stain blocker , and my wallpaper primer Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime , today I found a couple of specks like this, which had worked their way through . Some of them I spot-primed with KILZ , and some I just took a razor blade and cut out of the wall. If not treated or removed , stains like this can work their way through the surface of both paint and wallpaper . The paper I’m hanging today is black with a busy pattern, so you’ll never notice a 1/8″ speck of brown . But I still like to give my clients a pristine job . So was happy to apply the additional coat of stain blocker .

Stains Bleeding Through Wallpaper

This is the current wallpaper, and I’m to put a new paper in this powder room.  For various reasons, this paper cannot be stripped off the wall , so I’m prepping the walls to be able to hang the new paper on top of it .  Normally, my favorite Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime will seal this effectively enough.  But – hard to see in this photo – but this existing paper looks dirty to me.  Some of that is due to the mottled look of the pattern / colorway .  But I’m seeing tan discoloration , and I think it’s coming from under the wallpaper . 
This home was built in the early ‘90’s , and in a neighborhood where , through stripping off many old wallpapers in order to prep for new installation , I’ve noticed that someone working in that area and era used what we call clay-based paste .  This paste is made using actual clay – i.e. dirt – and has a reddish color .  I  believe that this red clay paste is able to work its way through wallpaper, and creep onto the surface, causing a subtle “dirty” cast to appear on the wallpaper. 
Once you strip the old wallpaper off the wall, the wall can then be washed , and hopefully you’ll get all the clay paste off .  But usually, no matter how much you scrub, residue will remain.  I fear that that residue will work its way through the new wallpaper, as well. 
Additionally, the most severe stains are in the vicinity of the toilet – housekeeper splashing cleaning agents?  or little boys with bad aim ??  
Yes, most homeowners will never notice this, especially since it can take years to show up.  And the paper I’ll be hanging is black , so it’s highly unlikely that any discernable stains will become visible .  But I get a little anal about wanting jobs to look perfect. 
 

So I like to use a stain blocker , which will ensure that no discoloring elements will work their way through .  My two favorites are KILZ Original , oil-based primer .  KILZ is wonderful, unparalleled stuff.  But it does have strong fumes , so you have to ventilate the room thoroughly and also wear a chemical respirator while applying it, to avoid becoming “high.”  i.e. “sick”   
My other option is BIN , which is shellac – based  .  This is also an excellent stain blocker , and has a strong smell , but nothing that will kill your brain cells .  Since my current clients have little kids, I opted for the BIN . 
Unless you want to go through a LOT of paint thinner and mess , you can’t easily wash oil-based or shellac-based liquids out of your roller cover or brush es .  So I plan to use disposable rollers and brushes.  This doesn’t mean cheap rollers and brushes – it just means that I factor in that these will be used once and then thrown away. 
Speaking of factoring in costs – the gallon of BIN was  $70 (and that was a reduced price due to dented can).  The KILZ was $40 , but I would have had to purchase a new respirator and cartridges , which would have added an additional $40 – some of the respirators went up to $70.  March 2023 prices . All this needs to be considered when figuring up the price for doing a wallpaper job.   I’ll also note that these products can be difficult to source – my local hardware store, which typically has stock even when larger outfits are out , had only one can of KILZ and one scratch-and-dent can of BIN .  Whichever I would have chosen, I sure got lucky. 
Note that these stain blockers are formulated to block lots of nasty stuff – water stains , blood , rust , wood sap / knot holes , ink , tar , grease , crayon , lipstick , cooking stains , marker , Sharpies , etc. 

Back to BIN….  It’s very watery and runny and drippy .  So you really have to cover the floors and baseboards , as well as countertops , toilets, etc.  Microfiber roller covers help a lot to minimize splatters .  Roll slowly and in an upward motion . 
Oh – additional plus … both BIN and KILZ dry quickly, so you can apply it and then move to your next step in less than an hour. 

Besides the shadow-y paste residue , this room has other issues .  Here, someone used ink pen to mark placement of the hooks for the powder room mirror .  Eeek!  Ink will bleed through paint and wallpaper even faster than clay paste residue will.  Here you can see one coat of the BIN applied – but the ink seems to have  been “resurrected” and is actually enlarging and spreading, and bleeding through the stain blocker . 

Here I’ve spot-primed with a heavier coat of BIN , and that appears to be holding the nasty ink at bay . 
Note that wallpaper paste will not adhere to oil-based products like KILZ , and probably not to shellac , either, because it dries kind of glossy.  So whichever of these primers you choose to use, you will need to top-coat with a primer formulated for use under wallpaper – and that will adhere to the stain blocker.  Tomorrow, I’m going to follow up with Roman Pro 977 , as mentioned above . 

From Dark and Dated to Light and Livable

Oh, my! – I hung lots of these chintz florals, ” satin ” look (the design of the dark green at the bottom of the wall), and dark colors back in the ’90’s . Sure enough – this home was built and wallpapered in 1994.
IIt’s still a good look, IMO, and the homeowner still likes it. But she’s just gotten tired of it. So – time for an update !
She also decided to eliminate the chair rail , so the new wallpaper will go ceiling to floor . Here you see some damage to the drywall where the chair rail molding was removed .

What a change! Now the room’s look is quiet and fresh .
The buffet , topped with a decorative mirror , will go on this wall . That’s why I centered the pattern in between the windows , so it will fall evenly on either side of the furnishings .
I also plotted so that a full “Moroccan lantern” (that’s what this style of trellis pattern is called), would balance out between the crown molding and the window molding. There were several of these 12.5″ high areas all around the room, so this placement of whole “lantern” motifs gave the room a pleasing look.
It also worked out that the lanterns were evenly placed and kept whole between the crown molding and the baseboard. See the second following photo to see what I’m talking about
As a note – just this one window wall took me about five hours to measure , calculate , and hang . Getting the pattern to go over, around, and under the two windows , and still line up and match correctly , took some time and futzing. The material was thick and stiff , and a bit tricky to fit into corners and trim around the decorative window molding .
In the foreground you see my work table area . The homeowner has let me put protective padding on her dining room table and then set my work table on that. This saves space and allows plenty of room for my ladder and other tools as I work around all four walls.

So that I could center the pattern on this wall , I had to start hanging my first strip in the middle of the wall. I was lucky this time, that the pattern was centered exactly on the edge of the wallpaper roll . Sometimes (as in the one I did yesterday – see previous post ) the center of the design motif is a to the right or left of the edge of the wallpaper . This, naturally, means you’ve got to do more measuring and plotting and double-checking , to be sure the center of the design falls down the center of the wall .
Back to the photo above … that dark block on the right side of my work table is my laser level. It’s shooting a perfectly plumb red line onto the wall. Here I’m lining up my first strip of paper butted against this red line .
Switch topics … Back in 1994, the original installer did a very nice job of hanging the wallpaper. But … he didn’t prime the new drywall first. That lack of primer / protective layer means that the wallpaper will actually bond to the drywall. I tried, but was unable to get the existing wallpaper off . Eventually, you need to factor in time , damage to the wall , paste residue left on the wall, and take a different tac if called for.
So I skim-floated over the seams , so they wouldn’t show under the new paper , and also floated over the damaged drywall where the chair rail had been removed . Sanded smooth , and then primed the patched areas as well as the original wallpaper, with Roman Ultra Prime Pro 977 . This stuff will adhere to the light acrylic (slick) surface of the original wallpaper, as well as protect it from moisture from my paste on the new wallpaper. ( Moisture could cause the underlying original wallpaper to expand , creating bubbles that will look bad, or loose areas that will pull away from the wall, creating a bubble or pocket.)
My primer is also lightly pigmented, so it helps block out the dark color and busy pattern of the original wallpaper . This particular new wallpaper is quite opaque , but not all of them are, so a pigmented primer is important , IMO .

Left corner of the buffet wall. Here you can see how the lantern motifs are placed between ceiling and floor.

The background has a lightly mottled effect, that mimics grasscloth a bit, and also adds more depth and warmth than just a plain solid color .

Been havin’ more than a fair share of defects lately, especially this week. This paper had on both front and back sides, incidences of these black flecks . They seemed to be maybe charcoal , so I wasn’t too worried about their black bleeding through to the surface , like ink or any oil-based substance will do.
Most of them were embedded in the material itself, so could not be wiped off , nor dug out with a razor blade . Some I had to cut around and discard the affected paper. Others were so small as to not be noticeable once the paper was up on the wall and all the furniture and artwork was back in the room.
There was also one 3′ section of wallpaper that had an odd streak or arc running across it. It wasn’t ink . It was more like some kind of compromise to the substrate . I noticed it was I was pasting the back of the paper . I turned it over and, sure enough, you could see it a little on the surface. (see photo in previous post) It’s the kind of thing that was subtle, but would catch your eye when looking at the wall from a distance . It was minor , but I discarded that strip . Good thing I have the homeowners purchase a little extra wallpaper .

The manufacturer is Designer Wallcoverings , which is a good quality brand (aside from the printing defects I described earlier ). It was a non-woven / paste the wall material , which is pretty user-friendly . It will strip off the wall easily and in one piece when you redecorate . Stain-resistant , and ” breathable ” in humid conditions .
The home is in the West University neighborhood of Houston . Dining room installer

Stains on Wall Next to Powder Room Sink

Look closely and you’ll see streaks running down the wall, obviously from liquids that have been splashed out of the sink or while someone reached for the faucet handles. This is a semi-gloss paint, so you’d think it would be more resistant to staining.
Two things concern me. First that whatever substance this is, may come back back to haunt us by bleeding through the new wallpaper. Oil, which can be found in soap, cleaning supplies, and fragrances, for instance, is one culprit.
Second is that, if the walls got this much splatter before the paper goes up, sure hope that the household will take more care once the wallpaper has been installed.

Counting Shadows On The Wall

Digital Image

Here is a paper that has been in a master bathroom in a home in River Oaks for many years. This wall faces a wall of windows.

The dark areas you see in the photo are where a piece of art was removed from the wall, and, below that, where two towels had hung on towel racks (the rods have been removed and you are looking at the support brackets).

The picture and the towels kept sunlight away from the wallpaper, while the unprotected areas faded due to exposure to sunlight from the window.

Some wallpapers are dubbed “fade-resistant.” This one was not. This particular brand is printed on what we call pulp stock, which is usually a British product, and the inked layer has no coating, so it is not likely to hold up well against light or water or abrading or the likes.

I also think that the previous installer’s methods might have influenced the fading of the paper. The paper was hung directly on Sheetrock, with no primer. The drywall could have leeched into the wallpaper, causing discoloration. A primer would have prevented this.

The installer also used clay-based paste. This stuff is really sticky, but I think it’s icky – it is slimy and hard to wipe off woodwork, and it has a tan color that I have seen work its way through wallpapers, including grasscloth, many, many times.

If paste stains are bleeding through wallpaper, perhaps they are pulled more, or perhaps less, toward a source of light -and it could differ if it’s sunlight or a light bulb, too. And an obstacle such as a framed picture or a towel hanging from a bar a half an inch away from the paper block some of that light, and that could all have an effect, too.

And remember that towels are often damp, and that dampness hanging next to, or even touching, the wall, could cause changes to the paper and the paste and the surface below.

Just musings. When I look at existing wallpaper, or strip off some other installer’s work, I always am fascinated by the surface, the methods, etc.

Ink Bleeds Through Wallpaper!

I am stripping off this wallpaper, and will repaper the room tomorrow. When this was originally hung, someone must have written on either the wall or the back of the wallpaper in ink. And the ink is doing what ink does – bleeding through to the surface. Solid vinyl papers are particularly bad about letting ink work its way through.

Other materials will to this, too – rust, blood, oil or grease, food stains. Such stains should be cut out of the wall and patched and then sealed (KILZ Original is super for this), or, at minimum, sealed. And if you have to write on the wall (as I do when marking measurements, etc.) always use a pencil, NEVER an ink pen or grease pencil.