OK - so where do I start to paint this room myself please?

[MaggieW]

DS is going on a school trip for a week so I'm going to paint his room while he's away. It's wallpapered - one layer of wallpaper and one of lining paper underneath - and I want to paint over this, so what do I need to do to prepare please? The room also has coving and the ceiling will need done, so should I rub these down beforehand? Any advice/tips gratefully received. TIA.

Is the wallpaper patterned? Dark colours?
I would always strip the wallpaper first tbh.
What do you mean by rubbing down? Is an idea to give them a wipe I guess. Then just start painting.
Leave to dry and paint again.

How well stuck on is the wallpaper and how old is the house? If the paper is not stuck down that well and starting to peel at the corners there isn't any point leaving it on, its just a waste of your time so I'd strip it off first. However, when I've done that in old houses a lot of the plaster comes off with it which then required skimming, drying out before repainting.

Fill any holes or gaps with filer, resand, refill, resand etc to get a smooth base.

Sand woodwork lightly before painting, if there are any knots in the wood, paint over knot sealant (cannot remember the precise name) which stops a bled from the knot which comes through the paint.

The order we always paint in is ceiling (if you're doing it), glossing (doors, skirting etc), then walls. The theory is you can wipe wet paint off gloss with a wet cloth, but gloss is a bugger to get off paint.

Good luck!

The order we always paint in is ceiling (if you're doing it), glossing (doors, skirting etc), then walls. The theory is you can wipe wet paint off gloss with a wet cloth, but gloss is a bugger to get off paint.

Good luck!

Sorry! Shouldn't try send messages from the train ...

I wouldn't paint over the wall paper, unless it is that textured stuff that is designed to be painted over.

Any wood will probably need a quick sanding down first (skirting boards and door/window frames) but the coving should be ok as long as it hasn't previously been painted with gloss paint, in which case it would need sanding.

Yes, strip the wallpaper. Like the other poster I found with a steamer the wall required skimming after. I gather you can avoid plastering by removing the paper another way, not sure how you go about that method.

Thanks all. The wallpaper is firmly stuck and the plastering underneath should be sound as we did both a few years ago - the background is white with a small light pattern, so not completely sure if it would need taking off. I've had a look and it's not peeling away anywhere and is still smooth in corners, at joins etc. That's very useful re order to do things in Anything. Thanks again.