Wallpaper vs. Paint

My husband and I inherited a 1993 Fleetwood Wilderness. It is structurally sound, but needs updating. The wallpaper has started to peel off the luan. We just took off an entire wall last night. I originally was planning on sanding, priming, and painting. However, I would want it to be smooth.

So, what to do about the seams?  We considered wallpaper, but I was told you can't buy regular house wallpaper. I don't mind an accent wall wallpapered,  but I'd rather paint.

You can go with textured painted walls but I would suggest a professional do it.

You can use any wallpaper suitable for warm & damp locations, e.g. kitchen or bath. Probably a vinyl wall covering with water-resistant adhesive. I've not had great luck with pre-pasted wall coverings in any but ideal conditions, so I would use a separate vinyl paste.

Most trailers were made with pre-covered wall panels - they didn't put up walls and then paper them. Did the old wall covering peel away ok without damaging the panel underneath? You can certainly paint the panels, but whether that is easy or difficult depends on the condition.  Fill holes & cracks, sand & prime, then paint with a quality kitchen & bath grade of paint.

You asked about seams. Are they wide gaps? Because RV walls are subject to a lot of vibration, temperature change, and humidity, I would fill gaps using a caulk rather than spackle or drywall joint compound. You can get paintable urethane caulk at any hardware store or home center. However, it may be harder to get level with the surrounding surface than spackle and it isn't sandable so you have to lay it smooth to begin with. But polyurethane sealer stretches where spackle just cracks.

Yes, the wallpaper comes off fairly easy and has not damaged the wood behind so far. I was recently told that the roof did have a leak previously, but was repaired. In that area, I noticed the board was slightly warped and I will be testing for mold.

As far as the gaps, I've only just begun. But there is one by the dining table that has a large gap (maybe close to 1/16th inch). We live in the desert where temperature changes constantly.

There are peel and stick wall coverings, no water or glue is required to install. I think some of it's designed specifically for RVs.

At a RV shop I've watched workmen remove the old wall covering and then re-cover using a peel and stick wall covering that appeared to be made from plastic. I'm not certain perhaps there is a peel and stick wall covering designed to go over the old wall covering and no removal of the old covering along  with some wall preparation is only required.

However some RV's the ceiling and possibly the walls and other areas don't have a wall covering. I have an older RV that uses plastic panels for the ceiling. I believe the panels are a combination plastic and foam insulation.

Any sort of wall covering may not work on this type of ceiling or wall panel as the plastic even to not completely smooth a textured type of plastic, is too slippery, and doesn't appear can be sanded. I'm not certain what is used to repair for this type of ceiling or wall panel, possibly cleaning or painting if able to find a paint that will adhere well to the plastic.

I think for plastic panels that are very dirty and too difficult to clean up, a good paint that adheres well to slippery materials such as plastics, would work.

There are peel and stick wall and ceiling panels, however they're thicker and usually more expensive to cover an area.

I plan on redoing my floor with peel and stick floor panels. I've seen some installations that looked very good. Even though made from some sort of plastic they appear to look more like wood floor panels. There water proof and can be installed with or without using a grout. Can be installed directly to plywood with little floor preparation.

Some people install them by first applying a sealer/primer  type paint to the floor, but was told in most cases a primer or sealer paint isn't really necessary.

Peel and stick on the floor of an RV isn't recommended. Hopefully the Wiz and Ernie will see your post and give you some good advice and tips on redoing your floor.

kdbgoat said:

Peel and stick on the floor of an RV isn't recommended. Hopefully the Wiz and Ernie will see your post and give you some good advice and tips on redoing your floor.

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Thanks I appreciate any advice for re-doing my old 1992 Fleetwood Motorhome.

emu84 said:

My husband and I inherited a 1993 Fleetwood Wilderness. It is structurally sound, but needs updating. The wallpaper has started to peel off the luan. We just took off an entire wall last night. I originally was planning on sanding, priming, and painting. However, I would want it to be smooth.
So, what to do about the seams?  We considered wallpaper, but I was told you can't buy regular house wallpaper. I don't mind an accent wall wallpapered,  but I'd rather paint.

Click to expand...

emu84
Where are you that "you can't buy regular house wallpaper"?
Wondering

I live in the desert. I was informed that with our drastic temperature and humidity changes I would need to find a wallpaper that was specifically for rvs.  I was even told of a website to check out, but they were so expensive, and nothing really said it was any different from a household wallpaper. I'm assuming now that they were trying to say I need to find a bathroom wallpaper.

Since its now the middle of summer, we've decided to put off any further remodeling until it cools down. It will give me time to do more research. Any information helps!

kdbgoat said:

Peel and stick on the floor of an RV isn't recommended. Hopefully the Wiz and Ernie will see your post and give you some good advice and tips on redoing your floor.

Click to expand...

Yes, but there are many new types of peel and stick wood laminates and laminates  on the market, many war water resistant, however some are manufactured to be  water proof.

I'll probably first ask the experts at home depot or other stores where flooring is sold.

I may go with something beside a peel and stick laminate after asking some of the flooring experts.

Laminates: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Laminate-Flooring/N-5yc1vZare1

Wood Laminates: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Laminate-Flooring-Laminate-Wood-Flooring/N-5yc1vZbejk

Here's one peel and stick laminate, that's only water resistant http://www.homedepot.com/p/Islander-Homestead-12-mm-Thick-x-7-71-in-Wide-x-47-83-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-18-96-sq-ft-case-701-LM150101/301476453?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA-D23-Laminate%7c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiO7Gt_iT1QIVTm5-Ch2cYQiuEAQYASABEgL6TvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 
.