I need some more help. I painted the bathroom wallpaper in my 1985 Travel Trailer a couple months ago. I went in there to night to put up a new shower curtain my wife got for Christmas and I barely touched the wall and it scraped right off all the way down to the wallpaper. I did a ton of research on this and got a primer to cover the walls with that my paint supplier told me to use. (Sherwin Williams) Well it didn't work and now I'm going to have to scrape it all and start over. Any suggestions. My wife wants it painted and does not want new wallpaper up. Has anyone tried this project before?

Since it's a vinyl surface, it's going to be very hard to get paint to stick. You could try going over it with TSP or even something stronger. You want to break the sheen of the surface and give the paint a tooth to hold onto.

I used TSP and the primer I used is supposed to even stick to glass. That's why I'm really surprised by what happened.

FrankShore wrote:Sandpaper the surfaceI think you're right.

FrankShore wrote:Sandpaper the surfaceX2 - You'll need to really rough it up. Then prime it and paint it. Don't use an all-in-one paint/primer.

Painting Travel Trailer Bathroom Wallpaper | Good Sam Community

ScottG
Nomad
Jan 02, 2015
Since it's a vinyl surface, it's going to be very hard to get paint to stick.
You could try going over it with TSP or even something stronger. You want to break the sheen of the surface and give the paint a tooth to hold onto.
Apadgett
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
I used TSP and the primer I used is supposed to even stick to glass. That's why I'm really surprised by what happened.
FrankShore
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
Sandpaper the surface
jfkmk
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
FrankShore wrote:
Sandpaper the surface

I think you're right.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2015
FrankShore wrote:
Sandpaper the surface

X2 - You'll need to really rough it up. Then prime it and paint it. Don't use an all-in-one paint/primer.
Apadgett
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
I used what's called a bonding primer that has a sort of glue in it. That is supposed to help it stick to anything. I think I will sand it and go back to old faithful oil based primer.
wlstroud
Explorer
Jan 03, 2015
Scuff sand the surface once you get the non-adhering paint scraped off. Then use a bonding primer made for vinyl. Then paint with an oil-based primer and oil-based egg-shell topcoat. Do not use all-in-one primer/topcoat paints.
I've used this system with great results on VWC in the hospital system for which I was engineer before I retired.
westend
Explorer
Jan 03, 2015
It may be that the vinyl layer of the wall covering or it's adhesive is still off gassing. That would make it very problematic to paint. You may need to seal the surface with a compatible sealer before painting. There may also be the option of removing the wall covering completely and starting from an uncovered surface. That also, may be problematic, as some wall board in TT's have the covering integrated fairly tough onto the underlying material.

Wish I had a fool-proof method to recommend. I have successfully painted wallpaper, using an oil based primer, like mentioned.
Pepperoni
Explorer
Jan 03, 2015
Apadgett wrote:
I used what's called a bonding primer that has a sort of glue in it. That is supposed to help it stick to anything. I think I will sand it and go back to old faithful oil based primer.

Consider using self-stick vinyl. It can be had in solid colors.will not look like wallpaper and is waterproof
dadmomh
Explorer
Jan 03, 2015
If you use an oil based primer, you'll need oil based paint. Agree on the sanding. My dear cousin and hubby painted over some wallpaper with some product and then regular latex paint, did great, but I'd bet the wallpaper was not vinyl. Will something like acetone cut the vinyl finish so you could just prime with latex and then paint??? Dunno, but might be worth a test.