Paper It Fun!

Are you looking for an easy decorating fix for your mobile home interior wall paneling?

Whether you’re dealing with the drabness of the darkness, suffering from damage to the paneling or you’re just ready for a change, there are several options to choose from…some are easier than others.

1. Paint over the Paneling.
2. Wallpaper over the Paneling.

Whichever you decide, consider first how much work you want to put into it. Either way, you’ll need to properly prep the walls first.

My Great Home, an online resource for manufactured and modular home owners, offers some wonderful insight on preparing mobile home interior wall paneling for paint or wallpaper including illustrated step-by-step instructions.

While I’ve had personal experience with wall paneling in my grandparents’ home, I discovered something new concerning manufactured home paneling (either wood or decorative gypsum board).

Don’t pre-clean the walls with a phosphorus-based detergent. This prevents the primer from properly bonding to the wall. Instead, use equal amounts of ammonia and water in a well-ventilated area.
~ Source

After cleaning the walls, you’ll need to prime the surface next and let it dry. This is where you have to make some decisions.

• Keep the grooves or hide them.
• Paint or Wallpaper

DECISION 1: Keep the Grooves or Cover/Hide Them

If you want to keep the grooved effect, painting is the only way to go.

To get the best coverage, you will want to paint the grooves with a paint brush first and then use a roller to paint the flat surfaces.

To cover or hide the grooves, you can either:

• Fill the grooves with caulk
• Fill the grooves with spackle/drywall compound, let it dry, sand it; then apply a second coat, let it dry & sand it again, OR
• Use a heavy duty wall liner, available at most stores where wallpaper is sold.

IMPORTANT: Another option if you want to skip both of the above is to use a wallpaper product called PaperIllusion® by Village which bridges the gap without the need for caulk, drywall compound or liners. I’ll explain more about this in a minute.

DECISION 2: Paint Over Paneling or Wallpaper It

Whichever you decide, you’ll need to prime the wall again with an appropriate primer (a paint primer for paint and a wallpaper primer for wallpaper).

Painting is often thought of as the easiest solution, but I’ve found an even easier one…PaperIllusion® by Village.

The following email was recently sent to me from Mary:

You may want to know that this product is OUTSTANDING for use in mobile homes, especially the older ones that were finished as cheaply as possible. The only other options for covering up the old, ugly “paneling” are drywalling or filling all the grooves before painting. This wallpaper is about a thousand times easier and results in a really beautiful, clean, brightening look!

Unlike regular wallpaper, with PaperIllusion®…

1. you don’t need a wall liner to cover the grooves, and
2. you don’t need to cut strips or match a pattern…you just tear this paper into pieces, dip it into water and apply it to your primed wall paneling.

It truly is the easiest decorating fix I’ve come across.

To learn more about this product, read my personal testimony about painting over paneling.

SOURCES:
My Great Home, a resource for manufactured & modular home owners.
Wallpaper Illusions, Paperillusion wallpaper products & information.

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