Wall Preparation

Your wall needs to be properly prepared before your wallpaper can be installed. If your wall has been properly prepared, your wallpaper can be correctly applied, its adhesive will be far more effective and reduce peeling, and there will be no bumps or imperfections which could show through your wallpaper and ruin the effect of your chosen imagery or pattern. 

To help you prepare your wall correctly, we have provided a checklist to ensure your wall is ready for its new wallpaper:

  1. Remove any fixtures, shelving, lighting, hooks, nails or other protruding objects. 

  2. Remove any existing wallpapers or products that have been applied to your wall. 

  3. If your wall has been painted with hi gloss or enamel gloss paints, oil based paints or paints with 'wash and wear' or 'stain release technology' these paints act as a sealant/coating and will affect the ability of our wallpaper's adhesives/glues to stick long term. Jotun Fenomastic paint is a particularly difficult paint for adhesives to stick to. This 'washable' coating will need to be removed by sanding back your wall and repainting with a water based primer. Not sure if you have a stain resistant paint? These questions here may help you decide. If you are sticking your wallpaper onto a coated surface like a utilities door, wardrobe door, or any surface that is metal, reflective or extra smooth, we cannot guarantee long term adhesion. 

  4. If you are installing a wallpaper on a ceiling, only our vinyl self adhesive material can be used. This material requires a plaster/gypsum surface and must only be painted with a waterbased ceiling paint that does not have any washable ingredients like teflon, latex or acrylic in the paint as this will stop the ceiling wallpaper from adhering and it may fall off.

  5. Remove any dirt, dust or residue on your wall with warm water and detergent.

  6. If your wall still has bumps, rough patches, loose or flaking paint, cracks or inconsistent surfaces you will need to sand back your wall to remove them until it is completely smooth and free from imperfections. Any indents will also need to be filled back in with a suitable filler and sanded back to create a smooth, bump free surface. 

  7. After sanding back your wall, wipe your wall down with a damp cloth to remove all traces of dust from sanding. Allow your wall to completely dry out. For best results, apply a coat of water based primer.

  8. Ensure there are no light and dark patches on your wall as these colour variations may show through your finished wallpaper. If your wall has patchiness, we recommend to sand back and paint with a water based primer.

  9. If your wall has lumpy and uneven edges, our installers cannot cut a perfectly straight line. It is up to the customer to ensure that all edges around your wall are neat, straight and clean to ensure the cleanest, neatest trimming of your wallpaper.
If you are painting your wall before installation a water based sealer or primer coat is recommended. Do not use an oil alkyd primer. Freshly painted walls should air dry for at least 1-2 days before installing your wallpaper.

After you have either sanded back or painted your wall, give your wall a final inspection. Feel across your wall with your hands looking for any further irregularities, bumps, dirt or even paint brush fibres which can get trapped onto the wall surface after painting. Small imperfections like these can sometimes show through our self adhesive materials.

    If you are unsure whether your wall surface needs further preparation, we offer a Measuring and Wall Assessment Service. This service is provided by our installation team for a fee of AED100. To learn more about what you can expect from this service, please click here.

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    We Care about the environment

    Our packaging is 100% plastic free and we offer PVC/phthalates free materials. Our latex inks are waterbased with the Greenguard Gold certification. 

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    Stories For Walls is a 100% online wallpaper store. Our website is our most up to date showroom where you can order samples. We look forward to hearing about your wallpaper project.