How to Hang and Apply Self-Adhesive Wallpaper
Self-Adhesive Wallpaper is a new concept that is a peel off and stick on applicator to wallpaper nearly any room in the house. While it seems easy enough to use, this how-to guide explains each step thoroughly and even adds in some tips and tricks for applying this kind of wallpaper that you probably weren’t aware of. Here are 5 main tips to applying and removing self-adhesive wallpaper.
1. Peel off at the Corners
While this may seem inherently obvious, starting at the right spot is as crucial as pushing out each and every air bubble. When you are peeling off the back to your self-adhesive wallpaper, make sure to start at the same corner as the corner of the wall you are starting with. From there, you can peel off the corresponding corner and move down. It’s not crucial, but it is helpful to start from the corner opposite of your dominant hand. I.e. start from the left corner if you are right-handed. It makes it easier when you’re moving from left to right across your wall.
2. Apply in Segments
When applying the wallpaper, make sure you don’t just peel off the backing to the entire roll and press it all down. This is a surefire way to create impossible-to-fix- air bubbles. Rather than removing the entire backing, once you have the top corners placed down, peel it off in segments of approximately 20-24 inches. This assures a good level placing and easy removal of air bubbles if you confine the placement to only about 2 feet at a time. It can be easy with this type of wallpaper to rush through but you still need to do it in segments to insure even placement.
3. Press down Evenly
This step is similar to hanging traditional wallpaper you still need to press down evenly to force out any and all air bubbles. The best method to doing this coincides with Step 2. Unrolling in segments of approximately 2 feet allows you to press out the air bubbles in an even fashion without being overwhelmed with too much wallpaper area to cover.
The best way to force the air bubbles out is to start from the center of the wallpaper and push out to the sides with your open palms. A good tool to use instead is a wallpaper smoother. However, if you don’t have one, open palms work just as well!
4. Trim Around the Molding (If applicable)
Many people have a segment of molding either at the top of the wall, the bottom of the wall, or in the corners. It is important to trim away any excess wallpaper that spills over onto these moldings. A good practice for removing it is to press it into the molding to create a smooth crease to run your straight razor or xacto knife across. This clears your wall of excess wallpaper in a good clean fashion.
5. Removing the Wallpaper
While most traditional styles of wallpapering require a LONG process to get the wallpaper off (typically it would be a day long process) self-adhesive wallpaper does not. Simply peel off at one of the corners and peel down from there. This type of wallpaper is very easy to peel off and reposition. Once you remove it from the wall the stickiness will still be there and can be applied to other walls or surfaces. Just make sure the area you are applying it to is not bigger than your current wall otherwise Step 4 will have caused you to create too small of wallpaper.
Good Luck!