OK, I own it. I hate it. It’s in the bathroom of my very own, very first house and on my list of the very first things to change! It’s stuck really well, removal would be a nightmare. Paint would show the lines where the panels touch. Can I paper over it with one of those paintable textured papers? What if I prime it first? How do I get the primer to stick???
Suck it up and remove the nasty stuff. Yes, removal is a nightmare, but it can be done.
Visit your local paint and wallpaper store, and describe what you’re dealing with. Get a “paper tiger” and whatever wallpaper remover thery recommend. The paper tiger is a palm-sized thing with rollers and nubby teeth that you just scribble all over the wallpaper to perforate it so the remover can get to the adhesive. (Vital with otherwise waterproof foil) Next, spray it down with the remover and let sit for however long the instructions say.
Moment of Truth time. Try to scrape the paper off. If all is well, it will peel off in large hunks. If all is not well, you probably need to soak it again with the remover and try again.
Once the paper is gone, patch the wall as needed, sand, prime and paint. Bask in the glory of smooth, freshly painted walls.
If you try to paint over the stuff, you run the significant risk that the paint won’t stick and will just crack and peel off. You might be able to get a stain-hider like BIN or Kilz to stick OK, but I’d only do this if I was about to move out under unfriendly circumstances.
If you absolutely insist on painting over wallpaper, use oil-based primer and paint. The water in regular latex paint will soften the paper’s adhesive, causing it to bubble and peel, forcing you to bite the bullet and remove the paper and seriously multiplying the time and labor needed.
I was actually thinking of papering over it. I thought if I could get an oil based primer to stick, I could put up a paintable textured paper and avoid the whole issue.
Oh, poop!
But thanks!
You could try that, but again, it’s really just a quick-fix copout. Some years ago, my brother tried to wallpaper over old wallpaper, and it only ended in tears and profanity when the old wallpaper came loose from the wall and took the new wallpaper with it.
IMHO, I would try a heat gun on the foil and then you can work on removing the glue residue with wall paper remover.
Good luck!
Why must you people give me good advice I don’t want to hear???
How hard would it be to say “No problem. Paper over it. Why bother with primer anyway…”
But NOOOOO. You guys have to know what you’re talking about and all stuff…