DIY Painting Tips
Also see:This page offers do it yourself painting tips for a variety of difficult or unusual surfaces including paneling, wallpaper and old milk paint.
Painting Wall Paneling
Wipe simulated wood paneling with denatured alcohol and prime with a shellac–based primer/sealer before finish coating with latex or alkyd wall paint. Real wood paneling should be lightly sanded with medium grit sandpaper and primed with an alkyd undercoat. Finish coat with latex or alkyd wall paint. When coating large surfaces like walls with shellac primer or alkyd paints, wear a painter's respirator and ventilate the room to avoid breathing the fumes.
Painting Over Wallpaper
Prime wallpaper before applying any finish paint. Check to see what type of wallpaper you're dealing with, vinyl or paper wallpaper.See Wallpaper Removal for help. Vinyl wallpaper should be primed with a sellac-based primer/sealer. This will help to ensure that the finish paint coat will bond well with the wallpaper. Use interior latex or alkyd wall paint for finish coating.
Paper wallpaper will have to be primed with two coats of alkyd or shellac–based primer to ensure latex paint will not penetrate and cause it to bubble or pucker. If you're using alkyd-based finish paint it will be self–priming. Just apply two coats to ensure good coverage. When coating large wall areas with shellac primer or alkyd paints, wear a painter's respirator and ventilate the room to avoid breathing the fumes.
Painting Over Milk Paint
Milk paint, also called casein paint, is sometimes found in older houses on walls or as a finish on antique furniture. As the name implies this paint was made using milk as the vehicle. It has a hard finish and is impervious to paint strippers. You can spot casein paint by its very smooth finish and pale, pastel colors including: yellow, pink, blue and green.
If you have milk paint on your walls it will probably be a problem to paint or decorate with wallpaper because it doesn't hold a conventional paint finish well. Before you repaint over milk paint use a primer–sealer to seal it and you will greatly improve your chances of success. If you already have a problem with peeling paint over milk paint, scrape off all the loose paint and prime with primer–sealer before doing repairs. Provide plenty of ventilation to avoid breathing the harsh fumes from the primer and wear a painter's respirator when using it inside on large surfaces.
