grasscloth wallpaper/paint

[carlatonia]

Grasscloth wallpaper used to be the "thing"!! And It is all over my master bedroom. Apparently, the previous owners got tired of it and covered it with Kilz......I want some color...any suggestions? How would it look if I just painted color over it? Should I remove it ?? help!!!

[marksr]

Welcome to the forum

Most wallpapers can be painted over. The biggest drawback is that the moisture of the paint will sometimes lift the paper off the wall. Painted wallpaper is also harder to remove [but seldom is paper easy to remove]. Grass cloth usually comes off in 2 layers. The backing usually comes off fairly easy when wet.

[joneq]

If you want to remove it now would be the time. If you want to paint it and it has already been painted with oil based kilz and is not currently bubbling or peeling I would go ahead and paint it. The kilz should allow you to paint without fear of peeling or bubbling.

If It were me and I was going to paint I would first do the seams[vertical and at the ceiling, the floor, and around doors and windows] with some Bin from Zinsser or oil based kilz in the can just to be sure they were completely sealed up against water based paint getting in. If you don't want to paint the ceiling don't use the spray can at the ceiling

Stripping wall paper is no fun and can be a major undertaking if the paper was not installed correctly. It can result in major damage to the sheetrock underneath which will require patching and possibly the dreaded skimcoating :eek: ---a real drag, and not really easy for the first timer.

If I was unskilled I would be tempted to see what it looked like if it was painted. You can try it on the smallest wall to get an idea. If it looks like crap your not out too much of anything.