Just above my finger, you can see a bit of a green line. A previous installer must have used ink to mark his plumb line . Problem with this is, as you can see, ink will work its way through many substances, including wallpaper , and leave a stain on the surface. In this case, I removed the old wallpaper and then skim-floated the wall to smooth it. As you can see, the ink, which is decades old (original wallpaper dates to the early ‘90’s ) is still active and has bled through the smoothing compound / joint compound . If I were to prime and then hang wallpaper over this, it would work its way through both my primer and the homeowner’s new wallpaper. So I’m sealing it off. Above the green line you can see a strip of stain blocker brushed (actually daubed on with my finger) over the stain. I like to use KILZ Original oil-based stain blocker. BIN shellac-based is another good product. Don’t believe the claims on cans of water-based alternatives – nothing works as well to block stains as KILZ or BIN. The fumes can be strong, and KILZ can make you high, so ventilate the room and/or wear a respirator when you apply this stuff. Other substances / stains that can bleed through paint and wallpaper are tobacco , water , rust , marker , crayon , blood , oil , grease , food , hand prints , cosmetics , hair products , and so forth.
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 .
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 .
This window had leak issues ( rain , sprinklers ) some years back, which have been solved by replacing the window, and doing other repairs. In the photo, I’ve applied my light blue wallpaper primer to the top half of the wall but not yet the bottom portion, so that’s why the color differenceEven though the leak has been stopped, vestiges of it are still appearing. Water that entered the wall left vertical streaks on the drywall . All these years later, after the paint and texture have been removed , the stains remain.Water stains , along with some others, such as blood , rust , ink , marker , grease , oil, cosmetics , and the like, will bleed through joint compound , primer , paint , and wallpaper , creating new stains on the surface . It may take a couple of months , but they will make an appearance . In this photo, I’ve already applied my blue primer. It only took a half an hour for these stains to work their way through. This is the top right corner of the window , where the bracket for the mini-blinds is attached to the wall. Note the stains on the underside of the window . To prevent these stains from working their way through the new coating / paint / wallpaper , it’s imperative to thoroughly cover them with a stain blocker . And – trust me – water-based products won’t work, despite what the label claims. You need an oil-based product like this KILZ Original , or a shellac-based like BIN by Zinsser . Both are prone to splatter , so be sure to cover your floor and baseboards with dropcloths . KILZ has strong fumes and can make you high , so ventilate or wear a respirator mask . It’s a hassle cleaning the liquid out of the brush , so I use a cheap-ish disposable “ chip brush ” from Home Depot or Sherwin-Williams . The products usually dry pretty quickly. Note that wallpaper paste won’t stick to most oil-based primers , and shellac is too glossy for good adhesion , so I’m going to go over the stain blocker with my usual Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer , which sticks to just about everything , and creates a good, matt finish surface for the wallpaper to cling to.
Top photo … my razor knife is pointing at pin point-sized specks on this wall. I found similar in multiple spots around the room. What’s interesting is that I have seen these exact same size, color, and configuration of specks on at least one other job.
What’s scary is that I fear these are made of something that will stain the wallpaper. There are lots of substances that can bleed through – through paint, through primer, and through the wallpaper and appear on the surface.
These could have been splashed onto the wall. But my feeling, especially since I have seen it in other homes, is that they are coming from within the wall surface. Maybe something contaminated the painter’s materials, or something inside the drywall.
There are stain blockers that can be used to seal these dots. My favorite is shown in the second photo. Oil or shellac-based work best. The problem is, wallpaper paste won’t stick to them. If just daubing onto a teeny dot, I wouldn’t worry about it. But when a larger area needs to be treated, you have to let that dry, and then follow up with a wallpaper primer.
Actually, depending on the stain, I don’t always trust the blockers. For these very tiny specks, I used my razor blade to dig into the wall and actually remove the affected area. The resulting holes were small enough that I didn’t worry about dents showing under the wallpaper.
In some instances, I did go back and cover them with KILZ.
This vintage tub is super cool , and period-appropriate to this 1926 home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston . But if you need to get wallpaper on the walls around and above it, it’s really tricky . A ladder won’t fit in the tub , nor straddle it, and might damage it as well. So I keep this handy piece of plywood in my van . It’s a standard 2’x4′ size, and 1/2″ thick. That’s thick enough to distribute and hold my weight, but still light enough that I can carry it into homes and up staircases . It’s been sanded and then primed with white KILZ , to look a little nicer bringing into my clients’ homes, and also to reduce the chance of it leaving a mark on surfaces . The board is a perfect size for placing over various types of bathtubs or other items – as long as their top is flat. Note that I have cushioning and non-slip material between the board and the tub. In this case, I’m also using a one-step Rubbermaid step stool to boost my height. This might look a little scary, but it’s all actually very safe . I just need to be sure that my weight is distributed over the tub, and not over that unsupported section on the right. The stool does add a little more interest to the balancing act. But it’s all doable and safe if you just pay attention to your weight and movements. It did help that this family gave me plenty of peace and quiet while I was working .
You’re looking at the junction between a wallpaper border at the top of a wall and the ceiling. You can see crackled and flaking paint on the ceiling.
This was almost surely caused by the previous wallpaper installer getting paste on the ceiling (which is typical and normal) but failing to wipe it off completely.
The paste is clear and difficult to see. Even when you do a diligent job, it’s easy to leave some residue behind.
The problem is that wallpaper paste attacks water-based paint, and will cause it to do what you see above … crackle, flake, chip off. This can happen if the paint was in place before the wallpaper paste got on it, or if there was paste residue and fresh paint was applied on top of it.
In fact, the decorative paint finish called “crackle finish” is accomplished by applying hide glue onto a surface and then coating it with latex paint.
The crackly paint on the ceiling is unattractive, and impedes adhesion. It takes a lot of scraping and sealing and skimming the wall to rectify this.
A way to avoid this is to astutely wipe off all paste residue. Better yet, what I do is to use special plastic tape at the top of my wallpaper strips, so that no paste gets onto the ceiling in the first place. Do a Search here to see previous posts describing that technique.
You can also use a stain blocker like KILZ Original oil-based primer, or BIN shellac-based primer, to seal off the area before painting. There are water-borne primers that claim to seal such problem areas – but I prefer to stick with oil or shellac.
Look carefully and you’ll see an oval-shaped dark area on this wall. Stains have soiled the high areas of the textured wall. This is where the crib was up against the wall. Probably the child ran her hand or feet across the wall. Over time, oils from our skin can cause stains like this. Before smoothing the wall, I applied a stain blocker to this area, to prevent anything from bleeding through the new wallpaper. I like oil-based KILZ Original best, but there are others out there. BIN by Zinsser is another good option. The smoothing compound and / or wallpaper primer then goes over the stain blocker. Additionally, once the new wallpaper is up, it’s important to protect the wall and take steps to prevent new stains from developing.
his wallpaper is on the backsplash of a kitchen counter. Over 30+ years, you can see splatters that have stained the paper.
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On these pieces that I have stripped from the wall, you can see that the stains have leached through to the back of the paper. Since stains like this usually contain grease, they can bleed through to the new wallpaper, too. So it’s important to make sure that none have gotten onto the drywall behind the wallpaper. If so, a stain blocker will be needed to seal them off. Oil-based KILZ and shellac-based BIN are two good options. On the right is the KILZ that I used to seal off these stains. It’s important to use the ” Original ” oil-based version, and not any latex or water-borne formulas…. they simply don’t perform as well, no matter what the label says. And know that the fumes are … well, they will get you high and knock out a few brain cells, so wear a respirator, or at least open the windows for good ventilation. Wallpaper paste will not adhere to oil-based products, nor will it stick well to the glossy surface of BIN. So, once the stain-blocker is dry, I go over it with my usual wallpaper primer, Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime.
See that oval ring on the paint? That’s from someone lying on the bed and letting his head rest against the wall. Don’t know whether he used hair tonic or not, but even a clean head of hair will contain oils, and those oils will wick into the paint and cause a stain.
The bad thing about this and wallpaper is that certain substances will bleed through wallpaper, staining the surface. Oil and grease are sure contenders.
To prevent this bleed-through, I painted over the stained area with a stain blocker. My favorite is KILZ Original Oil Based. It stinks to high Heaven and breathing too much will make you high, but it is outstanding at sealing all sorts of nasty substances.
Wallpaper paste will not stick to this, so, once it’s dry, roll your usual wallpaper primer over it.
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