Drying time for embossed paper ceiling

[Ambiance]

Hey there!
Great forum! I'm sure I'll learn much here, so thank's in advance!

I've a question about embossed paper, don't know the brand coz a designer gave me 2 sf to do a sample faux copper ceiling. It's for an old country estate home turned designer showhouse.. Ceiling is 8ft high, 8 x 15. Repeat of the paper is about 6 inches and it feels like foam to the touch on top. Questions questions and more questions keep poping up for you more experienced pros! Never did a ceiling or an embossed paper before.
#1 Size right over the flat paint there?
#2 Run the paper lengthway, the 15ft for less seams? I have helpers...And don't press the seams hard, use a foam seam roller.
#3 Use adhesive paste on the ceiling? I read that somewhere. Don't like the idea of paste over the sizing though.
#4 Do I use paste at all, on the pre-pasted paper. The ID told me the paper was a pain and the paste is rather dry for a heavy paper. He suggested adding paste.
#5 Can I do this at 10 a.m. have the paper dry enough to base coat paint at like 3 p.m. the same day? I would love to be able to use the metallic coat on day 2 over the paint, and a 2 color toning glazes day 3. Or I may eliminate the base color and use an opague metallic coat and glaze to save a day. Any thoughts on that too would be great!

Any tips would be really appreciated!
Take Care,
Marguerite

[Cliff Hayes]

I would wait at least 24 hours to first prime with Zinsser 1-2-3 or equivalent, and then paint the stuff. It sounds like prepasted paper-backed vinyl. Prime over the existing flat paint with Zinsser Shieldz Clear (not White, or "Universal"). You can hang over it in an hour if the house is warm and dry, and if the ceiling is simply flat-painted sheetrock. If it's an ancient ceiling that might have oil-based paint on it, then give the wallcovering primer at least a couple of hours to dry. Use a fan to speed up the drying time.

Definitely use your own adhseive. Buy one gallon of Roman Adhesive's Pro 880 Ultra Clear adhesive (or 870, or Dynamite 234 Clear), and one gallon of Roman's Prepapsted Activator. Mix them together in a five-gallon pail. Thoroughly paste the back of the sheets using a 1/4" nap roller. You'll want to bookfold the sheets and place them inside a plastic garbage bag to relax. Keep track of the time that the first sheet books (5 minutes should be fine), and make sure that you book the remaining sheets for the same amount of time so that they all grow to the same size while they're relaxing. Inconsistent booking times result in bad mismatches. Use a bristle sweep rather than a plastic smoother. If it's a grid pattern, try to center it lengthwise and widthwise. Snap a chalk line to keep the first sheet straight. The seams ought to run in line with the light source for the room: if the windows are on the long wall, you may want to run your sheets short-ways. With the faux finish, the seams probably won't even show at all, so do what's easiest since you are new to this. Good luck.

Cliff

[ProWallGuy]

My only advice would be to prime the ceiling with an acrylic primer, like Cliff said, then roll a thin coat of glue size on it. It will make it stick much better, and you won't have to fight it from falling back down on your head as you hang it. If you don't have a walk-board set-up, you might want to look into getting/renting one.

[Ambiance]

Thank you guys so much. I'm doing this late next week when the cabinet carpenter is none, so I will either have more questions or I will just let you know how it went. Thanks again!
Marguerite

[mike stachnik]

Good timing

I just finished a ceiling that the faux artist did with an old copper-look finish in a kitchen for a showhouse. The whole room won best kitchen design, but the ceiling really gave it the wow factor. It looked really cool after she got done with it. Ditto Cliff and Tim's comments. Equal booking time is important, don't mash the seams down, just slide them together, the paint will fill in the rest. If you have any area's (along a seam, around any light fixtures) where the gap looks a little too big to fill with paint, use joint compound, lightly rubbed in with your fingers. DO NOT use caulk on the seams. It will flash through the paint. Good luck, takes pics and show people. I've already received calls from people who want the same look. Oh yeah, at least a 24 hr. dry time from installation to first coat.

[edroberts]

all the above advice is great ,I never roll embossed seams ,but since you seem to be using expanded vinyl instead of varitex or anaglypta ,I'd use two additional hints.
!. hang sheets from alternate wall ends or if you have the help ,from the middle after the first sheet to prevent the cpattern from running off.
2. for copper ,I seal with a light brown paint ,then use behr copper ,which actually looks like copper! Home depot has this.
Have fun
ed

[Lillian]

They are so much fun. I do at least one every other week.
The Modern Master paints are wonderful. I love the Warm Silver with the Champagne color over it. I have a small sample that is in my note book. When I am giving an estimate the client seems to just grab that and start asking about it! They are so much fun.
I will try and send pictures.
Lillian
ps I love the forum. Absolutely great job. The new look is fantastic!
A job well done!