Putty and primer for drywall under the wallpaper

Having aligned the walls in the apartment with the help of drywall, many are wondering: is it necessary to putty drywall before wallpapering? After all, gypsum plasterboard sheets have a fairly flat surface on which the wallpaper will adhere without any problems. But if you try to understand this topic in more detail, you will understand that plastering plasterboard for wallpaper will help to avoid many unpleasant moments.

Why do I need to putty drywall before wallpapering?

Drywall putty is necessary for several reasons:

1. A wall sheathed with sheets of drywall will still not be perfectly smooth. Joints of sheets and places of fastening with self-tapping screws will be noticeable under the wallpaper, especially if they are thin and light enough.
2. During the installation or operation of the wall of drywall, which is a fairly fragile material, can receive various damages. All of them will also clearly appear under the wallpaper.
3. Putty the wall completely. There is a temptation to process only joints and attachment points, but do not give in to it. Yes, it's faster and easier, but if you want to change the wallpaper? Without additional surface treatment, they are glued tightly with drywall. You will have to glue the new wallpaper on the old or change the drywall base after trying to remove the old wallpaper. Putty and primer drywall will help to avoid these problems.

Putty preparation

Before plastering plasterboard under the wallpaper, the surface must be prepared.

• In the initial phase, debris and dust should be removed from the sheets.
• Check if the screws are screwed in correctly. The protruding fasteners must be tightened using a screwdriver.

Attention! If the screw is screwed too deep, more than half the thickness of the sheet, then you have to unscrew it completely. A new self-tapping screw must be screwed into the wall at a distance of at least 5 cm from the hole that is left empty.

• To identify wall defects, it is necessary to draw along it with a wide spatula. It should slide smoothly. Detected deep dents or scratches on the wall are repaired even before the main layer of putty is applied.
• Before puttying, the wall must be primed. The primer, preferably water-based, is applied with a roller in one coat and allowed to dry. The acrylic primer for drywall under the wallpaper will not cause warping of the drywall sheet, and after drying it will provide reliable adhesion to the putty applied.

Typically, drywall sheets have a chamfer at the edges. If it is missing, you need to cut them with a knife at an angle of 45 degrees. A chamfer is needed for better processing of joints, the putty layer on them should be thicker.

• Also, all joints must be glued with a reinforced mesh-serpianka. It must be slightly pressed into the recess, positioned so that the seam runs exactly in the middle of the tape.

Putty joints

First of all, you should putty all the joints of the sheets.

For work, it is advisable to use narrow and wide spatulas. Narrow it is convenient to put putty on the seam, and wide - smooth it.

Work is carried out in a top-down direction. The composition should fill the seam completely, even protrude a little, since the putty shrinks when dried. After the walls thus treated have dried out, the surplus can be removed by grinding. If it is not possible to fill the seams in one layer, it is necessary to allow the composition to dry, and only then repeat the operation.

Putty corners

How to putty drywall corners? This is one of the most difficult stages, which involves the preparation of drywall constructions for wallpapering. Walls can form internal and external corners, and they are treated differently.

Special elements are used to derive external angles. These are perforated corners made of plastic or aluminum. The former are used in the processing of curved angles, such as arches. Using rigid aluminum corners, right angles are output.

• The corner is applied to the wall at the attachment point and is encircled with a pencil.
• Drywall is cut with a knife slightly wider than the resulting contour, at a distance of 3 mm from the marking lines.
• Chisel selects a groove under the corner, which should also be slightly larger than the thickness of the latter.

• The resulting recess in the wall is coated with glue or putty, and then a corner is pressed into it. At the same time, it should be slightly buried in comparison with the general level of the wall.
• The solution emerging through the perforation of the corner is leveled, and after drying, the corner is putty flush with the wall.

The process is quite lengthy, but while one corner dries, you can do the rest.

Preparation of drywall for wallpapering also includes the processing of internal corners.

• Like the seams, at the initial stage they are glued with a reinforcing tape.
• The sides of the corner are puttied alternately, using a special angular spatula.

Processing of GKL mounting points

When attaching sheets of drywall, a large number of screws are used. The depressions formed in the places of their attachment must also be leveled.

Tip: it is advisable to deal with the attachment points in parallel with the processing of corners and seams: with these small surpluses of material that can be used to seal hats always remain in processes self-tapping screws.

At the same time, putty should be applied crosswise, this will help to achieve a level surface more quickly and efficiently.

Putty of the entire surface of the wall of drywall

Subsequently, the entire surface of the wall is covered with a thin layer of putty.

Some professionals advise diluting the putty mixture to a more liquid state and use a brush to apply.

After drying, a level surface is monitored, for which you can use the building level. When applying putty on the wall, it should be remembered that the protrusions are preferable to the depressions, since they are easily removed by grinding.

Drywall processing is completed before wallpapering by grinding and priming the resulting surface:

• The protrusions formed during the putty, sagging and irregularities can be removed with fine sandpaper or a piece of reinforcing tape.
• Then the surface must be cleaned of dust and coated with a primer.

After the primer dries, you can proceed to the finishing stage of the decoration - to glue the wallpaper.

Wallpapering on plasterboard coated with putty is very easy and gives a guaranteed high-quality result. And most importantly, with a subsequent change of wallpaper, you will avoid a headache by thinking about how to remove the old wallpaper covering - the canvases are removed from the putty surface without much effort.