Types of wallpaper paste

There are many types of wallpaper paste and choosing the correct one can be confusing. Hopefully this post will help you decide the appropriate paste for the paper you are hanging.

The first place to look is on the hanging instructions themselves, this may come as a leaflet that came with the paper of a leaflet in the roll itself. If you are at all unsure ask your supplier or the wallpaper manufacturer directly.

Cold water paste

This is the type of paste that you mix yourself, you mix it with cold water. The amount of water depends on the type of paper being hung, you can find out how many litres of water to use on the paste sachet or box it comes in.

Getting it mixed correctly is the important part so it is strong enough to hold the paper. It is the easiest paste to remove as it is water soluble. This type of paste is starch based.

Here is a short video of how to mix the perfect wallpaper paste up:

All purpose

This paste is made for the majority of wallpapers from lining papers, to embossed and vinyl papers, but you should always check before using paste, especially on specialised papers.

Heavy duty

As the name suggests, this paste is for heavy duty or heavy weight papers, giving stronger adhesion than standard adhesives. It is however harder to remove when redecorating and if you get paste on the front of the paper, so care should be taken not to mark or damage the front of the paper and remove any excess paste as soon as possible.

Extra strong

This type of paste can be in the form of a powder paste or ready mixed, it is ideal for medium weight papers such as lining paper, embossed and anaglypta papers.

Paste the wall

As the name suggest, paste the wall adhesives mean you apply the paste direct to wall and not the back of the paper. This paste is only used for paste the wall papers as the paper has been designed that way and pasting the paper isn’t required.

Ready mixed

Ready mixed pastes come in tubs and are formulated and are vinyl based and do not dry out until they are exposed to air, such as when applied hung wallpaper. Some wallpapers recommend using a ready mixed paste whereas some wallpaper manufacturers may recommend their own ready mixed paste to ensure good adhesion to the surface the paper is being applied to.
The ready mixed pastes do tend to be more expensive than say cold water mixed pastes.

Wallpaper Calculator

Apart from your paste, you will need how many rolls of wallpaper, or ceiling paper to buy. We have a handy calculator for you do work out how many rolls you need to buy. Simply go to our Wallpaper calculator or Ceiling paper calculator, enter the measurements and hit the submit button, the amount of rolls you require will then be returned.

Is it OK to use lining paper on kitchen walls

Lining paper is used to give a good base to either emulsion or wallpaper over. As long as the preparation is done well and the lining paper is stuck well to the walls, then lining paper is OK to use on kitchen walls.

Safety first

As with all wallpapers, lining paper shouldn’t be hung near naked flames or any ignition source, this is especially true in kitchens.

How much lining paper do I need for my kitchen

It is easy to measure for lining paper, all you require is a tape measure, pencil or pen and a note pad.
Measure the height and perimeter or the walls to be lined and make a note of these measurements. Then go to our wallpaper calculator and enter these measurements, the calculator will then tell you how many rolls of lining paper you need to buy.

What grade of lining paper should I use

Lining paper comes in different thicknesses, known as grades or gauge. Typically in most cases 1200 or 1400 gauge lining paper will be sufficient. However if your walls are in a really bad condition you could use a thicker lining paper such as a 2000 gauge lining paper. You can also buy specialist papers such as thermal liners, soundproofing liners and damp proof liners, but typically standard lining paper will suffice.

Use a good quality paste and follow the manufactures instructions for mixing paste.

Do you need lining paper

Lining paper is not a miracle cure, and it isn’t an easy option that means you do not have to do any preparation, you do. Lining paper isn’t a substitute for good preparation, taking time to fill and sand walls could be a better option than hanging lining paper.

Lining paper is ideal to give good sound base for wallpaper and emulsion but shouldn’t be thought of as a quick fix to smooth walls.

How to wallpaper

When it comes to wallpapering you must prepare the walls properly first otherwise the paper will not adhere well to the wall, cracks, missing plaster, rawl plugs and filler will show through. Getting the preparation right is very important and around 90% of the job. Once you have removed any old paper, filled and sanded down the walls and sealed any new plasterwork, you are ready to begin.

Choosing your wallpaper

Before you buy your wallpaper you will need to measure the walls of the room, or just one wall if you are just doing a feature wall. We have a wallpaper calculator that is quick and easy to use to work out how many rolls of wallpaper you need.

Tools for wallpapering

You will need some tools to wallpaper well and to make you life easier, the following tools are what you will need.

• A paste table
• A clean bucket
• Wallpaper paste
• Rolls of wallpaper
• Paste brush or a roller
• Rolls of wallpaper
• Wallpapering brush
• Pasting brush or a roller and tray for paste
• Clean water
• Sponge or clean cloth
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Step ladder
• A knife or sharp scissors
• A plumb line

Getting ready to hang the first sheet

Once you have gathered everything together and prepared the walls for wallpapering check your rolls of wallpaper, make sure none are damaged, check to make sure the batch numbers are the same and the shade is the same on all rolls. If they are not the same you can either change them for the same batch or shade codes or work out how many you have of each batch and use these on the same wall, you can get away with different batch numbers or shades codes by using them on an area that doesn’t show or just on a different wall as the light falls differently around the room. Ideally all number should match.

Next mix your paste to the manufactures recommendations, unless your using ready mixed paste of course. Set up your pasting table and take the first roll of wallpaper, unwrap the roll and unroll a length onto the table, familiarise yourself with the pattern and look for the repeat if there is one.

Now take the plumb like, measure out from a corner 2cm less than the width of the sheet of paper, mark the wall then using the plumb line mark a vertical line down the wall.

Hanging the first sheet of wallpaper

Measure from the ceiling to the top of the skirting boards, cut a length of paper off the roll allowing about 5cm at each end to trim the top and bottom of the sheet. Lay the sheet of paper of paper face down on the clean paste table, apply your mixed wallpaper paste onto the back of the sheet from the centre to the edges, make sure the edges are well covered. Concertina fold the sheet and then allow to soak in accordance with the manufactures instructions. Once the paper has soaked for long enough take the top of the sheet and align it with the plumb line you made earlier. Take your wallpapering brush and smooth out the paper and pushing out any air bubbles, start from the centre and work out to the edges.

Once the sheet is smoothed out you will need to trim the top and bottom of the paper with either a sharp knife of a pair of scissors. Now wipe down the paper ensuring you remove all paste from the face of the paper. Wipe down the paste table surface and dry, now paste your next sheet of paper.

Now cut and paste the second sheet of paper and butt the edge up to the first sheet, work the edge down, smooth out as before and wipe the surface, continue doing this until you get to a corner.

Wallpapering around an internal corner

When you come toward a corner, measure from the edge of the last sheet hung to the corner, do this in several places. Take the widest measurement and add 2cm to it then cut a sheet of paper that width. Paste the sheet, once soaked hang as described before but this time wrap around the extra paper around the corner.

Now you can take the other half of the sheet you just cut, or a new sheet (depending on pattern) and measure it’s width. Mark with a plumb line that width from the corner a vertical line. Paste this sheet and then align it with the plumb line and work into the corner allowing it to overlap the paper you have turned the corner with, use a border or vinyl to vinyl adhesive to stick down the edge in the corner.

Wallpapering around a door or window

I recently wrote a post about wallpapering around a door so won’t go to it in detail here, but what I will say is always make sure that you have a straight plumb line as you come out of papering around the door or window as if it isn’t straight you will have problems with the next run of paper!

Papering around switches or sockets

The easiest way is to take switches and sockets off, but DO NOT DO THIS unless you know what you are doing, you should never mess around with electricity! So to leave them on and paper around them, switch off the power, paper over the switch or socket, you an see where the edges of the face plate are, from the centre cut to the corners of the face plate. Now carefully trim the flaps you’ve just made but leaving enough to tuck behind the face plate. Now unscrew the face plate just enough to get the paper behind, carefully ease the plate through the hole in the paper, you will find the plate moves a little so it’s easy to tuck the paper behind, just be careful not to tear the paper.

Screw the face plate back on, wipe the paste of the switch with a damp not wet cloth or sponge, then dry. Now turn the power back on.

You should now have beautiful wallpapered room.

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