New plaster needs to dry completely before you can think about wallpapering, but plaster isn't a quick-drying material. Drying times can vary greatly depending on conditions, but in ideal conditions – warm weather – it can be dry in two or three days on skimmed plasterboard walls.
MAKE SURE YOUR WALLS ARE COMPLETELY DRY. This can take a maximum of 7-10 days, depending on the conditions in your home.
Skim coating a textured wall is the proper way to prepare it for wallpaper. You can also remove the texture, but this is difficult, messy, and doesn't always remove all of the texture.
Prepare your wall by filling in any holes or craters with spackle and sanding any bumps. You will be left with a smooth and even surface. Most of the time a light texture isn't a problem, but deep textures in your walls should be smoothed.
If it has a light texture, such as a very slight orange peel, your wallpaper will have an easier time sticking and staying. For thicker textures, such as popcorn walls, bumps may still show through the paper or, in some instances, your wallpaper may not stick at all.
If you've applied a fresh coat of paint to your walls you will need to wait a MINIMUM of 2 weeks before applying Removable Wallpaper.
Newly plaster skimmed walls take approximately 4 days to dry out before you should attempt to decorate them. It is crucial to wait until the plaster has dried, and its colour has changed to a pale pink. There should be no brown patches as a guide. In some instances, you may need to wait up to 4 weeks.
Once the skim coat is applied, it should be left to dry thoroughly. After drying, you can sand the surface to remove minor imperfections and create an even smoother finish.
Most will apply the drywall mud directly to the wall from the bottom up making sure the skim coat is even and smooth. Let the skim coat dry for 24-48 hours and apply a second coat if needed. Once you are satisfied with the results, smooth the finished product with sandpaper sponges and rub very lightly.
You should prepare to apply at least two coats, in order to achieve a smooth finish. However, if you can still see obvious grooves and indents after the second coat dries, you can trowel on a third coat using the method mentioned in Step 7 of this guide.
Walls need to stripped but you do not have to remove all the wallpaper paste. However the cleaner the surface the better the job will be.
As soon as your mist coat has dried you can decorate normally. There's no need to sand down the wall as you've already done all the prep, so this bit is easy. Apply the topcoat in a V motion for even coverage. For the best results, you may need to apply more than one coat.
You can skim coat over wallpaper, but its Not the correct way to do it. That and the fact that introducing the moisture back to the wallpaper may cause it to pull away from the wall and thereby destroying the work you just did. Correct way is to remove the paper, clean off any residue left on it and then skim coat.
On drywall, skim coat normally takes about 2–3 days to dry. On concrete surfaces or plastered walls, skim coat takes about 5–7 days to dry. In extreme situations such as high humidity and constantly damp substrates, skim coats may take more than 7 days to dry.
Level 5 // As you might have guessed, Level 5 is the gold standard. It's as smooth as you can get, or the highest finish possible. There are no bumps, no texture, and it's achieved by multiple skim coat layers that are finished with a good sanding.
What paint can I use after applying Mondo Skimcoat? You can apply water-based or solvent-based paints, but for best results we will recommend to apply any Davies Paints water-based or solvent-based paint.
Don't paint directly over new plaster walls because the glossy surface can prevent the paint from adhering effectively.
When wet and freshly applied it will appear brown, this changes to a more pink hue as it dries. Once it's fully dry, the colour will be consistent across the whole wall, lighter and darker patches suggest the wall is not consistently dry enough yet.
You may hold up the wallpaper and think that your texture won't be a problem. But once the paper is wet with paste or water, or you peel back that paper layer of peel and stick you will see the texture show through. To achieve smooth walls I decided to add a skim coat to my walls.
Spaces with high or fluctuating levels of moisture, humidity, and potential water exposure aren't suitable for wallpaper since these factors can lead to peeling, water damage, and mold growth, undermining the aesthetic appeal of your wallpaper.
Use on wood, drywall, plaster, paneling, wallpaper, masonry, brick, painted metal and properly prepared glossy surfaces†. Not recommended for mold or mildew-prone surfaces or on flooring.