How to putty walls under wallpaper yourself

A room’s appearance can be significantly altered by adding wallpaper, but there are preparations that must be made before you can start having fun. Making sure your walls are ready is essential to a smooth, durable finish. Putty is useful in this situation.

Although puttying walls may seem like a job best left to experts, you can accomplish it yourself with a little perseverance and the appropriate advice. This crucial stage helps hide any flaws and leaves your walls flawlessly smooth and primed for wallpaper.

We’ll take you step-by-step through the puttying wall process in this article. You’ll discover what supplies you’ll need, how to prep your walls, and the best putty application techniques.

What to prepare for repairs

You will also need to buy the supplies and equipment yourself because you have made the decision to handle everything on your own.

Choosing a tool

Probably everyone knows that walls are puttied with spatulas. But not just any spatulas, namely putty spatulas. They differ from plaster spatulas in that their working blade is thinner and more flexible, which allows you to more accurately adjust the pressure on the tool and get a layer of putty of the desired thickness.
In addition, the blade should have rounded edges so that they do not leave streaks on the surface being finished, and the blade itself should be perfectly flat and smooth. It is advisable to remove the slightest roughness with fine-grained sandpaper (see.How to sand walls after puttying and how to do it correctly).
As a rule, expensive professional spatulas made using laser cutting do not need such finishing. If you are not going to become a finisher, buy a tool whose price suits you, but choose it carefully.

Advice: To prevent scratching other tools’ working surfaces, store putty spatulas apart from other tools. Make sure to give it a wash and give it a gentle wipe after work.

A grater with clamps (mesh jointer) is another tool you’ll need to sand the walls and achieve the ideal level of smoothness on their surface. Sandpaper shouldn’t be used for this because putty lumps that stick to it will scratch the surface.

Choosing putty

What putty should be used to putty the walls underneath the wallpaper is the most crucial question. For this, dry gypsum cement mixtures that have been diluted with water to the necessary consistency are typically utilized.

Suggestions. Take note of the markings: putties with the VH index can be used in wet environments, while those with the LR and KR indices are meant for use in dry living spaces.

The most well-liked of these combinations are:

• Vetonit is the cheapest material with minimal consumption. It fits well, fills depressions perfectly, but is very dusts and rubs off, so it is not used for painting;

• Knauf (Uniflot, Fugenfüller) – quite expensive, but high-quality mixtures suitable for finishing plastered and plasterboard walls, both for wallpaper and for painting;
• Eunice Kron – putty of increased whiteness for heated dry rooms. Not recommended for beginners, as it is quite difficult to iron and has a high consumption.

If this is your first time deciding to tackle such a difficult task and you are not confident in your abilities, then choose a ready-made polymer putty. It is sold in plastic buckets of different volumes, is more expensive, but has increased strength, optimal viscosity, and is easy to apply and sand.
The main thing is not to leave it open for a long time, since it will be more difficult to properly putty the walls under the wallpaper with a mixture that has already begun to set.
In addition to putty, buy a deep penetration primer (see.Primer before puttying the walls – is it necessary) and be sure to prime the walls before leveling. This will ensure good adhesion of the putty to the surface and its uniform drying due to the primer film, which limits the absorption of moisture from the mixture into the base.

Prior to applying wallpaper, puttying walls is a crucial step in ensuring an even and smooth surface for the wallpaper to adhere to properly and look its best. This procedure entails patching holes, cracks, and uneven spots on the wall before sanding to level out the texture. You can achieve a professional finish that improves the overall look and durability of your wallpaper by taking the time to putty walls yourself.

Stages of puttying

You must research and set up the base before adhering the wallpaper to the walls. The walls are primed and dried after the previous layer—whether it be crumbling putty, paint, or wallpaper—is removed.

Preparing the surface and tool

Examine the walls closely for flaws and irregularities. Using a hard plastering spatula or plane, remove any noticeable bumps and protrusions. Then, use chalk or pencil to mark the depressions and trace them along the contour. Putty the joints of the slabs if there are any deep fissures or exposed seams.

Suggestions. Using a long rule that is applied to the wall and illuminated with a flashlight in the space between them is the simplest way to find irregularities.

Get a container ready to combine the putty. Similar to the mixer, which is a specialized drill attachment, it must be spotless and free of dried putty fragments that have adhered to the walls. You may not be able to smooth the surface because of even the smallest solid particles.

How to prepare the solution

Make sure to prepare putty carefully if you want to work with it easily. Naturally, the ready-made mixture just needs to be mixed before use if you use a dry one. The guidelines are as follows:

• Pour water into a clean bucket to about 1/3 of its volume;
• Start pouring the dry mixture from the bag into the center in a stream. When the dry top appears above the surface of the water, stop and wait a few seconds for it to soak up the water and settle;
• Lower the mixer into the bucket, turn on the drill at medium speed and mix the mixture thoroughly for 1-1.5 minutes;
• Leave it alone for one minute, then mix again. The solution is ready for use.

It should come out with a typical density, similar to that of a thick village sour cream. Instead of draining, the solution should gently slide off the spatula. You can no longer add water to it, even if it turned out to be too thin.

Be mindful. To find out the portion, always read the manufacturer’s instructions before beginning to knead. The final mixture’s suitability will determine how long it takes, but no more than 30 minutes. Create as many solutions in this time frame as you can.

How to putty

Now, finally, you can proceed to the story of how to put the walls under the wallpaper correctly. We will warn you right away: even if they are already even, and need only to bring to the ideal, you will need at least two layers, between which drying and primer are performed.
In general, the number of layers depends on both the initial condition of the surface and the skill and experience of the plasterer. Therefore, in order not to waste your time and extra material, first practice on the walls in the pantry or bathroom, where the ideal smoothness of the surface is not so important.
One layer is enough only when puttying plasterboard walls, and then first the joints between the sheets are sealed.
Sequence of work:

• First, level the relief, rubbing individual holes and pits that you previously outlined. To do this, collect the solution on a medium or wide spatula (depending on the size of the defect), and apply it to the wall with a sweeping cross-shaped movement.
  The mixture should fill the recess flush with the wall surface. If there are no obvious defects, this step can be skipped.

Suggestions. Don’t hesitate to take action. The putty will lay down as it should if you move the spatula slowly and without applying too much pressure. Putty can liquefy slightly when mechanical action occurs.

• Each layer of putty must be dried before applying the next one. To prevent it from cracking or warping, this is done naturally – without the use of directed heat flows from air heaters or fan heaters. You should also avoid drafts and direct exposure to sunlight. Drying time is usually 10-12 hours.
• After drying, the surface is sanded to remove sagging and random drops of solution. It is best to do this about a day after applying the putty, when it has gained sufficient strength.

• The main layer under the wallpaper is applied with a spatula at least 30-40 cm wide. with the same cross movements and overlap onto the already treated area. The main thing in this matter is to get used to holding the spatula at an angle of 20-30 degrees to the surface and act with the same pressure.
  In this case, the layer is of optimal thickness of 2-4 mm, and the putty does not leave bumps and torn edges.

• After drying and sanding, the surface is again checked for evenness with a rule and a flashlight. And the next layer eliminates minor defects.

If you watch the video in this article, you will better understand the technology. Pay special attention to puttying the corners. It is unlikely that you will be able to bring them out cleanly the first time, so you can go for a little trick, leaving a little more solution in them than necessary, and after drying, removing the excess by sanding.
Another clever way is to use an ordinary pastry bag or an empty silicone tube. When puttying the walls, the corners are not filled with solution, they remain empty.
And after drying in them, with one movement from the bottom up, a “sausage” of putty is squeezed out of the bag, which is immediately leveled with an angle spatula, the working surfaces of which rest on the already leveled walls.

If you are unable to complete everything at once, don’t give up. You can approach the wall as many times as necessary until you are happy with its condition.

You’ll be one step closer to having a smooth and even surface for your wallpaper once you’ve completed puttying your walls. Although this process may initially seem overwhelming, it is manageable with time and the appropriate resources.

Always remember that thoroughness is the key to effective wall preparation. Take your time and make sure that every flaw is fixed because this will have a direct effect on how your wallpaper turns out in the end.

Once the walls are properly puttied, you can proceed to the wallpapering step with confidence, knowing that the result will be a beautifully finished room that is the result of your hard work.

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