Need primer for grasscloth?

[Kerry]

I have an 11' by 9' room w/gypsum wallboard with two coats of 10-year-old light colored beige latex. It's quite clean. I plan on washing it first with TSP.

I'll be using Roman Decorating Pro 732 heavy duty nonstaining paste for the grasscloth wallpaper.

Do I need to prime the wall first? If yes, can I use any primer? None of our stores on the Big Isle of Hawaii carry specific wallpaper primer.

Thanks,

Kerry
Homeowner hobbyist

[mike stachnik]

Kerry;

Skip the TSP. Phosphate should be a 4 letter word. If the walls are quite clean, wiping down with a damp sponge should suffice. See if your store stocks Zinsser Bullseye 123. Thats a good primer. If you have a S.W. (sherman williams) they carry a line called Prep-rite, which includes a pre-wallcovering primer. In either case, you'd be best to prime about a week prior to hanging, as pigmented primers have a cure time. You could always go surfing while waiting for the primer to cure!

[Cliff Hayes]

Ditto what Mike says. Forget washing the walls, but use a good primer -- Zinsser 1-2-3, Shieldz Clear, Z-54, Aqua-Lock. Have the primer tinted to the color of the grasscloth. Use a clear, pre-mixed vinyl adhesive to hang the grasscloth, such as Roman's Pro 880, or Dynamite 234. #732 is a clay-based adhesive, and it's hardly non-staining.

[Tim Bodine]

None of our stores on the Big Isle of Hawaii carry specific wallpaper primer.
Kerry, I'm hopping a plane in the morning with 3 gallons of top grade wallcovering primer. You live on the beach, right? Got a spare room?
:banana: :carrot: :llama:

[Kerry]

I had the local store that ordered the paper from the mainland order the paste from Oahu. I'm paying $18.00, plus $15 for UPS shipping from Oahu, for one gallon of paste. I'm quite certain it's not clay based. I posted the wrong name of the paste that they have coming. They knew that clay-based was a no no.

In any case, do I have to prime or can I get away with
...wiping down with a damp sponge?

Our stores don't carry any wallpaper or wallpaper primer at all. They have regular latex primer indoor paint. I dread having to order a gallon of one of the primer's that have been recommended here, it takes a week to get here, and then someone posted saying to "wait a week for it to dry." Wow! We're talking about three more weeks just to get the paper hung.

prowallguy, I'll have some topless hula dancers pick you up at the airport.;)

Thanks all,
Kerry

[Tim Bodine]

prowallguy, I'll have some topless hula dancers pick you up at the airport.
Oh man, I'm on my way. :banana:


In any case, do I have to prime or can I get away with

Yes, its necessary to prime. Whatever store on Oahu is shipping the paste, should have primer too. Maybe you can act quick, and have them add it to the paste order to help on extra shipping costs.

[Chris Murphy]

There's 2 NGPP members in Hawaii, and we hate 'em both just because they live there! (just kidding) Bill Jenkins occassionally posts on the APN; give him a shout about supplies, etc.: bljsmail@yahoo.com

[mike stachnik]

Kerry;

Pigmented primers have a cure time, but you can speed up the process with fans. I would still recommend waiting a few days. Priming is essential if you don't want to have to re-sheetrock again. You'd have a better chance of getting snow then ever getting that paper off without causing major sheetrock damage.

[Kerry]

So, the primary purpose of the primer is to make sure the paper comes off when I want some years from now? If I plan on keeping the house for 40 more years I could paper over the existing flat latex paint and it would stick ok?


Whatever store on Oahu is shipping the paste, should have primer too. Maybe you can act quick, and have them add it to the paste order to help on extra shipping costs. Too late, they mailed it Friday. I'm disappointed with Carpet Isle, they should have known enough to advise me to buy this stuff at the time I placed the order for the paper. My bad for not researching before shopping. I didn't realize that papering was never really popular here on the islands.

I'll email Bill and see if he gets his supplies on the Hilo side of the island.

Again, thank you,

Kerry

[Kerry]

Update:

Bill from Maui contacted me. Thanks.

Luckily I found BullsEye 123 at Walmart today, so I'm good to go.

I'll be attending a free class on installing floating wood floors this Thursday at Home Depot. I'm hoping to have the walls primed by then.

Will let everyone know how it turns out.

Thanks,
Kerry

[mike stachnik]

Kerry;

Glad you got up with a guild member, they'll get ya on the right path.

Since I noticed on your original post you listed yourself as "homeowner / hobbyist", we won't put you through the processees of balancing panels to each wall........

Mike

[Kerry]

Yikes, "panels," "balancing," more new words. Do I need to buy scales:)

I do have a good idea from watching Norm Abrahams on how to do corners.

Thanks,

Kerry

[Tim Bodine]

I do have a good idea from watching Norm Abrahams on how to do corners.
:banana: :carrot: :llama:
I hired a guy maybe 6-7 years ago to be a paperhanger.
Initial interview went good, follow up went even better.
He knew all the terms/trade talk, and described his technique accurately. Thought he was a winner.
Got to the first job, and put him to work in a bedroom. Very straight forward, easy flat, straight walls. About an hour into it, I watched him fight his second piece. He just couldn't do it.
I said "I thought you said you had done this before".
He hung his head and said "well, it looked so easy on This Old House".
His tools flew out the door right before him. :disco:

[Kerry]

:D I'll probably be throwing out my own tools next week.

One thing that is a bit confusing—I presently have four 1/4" holes for lolly screws to hold a shelf to the wall. It looks like the smarter thing to do is spackle them over before priming, and then drill new ones after the paper is hung rather than try to find them through the paper. I suppose I could do exact measurements and then use a needle to prick the hung grasscloth until I find each hole. Or, I could make a cardboard template and then prick to find at least one hole.

Am I correct that wall switch holes are done as I hang the wet pasted paper using a razor blade? For example: The rotary light dimmer switch stem sticks out of the receptacle box, so I'd just make an initial X at that spot once the paper is pretty much in place and then come back to enlarge the X to fit the rectangle?

Thanks,
Kerry

[Tim Bodine]

Your technique for the light switch is right on, just make sure you don't make the final hole too big. Pretty aggravating to put the plate back on and see a sliver of bare wall.

For the screw holes, I feel for them as I hang the piece. Use my finger and poke around until I find them. Then cut an 'X' in the paper over the hole. Then after its all dry, you can run the screw into the hole. Leave the paper as an 'X', so when you drive in the screw, it won't grab the paper and bunch it up.

[shelw]

Another good technique for the screw holes is to put the screws back in the holes, screwed down almost all the way. this makes it easy to find them. As far as balancing, what we're talking about is that with grass, every seam will show, so you need to keep that in mind. You don't want a 2" piece right before a corner or door frame, etc. Try to balance the room before you hang it. Take a tape measure and mark off the width of the paper with a pencil (usually 36") where every seam will fall. An experienced hanger will trim the grass to make seams look even all over, but you can, without trimming, "engineer" where the seams fall , Depending on where you start, and whether you cut off an existing piece in a corner or whether you use the remainder on the next wall. The trick is to have fewer narrow pieces next to the full widths. Think of it like installing the vinyl flooring squares. You don't want a sliver of a tile, you want a balanced look. Hope I'm not complicating the issue too much! Good luck!

[shelw]

Another good technique for the screw holes is to put the screws back in the holes, screwed down almost all the way. this makes it easy to find them. As far as balancing, what we're talking about is that with grass, every seam will show, so you need to keep that in mind. You don't want a 2" piece right before a corner or door frame, etc. Try to balance the room before you hang it. Take a tape measure and mark off the width of the paper with a pencil (usually 36") where every seam will fall. An experienced hanger will trim the grass to make seams look even all over, but you can, without trimming, "engineer" where the seams fall , Depending on where you start, and whether you cut off an existing piece in a corner or whether you use the remainder on the next wall. The trick is to have fewer narrow pieces next to the full widths. Think of it like installing the vinyl flooring squares. You don't want a sliver of a tile, you want a balanced look. Hope I'm not complicating the issue too much! Good luck!

[Kerry]

Great tips, especially the screwy one, :)

Thanks so much.

With aloha,

Kerry

[Kerry]

Update:

Would you believe? The paste still hasn't arrived in Hilo. New ETA per Carpet Isle is today or tomorrow.

Question: The corners of my walls at the doorways are taped sheet rock, about 5/8" Should I try and bend the grasscloth around these corners or leave them the same color (beige) as the newly painted doorway jams etc.). The beige matches the wallpaper.


My considerations are:

1) It will be lot of work (which I really don't mind)
2) The grasscloth might resist bending and pop away from the 5/8" purchase. I don't know how tacky and stickey—how soon the glue will hold the bend.

Along the same vein. My one window is a simple 3 1/2" plaster sill on all four sides, up against the aluminum window frame. Do you recommend I wallpaper the sill or leave it as it has been - beige painted. I intend to rehang my curtains that extend 7" either side beyond the 72" x 36" window. In other words the sill won't be showing.

Thanks,
Kerry

[Kerry]

Should I have started a new thread with my question?

Thanks,
Kerry

[Chris Murphy]

I gotta go, but if no one else answers I'll get back to you this PM. You are entering "professional installation" territory.

[Kerry]

Thanks Chris,

I mainly need to know if grasscloth will stick around an outside corner crease with only a 5/8" purchase.:confused:

The alternative seems easier—to pre cut the paper so that it ends perfectly with the edge of the wallboard where the door begins and not try to make it bend around those corners.

Depending upon the answer, my only problem is that I already did prime around those corners including the 5/8" edge of the wallboard door which is part of the door frame. Then I repainted over the primer (with beige latex) the 5/8" edge and the wood of the door frame, so, if it's recommended that I fold grasscloth around those corners, it seems as though I should reprime, based upon my understanding that the paste will hold better to primer, and that I'd want maximum holding-power for those 5/8" corners.

The paste did not arrive yesterday as expected so I have a reprieve on my papering schedule.

Again, thank you,

Kerry

[Chris Murphy]

Again, I'm short on time. Just lightly sand the painted area, and brush a light coat of paste on it and let dry. The grass gets pretty mushy when pasted, it'll go around that corner. you'd never be able to pre-cut the width to exactly fit to an outside corner. I'd let it go over (if I wasn't wrapping it) and let it dry, and then cut it with a razor, using the corner as a guide. Stuff cuts vertically much better dry than wet.

[Kerry]

Thanks Chris, valuable tips. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I apologize to everyone for asking "professional installation" questions here.

With aloha,

Kerry