Posted on: Friday, September 10, 2004
HOME HANDYMAN
Painting over wallpaper bad idea
By Glenn Haege
Q. I am planning to paint over wallpaper. The staffs at Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore paint stores have given me different processes. One said to just put a primer on. Another said to put a sealer and bonder on. Someone else said to just put Zinsser stain block on. Who's right?
A. The best way to do it is to decide not to do it. You will always have the problem of the paint flaking from the seams of the wallpaper. Do the job right. Strip the wallpaper and rinse thoroughly, then put on a water-based stain kill such as Bulls Eye Water Base and repaint. Zinsser has excellent tips on stripping and repainting on its Web site, www.zinsser.com.
• • • Q. I have central air conditioning, and the condensation drain outlet will tend to freeze up after it has been running for a while, causing the air conditioner to blow out hot air (the furnace filter is clean). Is there anything I can do to repair this problem?
A. Call for service. The unit needs to have refrigerant added. You cannot do this.
Glenn Haege writes for the Detroit News. Reach him at Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498 or askglenn@masterhandyman.com.
