How to prepare and line walls
I’m a big fan of lining paper as part of a high-end specification for decorating walls and ceilings. It provides a uniform base for painting over surfaces that have been patch plastered, and once walls have been well lined, future redecorating is easy.
On the other hand, Brighton Eco Painter, Tom White rightly pointed out to me that lining paper can cause more problems than it solves. Prior to painting, he prefers to thoroughly clean down plaster surfaces and fill everything meticulously under the harsh light of a halogen lamp. When the surface is perfectly smooth, he paints. I agree totally with his thinking and his approach too… The less to go wrong, the better.
However, if you encounter any of the following circumstances, I have found that lining paper is the most appropriate option, unless the historical nature of the job dictates otherwise.
If the walls are to be wallpapered »
If the walls have been stripped of wallpaper »
If isolated patches of old lath and plaster are flapping »
The pitfalls of lining paper.
As Tom points out, lining paper CAN cause more problems than it solves. 
The photo shows a typical problem where an otherwise perfect surface is spoiled by a few inches of inexplicably lifting joint.
Well, having fallen foul of this issue myself, even after double-pasting the joints, I’m confident I can tell you the inexplicable cause – and I’m very sure of the way to eradicate this potential issue at source.
.
Lining paper problems
Why does the lifting edge failure occur? Usually when your filler fails! And it is a pain.
Ordinarily, if you fill the dings in walls and ceilings prior to lining, (poly) fillers will stick well to plaster. Ordinarily, filler dries hard enough to withstand the softening effects of a coat of size / thinned wallpaper paste / diluted PVA. But failures occur when “ordinarily” lets you down.
In this case, if a section of filler is very thin, and then gets wetted by paste or size, it can let go from the plaster surface. If failed filler coincides with a joint in your lining paper, you have that eyesore that jumps out like a donkey’s doodah – and if you require a blemish-free surface, it is well-nigh impossible to put this imperfection right without complete removal of the lining paper or careful filling and reline the affected wall.
More lining paper imperfections »
The Solution to lifting joints in lining paper
Without wishing to sound like a smart alec, the best approach is to prevent the problem from ever getting started.
1 – Remove all obvious coatings, paper etc from the wall, sand smooth.
2 – Use Polyfilla, or other specialist fillers to fill the cracks, dings and holes in the walls and ceilings.
3 – If you have time, smooth over filler with a damp sponge just before it hardens off, to reduce sanding.
4 – When dry, sand the filler smooth and clean off any dust with a vacuum.
5 – Apply a single coat of water-based Beeline Primer Sealer, or Zinsser Gardz. Wait an hour. Hang lining paper.
End of any lifting joint issues! And this is why.
Beeline water-based primer sealer »
Sorry, I don’t know much more about lining paper, except:
f you are in the Brighton area, contact eco painter and decorator Tom White.
There must be something in the water, or a good decorating college in Brighton. Colour Republic also in Brighton have written probably the definitive Reasons to use lining paper
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7 comments to “How to prepare and line walls”
Thanks for the informative content.
Thanks, glad the information was of use. Do you use much lining in US? I found it hard to source
Have to say i’m with my fellow Brightonian on this one as I dislike the problems that can occur with lining walls to then paint and namely that I find the walls can often be filled and prepped in about the same time as lining even on really bad walls. That said your article is very helpful in minimising the pitfalls some face when lining incorrectly and your choice of materials is also spot on
Thanks for reading it all the way through and being on a similar page:)
One angle I failed to mention was that lining and painting in commercial settings can reduce the disruption/lost revenue on future redecs – assuming it is done correctly in the first place:)
ie if the walls were lined and painted – with a quick coat of Gardz/Beeline sealer, wallpaper can be hung straight on top with zero prep.
Going the filler only route, if wallpapering is required in the future, the walls would need sealing and lining first, which adds an extra day of disruption on the redec.
I know it is marginal and a moot point on a small lounge, but in a commercial setting, I think the quick redec option is quite useful to think about, especially with the life cycle costs of maintaining hotels.
I have been told that Sarah at TDS now stocks Zinsser Gardz, which is good to know. http://yfrog.com/h04jnzgj
cheers
There is as you state a place for lining paper in a decorators arsenal, sometimes it can be a clients preference, other times it can all boil down to cost (or loss of revenue to a client in a commercial setting as you point out) and also a requirement where a finishing paper is to be installed as 95% of the time we would always recommend a liner before hanging most wallpapers, unless it was a paper designed to be dry strippable such as some wallpaper murals.
Two great articles on the reasons to use lining paper (or ‘blankstock’ as our friends over the pond refer to it) when hanging finishing paper can be found here – http://billarchibald.com/liner.html – http://wallliner.com/why.html
Look forward to more great content on your site
Good info yet again.
But I myself would wait the 3hrs for Zinsser Gardz to completely dry off before applying wallpaper. Just to be safe and me being anal.
Hope you don’t mind me saying? :^)
I dont mind at all, Tim, I should have been more specific, 1 hour is fine for Beeline sealer to dry off, 3 hrs is ideal for Zinsser Gardz!