How to Paint Mobile Home Walls

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Painting vinyl walls in a mobile home is time-consuming and frustrating because of the shiny surface and those blasted battens covering the seams.

Older mobile homes usually have faux wood paneling, so they aren’t as frustrating to paint. But manufactured homes built after the early eighties tend to have walls made from panels of pressed gypsum with a glossy surface on one side. The glossy surface is usually made from paper or vinyl.

Vinyl on gypsum (VOG) panels are used in mobile homes because it repels water, are affordable, and are super easy to install. This coating, however, makes painting vinyl walls in mobile homes difficult.

In this article, we’ll cover the most popular options to update and paint vinyl walls in mobile homes. If your mobile home has wood paneling, you’ll want to read our guide to wood paneling in mobile homes. 

What are VOG wall panels and why are they used in mobile homes?

VOG stands for Vinyl on Gypsum (or vinyl over gypsum). Gypsum is calcium sulfate dihydrate, a soft and lightweight white or gray chalk-like mineral.

Vinyl on gypsum panels is typically  5/16″ thick with a glossy paper coating. They do not have tapered edges, so installers use battens, or strips, to cover the seams where two panels meet. These battens are notorious within the mobile home world – most homeowners dislike them immensely.

VOG panels are used because they are lightweight, water resistant, easy to install, clean, and maintain.

Below you can see the modern low-gloss vinyl wallboards used in a manufactured home:

Fortunately, modern manufactured home builders are beginning to use different wall materials. It may still be made with gypsum, but the top coating doesn’t have the high gloss coating or the quickly outdated patterns.

You can learn more about gypsum panels used in manufactured housing at the Manufactured Housing Gypsum Construction Guide.

The Most Important Step Before you paint vinyl walls in a mobile home

Painting is the easiest and cheapest method to update mobile home walls. A single color, as opposed to an outdated pattern, can update a room quickly.

Painting is especially easy if you leave the battens, or strips, that cover the seams alone and paint over them.

Here’s the same bathroom shown above after the room was painted a solid color:

Guide to Painting Vinyl Walls in a Mobile Home

Painting the vinyl-coated walls in a mobile home is a bit more difficult than most realize. The glossy paper coating on the walls requires more preparation than a standard sheetrock wall.

Fortunately, many mobile homeowners have painted their walls with great success and we’ve collected helpful advice and tips from them. Here’s the process they recommended:

Step 1: Wash the Walls

Paint and primer will not stick to dirty walls.

Smoke from cooking, dander from pets, and airborne particles from the furnace and air conditioner naturally stick to walls so you need a detergent or non-abrasive cleaner to get the walls as clean as possible.

Every inch of the wall should be wiped with the cleaning agent, allowed to dry, and then wiped again. Repeat if necessary.

You want the primer and paint to bond to every part of the wall.

Step 2: Use High-Quality Primer and Paint

The suggestion we received most was to buy the highest quality paint and primer you can afford.

The paint industry continuously improves their recipes so chances are you will find a great primer and paint (or combination primer+paint) if you stick to the better-known brands. Ask your local home improvement store for the latest recommendation.

Unfortunately, better paint technology means higher prices so expect to spend at least $25.00 per gallon.

See the section below for top brand suggestions. 

Step 3: Use High-Quality Brushes and Rollers

Using high-quality brushes and rollers is another popular recommendation from homeowners that have painted their mobile home walls successfully.

High-quality brushes and rollers transfer the paint to the walls better and give a more uniform finish which is exactly what you need.

Step 4: Use Several Light Coats

All painting professionals will tell you that it’s better to paint walls in several light coats instead of one or two heavy coats. This allows the paint to dry faster and the finish will be more uniform and smooth.

Above is an image of two light coats of Kilz Primer done by Geneva at MyHeartsSong.com.

Additional Information that Can Help

Knowing which company manufactured your home’s VOG panels will help you determine their recommended paint and primer. Unfortunately, not all homeowners have access to that information so a little guessing is required.

CDS, a large VOG manufacturer, recommends an oil primer with two coats of alkyd or latex semi-gloss enamel paint:

1. Two coats of alkyd or latex semi-gloss enamel.
2. Oil primer with a finish coat of oil paint or flat latex.
3. Two coats of flat oil paint.

Other gypsum board manufacturers have released their own recommendations and tips:

• Lower sheen paints bond better than gloss or semi-gloss paints.
• An acrylic based primer should work well in most mobile homes.
• Using a good quality primer helps minimize color and surface variations and provides a more uniform profile for any surface covering (source).
• Apply a high-quality latex primer/sealer compatible with the finished product prior to decoration (source).
• A good quality, white, latex drywall primer formulated with higher binder solids, applied undiluted, is typically specified for new gypsum board surfaces prior to the application of texture materials and latex wall paints. An alkali and moisture-resistant primer and a tinted enamel undercoat may be required under enamel paints. Consult with the finish paint manufacturer for specific recommendations (source).

Related: Create an Awesome Gallery Wall for Less Than $50!

Top Paint and Primer Recommendations for Vinyl Walls in Mobile Homes

Choosing which primer and paint (or combination product) to use on your mobile home walls is probably the trickiest part of the whole job. Go to 3 different paint stores and you will hear 3 different opinions.

Below is a list of products that have worked well on mobile home walls (they are listed in no particular order) based on bloggers and readers that have had great results when painting vinyl walls in mobile homes:

Best Primers to Use on Mobile Home Walls:

• Kilz Primer
• Zinnser 123
• Gliddin Gripper
• Xium Uma
• Valspar Bonding Primer

Best Paint Brands for Vinyl Walls in Mobile Homes

• Behr Premium Plus Ultra
• Glidden Performance Edge Fill + Prime + Paint
• Sherwin Williams

Paint, Wainscoting, and New Trim

The owners from the image above painted the walls, added wainscoting on the lower third of the wall, and replaced the factory-installed battens with 1″ trim. This gives the space a whole new look without the hassle of removing the battens.

Related: Using Accent Walls in Your Mobile Home

Conclusion

Many people have painted, textured, and papered their vinyl walls in mobile homes and you can, too!

The trick is to get the best bond possible and that’s made possible by cleaning the walls well and using a good primer.

As always, thank you so much for reading Mobile Home Living!