How to glue wallpaper on whitewashed walls and ceiling

Whitewashing is an old, once quite popular finishing option. It does not fit into modern interior styles at all, however, the dismantling of such a coating is a troublesome and unpleasant process. Therefore, many people prefer to glue wallpaper on lime whitewash without washing off the old coating. We propose to find out whether such a step will cause irreparable damage to fresh repairs.

Is it possible to glue wallpaper on whitewashed walls or ceilings?

The answer to this question depends on the type of finishing material applied to the surface. The compositions used for whitewashing can be conditionally divided into two types:

• Colloidal solutions, the main element of which is slaked lime.
• Chalk-based mixtures.

Experts call several conditions under which pasting walls and ceilings with wallpaper is possible:

1. The base is lime whitewash.
2. The whitewash adheres firmly to the surface of the wall, with great difficulty it is separated with a spatula.
3. No more than two coats applied.

When is it necessary to remove whitewash?

If the condition of the base does not meet at least one of the above conditions, freshly pasted wallpaper may simply fall off. Unsuitable quality finishes do not endure additional loads, swell and fall off, pulling the wallpaper behind them.

Summarizing all the factors, we strongly recommend spending time cleaning the whitewashed surface in the following cases:

• The base is chalk whitewash.
• Finishing is easy to peel off, disappears.
• More than two layers are applied to the wall.
• Mold has been found on the surface, if it is not removed, this problem will spread to the updated walls.
• The whitewash is applied in an uneven, thick layer.
• The room is not heated, which means the walls are frozen.

How to understand if whitewash is suitable for wallpapering: 4 tests

Visually determine the type of whitewash is almost impossible. Therefore, to find out whether the existing basis is suitable for our purposes, follows empirically.

1. Just run your hand across the whitewashed wall. The chalk base, unlike lime, will color the palm white. Wallpapering such walls is a waste of time. Wallpaper sheets will simply fall off the coated base, and even the highest quality primer will not be able to save the situation and provide the necessary adhesion.
2. The second test will help determine how strong the lime is. A test patch should be carried out on an inconspicuous area. The wallpaper strip must be glued in compliance with all the technologies and recommendations of the manufacturer, let it dry, and then try to pull it. If it takes minimal effort to tear off the sheet along with the whitewash, you should not even think about completely pasting the room without cleaning the walls.
3. The abundance of layers of whitewash applied to the surface serves as a guarantee that they will delaminate under the weight of the wallpaper. To check, you should break off a small piece of whitewash in an inconspicuous place.
4. Another obstacle to pasting is frozen whitewash. You can determine this fact by simply swiping your hand. The remains of dust indicate that no matter how you try to erase it, there will be no result.

Keep in mind that even if the decoration in the apartment has passed all the tests, but the walls are uneven, wallpapering will not give good results. Solution: clean off the whitewash, plaster and putty the walls.

Another risk factor

There is another unpleasant phenomenon, the occurrence of which is impossible to predict. These are unsightly stains and stains on the wallpaper. They arise due to a chemical reaction in which lime and cellulose enter - a component of almost all types of wallpaper.

How to clean surfaces from old whitewash?

If we are dealing with a relatively small and thin layer of coated whitewash, it can be removed with a damp foam sponge. The entire surface is gradually cleaned, it is only necessary to monitor the purity of the water. This method is practically dust-free, but time-consuming.

If we are dealing with a thick lime layer, it will be more difficult to wash off the whitewash.

• The entire surface is moistened, for which a spray with warm water is used.
• A spatula or scraper cleans off the soaked layer.

• To prevent heavy contamination of surfaces, you can use a scraper with a pallet.

After removing the main thick layer, it is recommended to rinse the entire cleaned surface with a sponge. So the remnants of chalk and dust are removed.

We glue wallpaper on whitewash: surface preparation

Regardless of the chosen type of wallpaper, before gluing the base covered with whitewash, you should prepare:

• The surface is polished so that small grains, almost always present on lime, do not interfere with adhesion. For this purpose, sandpaper or a fine mesh with an abrasive coating is used.
• The remaining dust is wiped off with a damp sponge, the next step can only be started after complete drying.
• If there are cracks on the surface of the walls, they should be expanded, cleaned, treated with a primer, filled with putty. After it dries, the surface is leveled with a narrow spatula.
• The whitewash is covered with a deep penetration primer, preferably in two layers. Thus, it is possible to increase adhesion with the base and strengthen the whitewash. The primer is applied with a paint brush or roller.

• We apply liquid diluted wallpaper glue to the dried wall. So it will be possible to get rid of small defects in the walls. After this layer has dried, the surface will be ready for final finishing.

Gluing process

The trial pasting, described at the beginning of the article, will save you from wasting materials and time. If, as a result of the test, it turns out that the glued strip is holding firmly, we continue the process throughout the room.

Important! There is no guarantee that whitewash will not peel off in any other place.

Next, we follow the following algorithm of actions:

1. In a bucket, using a construction mixer, stir the glue. Make sure that there are no lumps in the resulting mixture. Let it brew for about half an hour, while we are preparing the canvases.
2. On the wall we mark the line along which the first wallpaper strip will be pasted, measure its length and cut off a piece of the required size with a margin of 5 cm.
3. We apply glue on the canvas and on the walls, if the wallpaper is paper-based vinyl or paper. If they are non-woven or non-woven, the adhesive is applied only to the wall.
4. For better impregnation, we fold the wallpaper strips in half. The places of future joints should be especially well smeared.
5. Wallpapering is carried out from top to bottom, gradually smoothing the surface with a rubber roller from the center to the edges.
6. After sticking the first strip, you can start pasting the rest of the room. Sheets are glued end to end.

The process of decorating walls with non-woven wallpaper is described in more detail. here. How to properly glue paper-based canvases is written in this article.

The process of decorating a room with wallpaper over a whitewash layer is not difficult, but professionals advise to still clean the base. But even if the above recommendations are followed, no one can guarantee that the finish will not fall off.