How to Install Prepasted Vinyl Wallpaper Without Booking
Prepasted vinyl wallpaper is manufactured with a dehydrated paste applied to the paper's backside. Prepasted paper simplifies installing wallpaper, because the wallpaper hanger wets the prepasted paper and activates the paste, rather than mixing and applying thick wallpaper paste with a brush or paint roller. Booking the paper refers to a process which allows the paste to soften and activate before the paper is applied to the wall. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Prepasted vinyl wallcovering
- Plastic-top, rectangular table
- Wall sizing
- Sponge and bucket
- 1/4-inch nap paint roller cover, and roller-cover handle
- Paint pan
- Spray bottle filled with water
- Wallpaper brush, squeegee and seam roller
- Razor blade knife and 6-inch strait edge, such as a drywall knife or large paint scraping knife
Instructions
-
Preparing the Wall and Paper
-
1
Measure out, and cut three or four drops of wallpaper. A wallpaper drop is the amount of paper needed to cover the wall from ceiling to floor. Take note to match the patterns as the pieces are cut. Some wall covering's patterns match straight across from one another, and others patterns which drop by 12 to 16 inches before they match.
-
2
Lay these drops out across the wallpaper table, with the pasted side up to allow the paper to uncurl while you prepare the wall.
-
-
3
Mix the wallpaper sizing according to manufacturer's instructions. Apply the wall sizing to the wall area which will receive wallpaper, and allow it to dry before applying the wallpaper. The wall sizing is like a very thin paste, which grips the wall, and helps the prepasted wall covering stick to the wall better.
-
4
Mix the remaining wall sizing into the water, which will be applied to the wallpaper. This will improve the strength of the wallpaper's adhesive.
-
5
Apply the water / wall sizing mixture to the back of the wall covering with a wet paint roller, and allow the wall covering to sit for two to three minutes while the paste activates. If the edges of the paper begin to dry, spray the edges with water from a squirt bottle to make sure the paper stays wet until it's applied to the wall.
Hanging the Paper
-
6
Carefully carry the paper to the wall. Wet, paper backed, vinyl surface wall covering is very fragile, and will tear easily. Starting in a corner of the room, apply the paper to the wall by starting at the top of the wall area, and pressing the wallpaper to the wall. Using the wallpaper brush, brush the surface of the paper to get the paper to stick to the wall. After the top two or three feet of the drop are stuck to the wall, the rest of the paper can be brushed to the wall, and the entire drop will adhere loosely to the wall surface.
-
7
Use the squeegee to remove any air bubbles from underneath the paper. Starting from the middle of the drop, squeegee the paper toward the edges. The air bubble will follow the squeegee, and the air will escape from under the paper as the bubble is pushed to the edge. Squeegeeing the paper to the wall also increases the strength of the adhesive bond between the wall and the paper.
-
8
Push the 6-inch strait edge into the corner at the ceiling, where two to three inches of extra paper are hanging. Push the strait edge all the way into the corner, creasing the paper. Using the razor knife, cut along the strait edge and cut the paper in the corner, leaving a perfect edge. If the razor knife grabs and tears the paper, the knife edge is dull and needs to be replaced. Repeat this process at the bottom of the wall where the paper meets the floorboard.
-
9
Wash the surface paper with a clean sponge and water to remove any paste from the surface of the paper. Use the paper seam roller to roll the edge of the paper against the wall. This will firmly set the paper to the wall, and the paper's edge won't move as the paper drys.
-
10
Repeat the process for each drop until the entire room or wall is covered with wallpaper.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
"Booking the wallpaper" is a process which prevents the paper from drying out, and improves the rate at which the paste activates after the water is applied. Some paper hangers even wet and book two drops of paper, and then go back and hang the first as a way to ensure the paste activates properly. Prepasted paper can be hung without booking, but the hanger must make sure that the paste is fully activated, and the edges of the paper haven't dried out before applying the paper to the wall.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
