Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - paint over wallpaper

I want to update my bath. It has one layer of paper on it. Can I paint over it or should I take the time to remove it and then paint? If ok to paint - Should I use a primer like Kilz first over the wallpaper?
Thanks

You can paint over wall paper, but I'd pull it down.

Sometimes old wallpaper doesnt respond well to paint, it can soak into the paper and make it bubble or even peel off. Removal although never to much fun, is your best bet.

I agree that it would be best to remove it. If/when it turns loose later you might have a real mess :eek:

If you paint over the paper, you should use a solvent based primer. The primer will help prevent the water in latex paint from bubbling up or loosening the paper. Original oil base kilz would be ok, latex kilz would not.

its coming down - certainly dont want the problems you mention.

More work up front, but you'll be happier in the long run this way.

Zinsser makes a gel, non-toxic wallpaper remover that would work.

I haven't tried this myself, but was advised by Home Depot that the process to paint over wallpaper is the following:
1) paint over wallpaper using oil based primer
2) when dry, go over seams and uneven edges with sheetrock mud
3) sand mud smooth, then paint over mudded areas with oil based primer
4) WITHIN FOUR DAYS of painting the original oil based primer, paint over with latex based primer.
5) if you miss the four day window, the latex won't stick to the oil primer, so you need to paint the whole thing over with oil based primer and then latex within four days again.
Obviously, it would be easier if you can remove the wallpaper, but sometimes that doesn't work.
I checked other home improvement forums and several posts confirmed that this method works, but I haven't done it myself yet - I've been putting it off because it sounds so labor intensive, so if anyone has done it this way let me know how it goes.

sweir - I've never heard of the repriming after 4 days. I've never had an issue with latex paint adhering to dry oil base primer.

You can also substitute latex primer to go over the joint compound or spackling. The first coat is the only coat that needs to be oil base [or shellac :eek:]

Removal of the wallpaper is almost always the best way to go!

It's gotta be easier to remove the wallpaper than do all of that.:wall:

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