Painting the walls

[mcfael]

We are about to close on a 1987 double wide home that is in need of some redecorating. The walls are the typical flowered (vinyl?) wallboard of that era. What are the necessary steps/products needed to paint them? Any suggestions for us?

We plan to refurbish this home by gutting both bathrooms, installing new carpeting and linoleum throughout, replacing kitchen counters and sink, and purchasing new kitchen appliances...in addition to painting each room. What a project! But were' excited about it and look ahead to our finished home.

I hope someone can give some sound, experienced advice to help us with the painting. We don't need to waste any time, effort or money by "trial and error". Thanks!

[Yanita]

Hi Welcome to the site.

Many here have done exactly what you are getting ready to do. It is a time consuming job, but when done right it will last a long time with regular maintenance.

As for the wallboard. there are many threads related to this subject. Feel free to look at some of the recent threads.

In quick wash walls with tsp, rinse with clean water. Prime with a good primer, I prefer Kilz Premium, paint with color of your choice. I prefer Valspar paints. Wait the appropriate times between each application.

Yanita

[jagladyla]

I have lived in a 1982 Redmon for the last 27 years. It still lokks very well as we have done a lot of changes in the past.
When painting I have found the Primer Gripper found at a Home Depot store has been the best. After cleaning the walls we have never had to sand beforehand. I have tried a cheaper type however it did not hold up as well.

[terrifromohio]

Hello,

I am just going through the same thing, a new purchase of an old mobile home, a 1994 Champion that needs complete remodel. shower, toilets, counters, doors and painted all the way through.
Anyhow the best primer I think in the Gripper by Glidden from Home Depot and I have used them all in the past couple of weeks. It is by far the best for the wallboard and especially in areas such as bathrooms and kitchen. I used Sears paint over it, that worked well for me, I was told by the salesman at Sears their paint is made by Sherwin Williams. I found it to be very good paint. I made the mistake on the first bedroom of using the Baer primer plus paint in one and that did not work, that took three coats afterward, so do not do that. Always prime the wallboard, then paint and it may still take two coats of paint after the primer, at least mine did over the wallboard.
Thankfully I did not have wallboard in the living room and dining room but regular drywall that some dummy had put wallboarder right in the middle of the wall with wood glue or something, had a time getting that off.

[mcfael]

Thanks for the tips. We close on the property in a couple of days and will want to get started on our projects soon. I'll most likely have more questions!

[Yanita]

We look forward to helping you as you are doing your repairs/reno's. If possible take before and after pics and post to your own photo album here on site.

Yanita

[mcfael]

Ok, the home is ours! We closed on Friday and spent the weekend doing some little projects and preparing for the larger ones. We experimented on a bathroom wall (that will eventually be sheetrocked over) using the advice you all gave on painting the wallboard. We washed down with TSP...liquid concentrate that said no need to rinse, although we did. Then painted with Kilz Premium and when it dried we tested two colors which we separated on the wall with the blue "easy off" tape. When we pulled the tape off it brought the Kilz layer with it, right down to the wallboard. We aren't going to be using that tape when we actually paint the walls, but I'm a little concerned that the paint will easily rub off if bumped. Do I need to worry about that?

Also, please tell us the best product(s) and method to fill holes (like nail/screw holes) to be painted over. Since the slight texture of the wallboard will show through the paint we don't want some perfectly smooth spots glaring at us. We are thinking that the tiny holes on the battens (right term?) we will leave alone, but larger holes where pictures were hung need to be filled.

All in all, we are pleased with the little progress we've made and are excited to make our new home actually feel like home.

[Yanita]

Hi,
Congrats on your purchase..now the hard work begins!

As for the tape removing the primer, did you let the primer cure the proper length of time before painting? Sometimes folks have had this issue and have had to use what is called a bonding primer. Check your can label and see if the word "bonding" is included.

As for filling the holes any type of spackle will work. What I have done in the past is once the spackle is in place I use a damp sponge to remove any excess, no sanding. I have had reasonable luck with the finished product not being that glaring flat smooth area you mention.

Now you may made mention of sheetrock "over" in one of the rooms. Hopefully you are really menaing that you are going to remove the existing and hang new. It is never a good idea to hang one over the other. Moisture can build up between the 2 and cause moisture/mold/mildew issues. Also should you ever have a leak the water may go between the 2 panels. Not to mention that your outlet/switches might not pull out far enough for that application.

Yanita

[Rod]

As a previous post recommended try "Glidden Gripper"
We use it when refurbing bank repos. It has excellant adhesion qualities. Hence the name Gripper. It also out performs Sherwins best primer in coverage. (had both products on the same job once - no comparison)

I believe the recommended cure time is 7+ days. We usually let it sit for 3. Use a finger nail to try and scrape of the wall, once it becomes tougher to do then go ahead and paint.

If the final coat is going to be a color other than the whites ask the paint jockey to tint it as if it were that same color. He/she may grumble a little because the computer doesn't have mix codes for Gripper. Just have them use the same code for interior flat wall paint it will be close enough. This should allow you to apply 1 coat of primer & one coat of paint with good coverage.

Final coat in the Bath should be semi-gloss or satin at minumum. Don't use flat here.

Yanita is right........ dont double up the rock. You will also have to cut back all the trim & moldings. Plus make a wider jamb at the door.

As for the Blue Tape. Purchase a good quality 2-2.5" angle brush. Like Purdy or Wooster etc. Practice cutting in edges in the closet areas. If you become comfortable enough no more need for tape.....will save money & time.

Good Luck

Rod

[mcfael]

Thanks for all of your tips...they have been extremely helpful. We have several projects going in the place so haven't progressed with the painting as quickly as I had hoped. But the carpet has been removed (HUGE job!) and the staples removed, making way for new carpeting throughout. The flooring underneath is in remarkably good shape. Whew!

We are now working on the walls, after experimenting with techniques and colors in the bathroom. I am the Spackle Queen! So many tiny nail and staple holes to fill. We seem to have picked up a rhythm of spackling one room, going back to wash with TSP, spackling the next room...moving from room to room, each in a different phase of the progression, with the succession of steps taken to prepare the walls for the final color. That will be exciting!

Now another question. We have one room in which we would like to paint the ceiling. Do we proceed with that in the same way as prep for painting the walls? It has the metal strips with whatever that material/board is in between. Wish we didn't have to do this, but at one time there was roof damage and leaking into the Master bedroom. It doesn't look just awful, but since we are taking so much time and effort to make everything about this place look great we decided to tackle that ceiling as well. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Yanita]

Hi,

You will need to cover the water stains with a Zinnzer primer. This is a water stain blocker. There are other brands avaialble as well. You do not need to wash the cileing with TSP. TSP helps degloss our shiny walls.

Good luck, Yanita

[Arlo]

Love the Zinser for most priming needs BUT Kilz OIL BASE is the best primer for water stains. You can get a spray can of it to spot prime the water stains and finish the rest of the ceiling with what ever other primer you already have. If you do still need blue tape the blue tape at Big Lots and Dollar Tree at $1.00 a roll works as well a the $3 to $4 3M brand.

[mcfael]

We are using the blue tape. It is somewhat costly (thanks for the Dollar Store tip!), but since we are truly novices at painting it is saving the trim. We have yet to tackle the ceiling...all in good time. Meantime we have spackled, sanded, TSP'd, and primered the walls in the living room, dining room and kitchen and have begun putting on color. What a change! We are giving the coats plenty of dry/cure time and everything is coming out very well...so far. This site has been very helpful. Thank you SO much!

[Dean3]

I just skimmed this thread so if something has already been covered please forgive.

When painting any *glossy* surface it should be prepped 1st,then primed.Prepping is best done with light sanding using fine grit,just enough to dull the finish,then prime. Without prep work it's like painting glass,meaning,it'll stick but it'll peel easier than a prepped wall. Masked areas should have the tape removed before the paint dries,or if doing 2 coats use a razor/utility knife to gently score through only the paint along the tape edge.Without scoring sometimes You get lucky,sometimes not. The blue masking tape has less glue and can remain on surfaces longer than yellow tape without leaving much glue residue,that is it's main function and selling point,,there is also green masking tape that has an in-between amount of glue I believe. IMO if You don't have to worry about residue then use a good brand of yellow tape as,again IMO,the more glue the less chance of paint bleeding under. Most tapes give recommended times before they suggest removal to prevent residue,with yellow I think it is about 1 week,green longer and blue longest,brands will vary I'm sure.

Dean

[mcfael]

Thanks for some VERY helpful info regarding the tape, Dean. We painted primer and 2 coats of paint and let each coat dry well in between. Fortunately I had read your message before we started pulling the blue tape last evening. Sure enough, we had some small patches of paint pull off down to the primer. We quickly grabbed a razor and began scoring!...works great! We learn as we go along.