Question about painting over old wallpaper - worth the risk or just strip it?

I was at the hardware store last Saturday and overheard two guys arguing about this. One said he's been painting over wallpaper for 15 years with no issues, just uses a heavy primer first. The other guy said he tried it once in his bathroom and the whole thing bubbled up after 3 months from the moisture. I've got a 10x12 bedroom in my house from 1985 with floral wallpaper that's in decent shape. My neighbor says strip it, but that's a weekend job at least. The paint route would take me like 4 hours tops. Has anyone here done the paint-over method and had it hold up for more than a year?

2 comments

2 Comments

derek_dixon7821d ago

Man that guy at the hardware store with the bathroom story got me spooked too but honestly, I did it in my daughter's room like four years ago and it's still fine. I just used a really good oil based primer first, two coats of it, and then painted over that. The wallpaper was in good shape with no peeling edges or anything though.

simonp4021d ago

Honestly, it's wild how half the stuff people say is a total disaster waiting to happen just works fine if you prep it right. Like that's basically modern life, everyone's scared of every little thing but most of the time it's just about doing the simple stuff properly.