In achieving a near perfect wall surface, preparation is everything. Lining walls with quality lining paper will achieve this; as long as the surface preparation on wall surface is also carried out correctly. The secret in delivering a good decorating finish is in the preparation. Get this right, the rest flows much easier.
When to use lining paper
I always line walls if the following criteria is correct.
- If there is more than 40-50% of making good in a room on the wall surfaces. This would indicate a poor wall surface and therefore the painting would not look good without lining
- If the wall has been previously wall papered and stripped.
- Always line walls in preparation of standard hanging finished wall paper over the top. The only exception to this would be commercial type wall coverings similar to heavy wide vinyls or heavy fabrics.
Surface Preparation
Make sure all cracks are cut open and filled and large surface indentations are feathered off. Feathering is the wide application of filler intended to lessen an area’s surface irregularity.
Once all the filling is completed sand down to a smooth finish making sure any nibs are also removed. A good sander comes in handy here and possible investment in dust free sanding will also help.
Once the walls are ready you need to seal the walls, by mixing a size. Size is watered down tub paste. I use a ready mixed wall paper adhesive tub paste mixed at a ratio of 2-1; 2 parts water to 1 part tub paste. Apply this with a roller and use a scuttle to hold the mixed tub paste (size) and a brush for cutting in.
Which wallcoverings to use?
Lining paper comes in various grades, depending on how bad the wall surface is.
They start at 800 for the lesser of poor walls moving up 200 grades at a time to the top which is 2000. If you ever have to use 2000 grade then you do have some bad walls! I have a tendency to stick with either 1000 or 1200 grade for standard finishes. I find this is usually enough because of your surface preparation being done right.
I am not here to endorse any particular manufacturer, but I have tended to use MAV Efurt. I find their lining papers to some of the best around and easy to get hold off. In the UK, B&Q sell them and Wickes seem to sell en extremely similar type paper although branded as Wickes own brand.
What I like about MAV Efurt papers is that they dry white in colour and not the cream colour type of lining papers, which in my opinion feel like the cheaper paper. MAV are also smooth to the touch.
They also have a cross hatching effect if you look closely at the paper and this helps to deflect any imperfections away from the eye. They also hold well when wet and pulling them around on the surface and are pretty tear resistant.
Also for me the paste is important. I always use ready mixed tub paste rather than dry flake. Ready mixed is much more consistent then dry flake. It is more expensive, but in my opinion worth it.
How to line walls
I have a tendency to line the walls horizontally. You can hang the wallcovering vertically, it’s just my preference and I believe you save more paper this way.
The one time you should hang lining paper horizontally is when you have finished wallcovering to hang over the top. By hanging lining paper horizontally the edges of the lining paper and edges of the finished wallcoverings, do not meet directly on top. This will prevent lifting of the lining paper underneath when the paper dries hard.
Do not overlap the edges of the lining paper with the next sheet. This is a common problem I have seen with DIY’ers.
To prevent this problem paste the length of paper, let the paper soak for a couple of minutes until pliable, the heavier the grade, the longer you need to leave it. This will prevent it expanding on the wall and lapping the next length. It’s very unsightly and more preparation is needed to cut it back.
Using folds and lapping and splicing
Use a concertina fold in the picture opposite, especially if you are hanging horizontally or papering ceilings. this allows for easy application of the length over a longer than normal distance.
Lapping and splicing is a decorating term to overlap two bits of paper and then cut through them both to produce your own seam.
This is commonly used around window and door reveals so the leading edge of the reveal is fully wrapped. This gives an excellent finish to those tricky areas
Lapping and Splicing
The pictures below should show you how to do it.
Step 1 – Paper both sides of the reveal and wrap the paper around the edges of the reveal right into the door or window reveal and trim up to the door frame/window frame. The edges you see hanging loose is the aftermath of trimming the paper to allow the paper to tuck around the sides. See picture below
Step 2 – Paper the top reveal and do the same, the wrap the edges of the reveal fully and trim the paper into the door frame. Leave the edges loose so you cut through both bits of paper. See photo below
Step 3 – Now with the two bits of paper lapped on top of each other, use a spatula or straight edge to cut through. Starting at the ceiling edge trim paper by splicing through both bits down to where the two reveals meet.
Step 4 – Once cut through, remove the top piece and discard
Step 5 – Peel back the top piece and remove the wastage from underneath the splice.
Step 6 – Smooth both the splices down and you should have an almost invisible seam. Do the same technique on the other side. It should now look something like this. Fully wrapped reveal edges and almost invisible seams
Give it a go, take your time and practice makes perfect. It can be tricky to get it right especially around reveals. Failing that you can always employ me to do it for you! 🙂
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Rik
Alright mate, what about if I’m using a finished paper over the top like a paste the wall,do I need to seal the lining paper up first
Jason Savage
Rik, no you don’t need to seal the lining paper first.
But with paste the wall finished wallcoverings it’s advisable to paste only a single length’s width only. Otherwise it will dry out to quick.
Regards
Jason
Mrs. Francine Wise
Great article 👍 very useful info. Thanks
Jason Savage
Glad it could be of use.
Kelly
Hi Jason
We have mood lighting built into our skirting in our hallway. We had it completely re-boarded and skimmed so we would get the best flat perfect finish. Unfortunately it’s not worked out. And our wall is showing up so many imperfections. We told plasterer and he care back and reskimmed it but imperfections still there only when mood lights are on of a night. Would putting a good grade of lining paper up stop these imperfections when mood lights are switched on?
Jason Savage
Hi Kelly, yes it would. It will depend on how bad the imperfections are. It sounds like it needs filling to remove the imperfections, although the plasterer should have done this.The mood lighting doesn’t help as it’s casting shadows and showing up the wall. My recommendation would be to use a product called wallrock. This is a paste the wall lining paper and is designed for bad walls. You would still need to seal the walls prior to applying the paste. Screwfix and Toolstation sell these products. You would also need to use a ready mixed paste. B&Q have just started to do a good paste called ‘paste the wall’. Wickes also do a good ready mixed paste as well. Good luck
Catriona
Hi Jason,
Do you need to use special paste for lime plastered walls to ensure it’s breathable?
Catriona
Jason Savage
Hi Catriona, I’m assuming this is an existing lime plastered wall (not newly plastered),hence the reason for lining?
If that’s the case use standard ready mixed paste. Use either Beeline yellow top, Wickes own brand ready mixed paste, or B&Q do a very good ready mixed paste called ‘paste the wall’.
Just make sure all your preparation work is complete and sanded down ready to go. Seal the walls with a thinned down coat of ready mixed paste. Let it dry fully before attempting to line.
Best of luck
Neil
I’ve filled some of the gaps were the lining paper meets cos the wall has a bevel on it so not true at most the gap between the edges is 3 or so ml I’ve filled them after the 1st coat of thinned out emulsion but it’s like there flashing after the 2 coats of topcoat which is a dark green u can seem the seems we’re I’ve done this and isn’t a good job any tips to get these to cover and it’s farrow and ball estate emulsion paint
Jason Savage
Hi, yes this can be a problem. If you use a filler such as Tretrion, this can cause flashing. Being a dark colour doesn’t help either. One thing you could try is Zinnser Gardz over the filler lines. It’s a quick drying sealer. But try this in a inconspicuous area first to make sure you don’t get reverse flashing (shiners) when you go over the top with the finish coats. Use a small rad roller over the lines, don’t brush it or this could show through. As with all fillers you should always touch these up first before applying your top coats. Best of luck, let me know how you get on. Jason
Jan
Hi would i still use paste the wall paste for paste the wall paper going on top of lining, and can you paste the paper or should I still just paste the wall, hope that makes sense?
Thank you
Jason Savage
Hi Jan, you can paste the wall with lining paper still. What I find is to do a single length at a time, because it will dry to quick if you tried to do more. You can paste the paper but I find it quicker and less messy pasting the wall. After a day or so you may see a couple of small areas of seams lifting ever so slightly. Little bit of paste on your finger behind the seam soon sorts it out. Jason
Jan
Thats great, thank you 🙂
Robert
Hi rik can u hang the lining paper vertical if your going to paint it
Jason Savage
Hi, yes you can. It doesn’t matter vertical or horizontal. I just prefer horizontal as it saves paper and if the height is right you would normally get 4 lengths horizontally. Best of luck Jason
Karen
Hi can you wallpaper over a wall that has lining paper and has painted over
Jason Savage
Hi Karen, yes you can. But what I would do is reline the walls. You don’t need to strip the existing lining as long as the existing lining is sound. The reason why I would reline is that if you hang finished wallpaper, the lining stops the the paper from shrinking back, exposing the joins, IF it’s a woven wallpaper (paste the paper). If it’s a non-woven (paste the wall) then you can decide not to re-line as long as the walls are sound. Check the label on the wallpaper to see if it’s woven or non-woven
david
hi what happens when i put the patterned wallpaper over lining paper and i have to splice it. when i cut through the top paper how do i avoid cutting through to the lining paper
Jason Savage
Hi David, you can use a cutting strip instead.
https://www.tektura.com/accessory/cutting-strip
david
thank you Jason what a clever idea!
Jason Savage
🙂