removing batten & painting wall board

[kdebbiekay]

Hi Everybody,
I know this has been discussed before, but I am unsure of the technic to painting the walls. I have textured vinyl walls and I know from this site that I need to wash, then prime, and then be able to paint. What I am unsure of is this. Does the primer get rid of the texture on the wallpaper. If not how do I fix the problem of smooth taped seams and the texture of the wallpaper. I have learned from this site that some people have skim coated the walls. Is this what I need do? That would be an awfully big job, but I would love to have different color walls than boring beige.
Thanks for any help.
Debbie.

[texasprairierose]

Hi Debbie,

The primer does not get rid of the texture of the wall board. If you are removing the strips between the panels of wall board and filling the gaps with joint compound and tape, then you will have to texture or skim the entire wall with joint compound for it to look right. We had five rooms that had the vinyl wall board and have now papered or textured all but one room. We started with the master bathroom and I thought that we could do just what you are talking about, but the two textures were too obvious so we floated the entire room.

Diane

[Yanita]

Hi.

Diane is correct.

This is another reason why I do not allows advocate the removal of the batten strips. Even with taping if your home has a lot of movement from the change of seasons these joints are pretty apt to crack.

Some folks have textured the joints and then gone from there.

Yanita