How to Paint Vinyl Walls in Mobile Homes
By Crystal Adkins | Published | 149 Comments
Updating vinyl walls in mobile homes is one of the quickest and easiest updates you can do. We can completely change the entire look of a room with a single paintbrush!
Unfortunately, painting mobile home walls is time consuming (especially the cleaning part).
Older manufactured home usually have a faux wood paneling or walls made from vinyl on gypsum (VOG) panels. These walls have a coated paper facing that repels water and ‘holds’ the gypsum together. This coated paper makes painting mobile home walls difficult.
If you’re fortunate enough to have the faux wood paneling that was popular before the 1980’s you’ll have a much easier time painting your walls. The wood paneling doesn’t have a water repellent paper facing so binding paint to it isn’t as difficult.
In this article, we’ll cover the most popular options to update and paint your mobile home walls with an emphasis on painting VOG walls with glossy paper facing.
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 resistance, easy install, clean, and maintain.
Below you can see low-gloss VOG panels used in a manufactured home bathroom:
Image source: ths. Gardenweb. Com
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 It may still be made with gypsum but the top coating doesn’t have the high gloss coating or the quickly outdated patterns.
Painting your Mobile Home Walls
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 A single color, as opposed to an outdated pattern, can update a room quickly.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 simply paint over them.
Here’s the same bathroom shown above after the room was painted a solid color:
Image source: ths. Gardenweb. Com
Guide to Painting Vinyl Coated 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.
Geneva at myheartssong. Com shares her process of priming and adding an orange peel texture to their mobile home walls. Click on the image to go to her blog.
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:
- Two coats of alkyd or latex semi-gloss enamel.
- Oil primer with a finish coat of oil paint or flat latex.
- 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!
Image source: theshabbycreekcottage. Com
Top Paint and Primer Recommendations
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 their mobile home walls:
Best Primers to Use on Mobile Home Walls:
- Kilz Primer
- Zinnser 123
- Gliddin Gripper
- Xium Uma
- Valspar Bonding Primer
Best Paint Brands for Mobile Home Walls:
- Behr Premium Plus Ultra
- Glidden Performance Edge Fill + Prime + Paint
- Sherwin Williams
Paint, Wainscoting, and New Trim
Above is a great mobile home wall update where the owners used the VOG panel battens to their advantage.
The owner 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.
Removing Mobile Home Wall Battens
Battens are used to cover the seam where two VOG wall panels meet. By installing battens the factory is able to build homes faster and cheaper.
Unlike drywall or sheetrock, VOG panels do not require taping and mudding so the edges of the panels are not tapered and the installation process is much faster. This is ideal in a fast-paced manufactured home factory. This is not ideal for homeowners that want a seamless wall.
You can remove the battens in your mobile home. Once the battens are removed you can paint, texture, or wallpaper over the walls.
Removing the battens is the easy part, filling in the gaps that the battens were covering, and then making the entire wall look cohesive is the difficult part.
Related: Removing Walls in a Mobile Home
Using Caulk to Fill in the Seams
Use an acrylic caulk to fill in the gap or crack between your VOG wall panels. Remember, the panels do not have tapered seams like a sheet of drywall or sheetrock so filling in the gap smoothly and evenly can be difficult.
Here’s the process we recommend for using caulk to fill in your VOG wall seams:
Remove the Battens
You’ll want to be careful when you remove the battens or strips that cover the seams between two VOG panels. A small thin pry bar that will fit under the strip
Here is a video that shows a man removing the strips that cover the seams of two modern VOG panel used in a manufactured home:
Prime the Wall
Prime the wall and ensure an even coat has been applied in the gap that the batten used to cover. Let dry. Repeat if necessary.
Fill in the Gap with Caulk and Smooth
Choose the caulk most suitable for your walls. Use the charts below to choose the best caulk.
Place an even bead of caulk in the gap to fill in the crack (you’ll need to work quickly at this point).
Using a wet finger, or smooth caulking tool, run along the gap to create an even bridge of caulk between the two VOG panels.
Use a straight-edged tool such as a credit card to smooth the caulk so that it creates an even surface across the wall. This process may require a few attempts to get enough caulk into the gap. Carefully remove any excess caulk from the wall with a wet rag.
Allow to dry and ensure there is no shrinkage (choosing the correct caulk is important to keep the caulk from shrinking). Paint, texturize, or cover the wall with wallpaper, fabric, bead-board, shiplap – just about anything can be used to update mobile home walls as long as the framing can handle the weight.
How to Choose the Right Caulk
The two main types of caulk is silicon and latex but there are some caulks that are a combination of both.
The Home Depot has a handy rundown of each type of caulk below:
Use Latex Caulk For:
- Use to fill in gaps between crown moulding and baseboards.
- Use to seal a door frame in place and seal the subfloor at the bottom of a door frame.
- For the inside of both doors and windows, use latex painter’s caulk.
- Repeated exposure to water can speed up the breakdown of latex caulk over time, rendering it weak, brittle and ineffective.
Use Silicon Caulk For:
- Around sinks, tubs and showers. The silicone acts as a water and moisture repellant.
- When installing bath fixtures to seal gaps between shower tiles, between sinks and counters, and around the base of the toilet.
- Outdoors in areas exposed to direct sunlight or rain as the silicone helps the caulk last longer.
- If you have an older home, sealing around the foundation to prevent air from entering where siding overlaps the foundation. You should also fill and seal all exterior areas where different materials meet, such as around windows and doors.
- Normally used around the full perimeter of windows to help seal the window to the header, sill, jack stud and jamb.
- Paintable silicone caulk can be used around the outside of window units to properly seal the window and the siding edge, or around the entire door unit.
Using Drywall Tape and Compound
You can also use drywall compound instead of caulk, or if you want to take it even further, you can tape and mud the gap between the two panels.
Admittedly, it is difficult to get the tape even and it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to get the seam perfect since your VOG panels do not have tapered edges like drywall or Sheetrock. Still, if you’re more comfortable with drywall compound and tape it can be used to fill in the gaps.
You’ll still want to primer the wall and the seam between the VOG panels. Tape and mud as you would sheet rock.
Lastly, you will need to lightly sand the compound to create an even surface. Paint, texturize, or wallpaper for a finished look.
Check out this video for more tips on how to paint those vinyl walls in your mobile home:
Adding a Texture to Mobile Home Walls
Adding a texture to your mobile home walls is a great method of updating your mobile home walls.
Drywall compound is used most often to add texture because it’s affordable, easy to get, easy to work with, and easy to clean.
You’ll still want to use a primer on your walls before you apply the texture to get the proper bond. Once the primer is dry you can begin adding your texture to the wall.
You can go with simple textures such as the ‘stucco’ look, the sand or orange peel, or complex textures. You can even use stencils to create raised textures:
The following websites provide great step-by-step instructions for 3D wall texturing and stenciling with compound:
Domestic Diva: Raised Wall Art Trees
PlumDoodles: Faux Bricks Using Drywall Mud
Adding Orange Peel Texture to your Mobile Home Walls
One of our favorite websites, My Hearts Song, shares a step-by-step article about how they removed the strips and added an orange peel texture to their single-wide mobile home walls.
If removing the strips is your main priority and you want to texture your walls lightly, then you’ll definitely want to check it out. Geneva, the owner, has a great question and answer section, too.
Related: 11 Cheap DIY Wall Decor Ideas
Covering Mobile Home Walls with Wallpaper
You can give your mobile home walls a whole new look by removing the strips (battens) and hanging wallpaper.
If using wallpaper, you will want to make sure the paper is thick enough for your needs.
Paintable wallpaper is easy to hang but it needs to be thick enough to withstand the wet paint and keep the paper from showing the gap made by removing the battens. Of course, you can always fill the seam in with caulk or drywall compound (see below).
Image source: mymobilehomemakeover. Com
MyMobileHomeMakeover.com shares their experience wallpapering their double wide’s walls. You can read the article here. The article mentions one issue they encountered when wallpapering their bathroom:
In a bathroom we redid, we used only the wall repair wallpaper and painted it when we were done. This worked fairly well, but in some spots you can still tell there is an empty strip below the paper.
Wood Paneling in Mobile Homes
My 1978 mobile home had faux wood paneling throughout the home. It was super easy to paint thankfully. Two coats and I was done. However, I kept the paneling original with the lines or grooves. You don’t have to keep those, though. You can fill them in with spackle and then paint over them. Rachel Ray had a segment on her show that shows you how:
It is not easy to hang wallpaper with intricate patterns so try to find a solid or simple pattern that can be matched easily.
This Old House has a great tutorial for hanging wallpaper here.
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 and Manufactured Home Living!
149 Responses
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Looking at buying a foreclosed manufactured home, my question is: what paint and primer do I use over the gypsum panels? I am 19 and trying to put a lot of work to rehab the house.
Hi!
You can find some great recommendations in the article above. Congratulations and best of luck!
Hello, Has anyone used sand and paint to texture the exterior of their mobile home. I have wavie aluminum siding with lots of dings and it looks terrible. Any ideas would be appreciated.. thanks ahead…
has anyone ever replaced their ceilings with Bead board? I know it’s heavy, but so attractive for that country look. Am hoping someone has an answer. I have 1972 16′ x 70′ (Marlette) and I’d like to give it a facelift. Thank you for any input you folks might have. Thank you.
I love this site and all of the helpful information. Some great comments here too. Thanks!
Hi,
I didn’t see any article related to a saggy ceiling in a 1970s era double wide. Do I strip it down (I want to go to drywall if possible on ceiling and walls) Is it likely to be a structural problem or evidence of an old water leak? There is no current water leak or staining but the home was repainted recently so its possible any staining was hidden.
Hi Fay,
Sagging ceilings are usually a sign of dampness or leaks from your roof so you’ll want to make sure you find out what caused the sag before you replace the ceiling itself. It may not be a leak, it could be condensation caused by over insulating or poor circulation (vent covered). You’ll be able to see what’s going on better once you remove the old ceiling. I would imagine if it was a structural issue you would have more signs. If it’s sagging at the seam it may just be a loose nail (or screw).
It’s really hard to find full-length ceiling panels like the builders use so sheetrock is probably your best choice since you can remove the seams. You will probably want to hire a pro to do it and that can get expensive. They have special tools that can make the job easier. Of course, you can rent those tools if you are a DIYer.
I would love to get some photos from you as the job progresses. I need to write an article on this but without images it’s hard to do. Best of luck! My email is crystaladkins@mobilehomeliving.org if you need to contact me directly for anything. Best of luck!
how do i fill holes in my paneled bathroom walls. I want to change wall fixtures
I recently purchased a 1970 double wide mobile in which the previous owner applied wallpaper directly to the VOG wallboard. The wallpaper is coming loose at the seams and I would like to remove it and paint the walls. In trying to remove the wallpaper, some of the original covering on the walls is coming off. Before I go any further, can someone advise the best way to remove this wallpaper without damaging what is underneath? Thanks so much for any halp you can give!
Hi Sherri,
They used some really good paste and it’s sticking to that top coat of laminate on the wall. That laminate is basically just paper itself and it’s pretty important as it ‘holds’ the gypsum together and acts as a water barrier. I’m kinda at a loss here, I want to say a bit of steam may work to loosen the wallpaper from the laminate but you would need to be careful so the gypsum didn’t get wet. The wallpaper paste remover in a can may work, too.
A few areas of the laminate coming off may not be too much of an issue with a really good primer (Kilz). Otherwise, the paint may soak into the gypsum and make it look a bit different from the rest of the wall. It may be best to just leave the wallpaper and paint over that – this is not ideal, but if the damage to the wall is going to be too much you have three options, remove the panel and install sheetrock, paint over the wallpaper, or use some kind of texture over the wall to cover and blend in the areas the wallpaper has damaged.
Best of luck – let me know how it goes!
Thanks for this informative article. Like most I hate my vinyl walls in my 2015 home, especially the “accent” walls. This stuff makes teflon look like a sissy. I can’t stick anything to it. Picturing a puddle of paint on the floor along each wall. Looking at all the steps to paint I have to wonder if it might just be easier to just replace the wallboard with plain old pre-primed sheetrock and put 2 coats of paint instead of 5. Why do they do this? I mean, why not just set them up with primed plain walls and let folks paint? (let’s not ever start on the battens – ugh)
hi there, how would you recommend using a tile on these typed of walls? We just bought a modular home and the walls are the VOG panels. We would like to paint the walls and update the kitchen and bathroom using a ceramic or mosaic type tile.
Hi Sarah,
Usually you can, just make sure to use the right backer board and don’t choose really heavy tile.
Hi , we have a 1996 double wide 4 bedroom and the one bedroom someone used cheap paint over the wallpaper and the paint peeled off in some areas along with the wall paper living the walls uneven in those areas the room is kind of big I wondered how do I smooth out those areas , do I use spackle to fill it and sand it down flat ? Its only a few small areas to do ..any ideas ??
Hi Debbie,
Glue is what I always used when the wallpaper curled on me. Spray glue is especially handy for those hard to reach corners.
best of luck!
I know this is an old thread put I live in a small double wide, I would like to take our a THIN wall between my kitchen and family room, for that open concept. I will remove a bar and add an island. Scrap the popcorn ceiling, and new floors, new cabinets, rock on top of cabinets. new appliances. Put in new bath rooms, change all of the floors paint it and then once it is dressed and ready I plan on putting it up for sale This was suppose to be a temp home, well life got in the way. But it is time. It is loved in and lived in. I thought now was the time to add all of those special touches. What do you think?\
Hi Sharon,
Sounds like you are about to be living in a gorgeous home! You need to plan well so you aren’t in a perpetual construction zone (trust me!). Take lots of images so we can feature it when you are all finished.
I don’t know what to use to clean the walls. It’s a 2005 mobile & walls are filthy. It really doesn’t look like vinyl. When I tried to clean, walls started crumbling! I really don’t want to prime & paint over dirty walls. What to do?
Hi Tisha,
It kinda sounds like someone tried to peel the vinyl coating off the walls which left you with just the gypsum. That would explain the crumbling. Gypsum alone doesn’t stand up to water at all (and it won’t take paint well). If this is the case, I’d probably go with a good wallpaper. If the walls are just old and only crumbling in corners where the vinyl overlay may have peeled you can still prime and paint the wall but you may want to add a thin coating of drywall mud in the areas that are crumbling.
Usually, Pine-Sol or Dawn in a gallon of warm water is what I use to clean the walls.
Best of luck. Let me know how it goes.
The best cleaner I have ever used for walls that are to be painted is TSP (tri-sodium-phosphate). It’s available at pretty much any of the big box stores in their painting depts. Don’t forget the rubber gloves!
As for the walls crumbling – use a good oil base primer (I HIGHLY recommend XIM available at Sherwin Williams) to seal the gypsum. The XIM is quite forgiving and can seal over most contaminants as long as the surface isn’t obliterated with crud.
Once the sealed area has dried, you’re good to go.
NOTE! XIM should be applied in a VERY well vented area.
As I said in another comment mine is a fixer upper some of the walls are beyond paint. I’ve done a mixture in the bathroom of paint white bead board and quarter inch plywood. I thought I would paint the wood the grain in it looks nice so decided to clear coat it. The living room planing to do a faux ship lap.
Hi Thelma,
I love the look of bead board. I’m always looking for home remodels to share on the site. I would love to see how you did the plywood with stain. I’ve noticed that’s a big trend in home design. I bet it looks great!
If you would let me share your projects please email me at crystaladkins@mobilehomeliving.org. Thanks so much!
We have a 1995 double, and it has the ugliest wallboards you ever saw. I redid a small room using Kilz and a quality Glidden paint. After 3-4 coats of Kilz and 2 coats of paint, you could still see the pattern. Ugh. Another two coats fixed it. NOW, however, I have found Nirvana!! Behr Marquee paint will cover the pattern in ONE coat, and with the second coat, a flawless, gorgeous appearance emerges. Yeah, it’s $40+ a gallon at the Orange Place, but it is worth every penny in the ease of application – NO spatter – and the reduction of the frustration index. You can buy a small jar for under $5, and they will tint it to the color you desire. It will almost cover one 4 ft. section of wall so you can try before you buy the whole gallon.
Thanks for the tip! Usually, 2-3 light coats of paint will cover near anything (especially with Kilz). These new paints are amazing – you really get what you pay for!
Thanks for reading MHL!
Crystal,
Thank you for all the mobile home decorating tips. One problem that I am having is that the paper around my bathroom skylights is coming loose/off. It just looks like some cheap cream colored wallpaper stuff. I am wondering where I get the stuff that looks like wood (like on our home doors), that I can replace/use instead of that? My kitchen skylite has it around there and it matches the rest of the faux wood looking stuff throughout my house. Please help if you can.
Hi Sue!
Skylights are awesome but they do tend to need extra repairs over time. As long as you aren’t removing the seal used (or at least replace it or add to it) you should be able to change just about everything around the window without any issues. I’d remove a small section of trim and see what it looks like behind it. It may be a great time to give it a whole new look and make it even stronger against water.
best of luck!
Crystal. Good post but I must disagree with one point. The key to getting a good finish paint job anywhere, and this comes from 30+ years of professional painting with my dad (who’s is WAY old-school about painting), is NOT in painting several light coats and letting it dry. Anyone who’s done that does so because they don’t really know how to paint. If you really know what you are doing, and if you’re using good paint, you can get a perfect finish in two coats, not including the primecoat. If the paint is REALLY good and you’ve used properly tinted primer, there is a technique that will get it done in one coat. But you have to know how. Most people when they paint with a roller go at it like a rooster flogging something. Random strokes every which way trying to get it to cover while never dipping into their paint. Firstly, except for very small jobs, NEVER use a roller frame without at least a 4 foot rolling pole. Invest in a good expandable pole if you can. Secondly, load the roller with paint. And keep it loaded for each section you roll. Thirdly, roll a 2-3 foot section of the wall, rolling all the way up and down in one stroke then moving over the width of the roller head. Then backroll over what you just did and into the previous section. If you’ve done it right, you’ll leave a trail of lines that are excess paint from the edge of the roller. Don’t leave them there, they’ll be there forever. The backrolling will smooth them out and blend with the previous section. It takes practice, but if you master it you can have a perfectly rolled wall.
Gary – Perfect advice! I would only add: Buy a “best” roller cover. Cheap covers can leave roller fuzz all over a wall – and it will show. On the other hand, a good quality REAL sheepskin roller will hold a good amount of paint, and leave a nice finish on the wall. Finally, match the roller to the type of paint. Some are latex and oil – while others are specific to latex or oil paints.
LOL. I’ll never paint again without thinking of the rooster. :) Great info. Thanks!
Hi Crystal,
Great site! It has been a huge resource as my wife and I just bought a foreclosed 1997 manufactured home (our first) and have started the process of updating/renovating. I do have a couple quick questions on the VOG walls, if you’d indulge me. It looks like the previous owner (or maybe the bank?) went through the process of painting over the ugly vinyl wallpaper print. Its better, but not great, so we intend to repaint. Since there is already paint on the walls, do we need to sand? prime? sand & prime? – Or – Would we be OK just painting over the existing paint. Also, there is a medium sized hole in the living room. In your experience, will drywall patch and joint compound be OK to repair this before painting?
Hi Zach,
I would probably use a good paint with primer in it. That will give you some good adhesion and coverage without requiring another coat. Hopefully, the painter cleaned the walls well before they painted. If they didn’t you can sometimes just peel the paint right off the walls (it’s kinda fun to do).
Since you are painting and don’t have to worry about the pattern on the walls, you can use a patch kit. Sometimes, the mesh in the kits aren’t the best fit (or size) so don’t worry if you find you need a tighter mesh to make the transition smoother. It’s just a difference in the paneling.
Best of luck!
I enjoyed reading about ways to upgrade the walls in my mobile home. I do have a question: is there a location where I can find tape that matches the Harvest Wheat pattern in my 2009 Palm Harbor Home? I love the pattern but dislike the battens. When I worked for a regional building supply company, we had tape that could be used to cover the edges of our wallpapered paneling to create the perception of one large, patterned wall. I thought this might be a viable alternative to ‘tape and bed’ in the house. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Curtis,
I wish I knew of a reliable supply for those printed tapes. I’ve only seen one place have them on hand and that was a supply house in NC that was real close to a builder (I assumed they bought unused stock from the builders). I haven’t seen any since unfortunately. Sorry!
Hi, super site here, I’ve learned a lot here and realize I’m in for more work than anticipated. We purchased a foreclosed manufactured home, 1997 Redman. The interior has been badly damaged, ripped out wiring, furnace, AC, water heater and all appliances. The interior needs a total rework, drywall repair and paint is my concern for now. Wondering if there are any drawbacks to spray painting the ceiling and walls after proper prep work described on your site? Many thanks,
Terry
There shouldn’t be. That’s how they paint ceilings and walls professionally. Of course, you won’t be using cans of spray paint, but a paint gun.
Crystal,
I would love your help! We have a 2015 Clayton Home. We bought it brand new. Very nice home!!! All walls are drywall, except the bedrooms. and I hate that! So, I am starting room by room, to slowly get rid of those horrible panel strips. I was reading through your blog, and immediately got overwhelmed! Would you mind helping me with step by step instructions and give me some inspiration. Aside from making the walls LOOK better (paint) is there anyway to make them FEEL better (make them more sturdy and not feel so cheap and thin and echoy?)
I would sooooo appreciate your help/advice!!! Thank you!
Hi Jesse!
You should look into adding beadboard or wainscoting to your walls to beef them up (other than adding bigger studs you’re limited to bulking them up with additional paneling and that can get complicated but installing it on the bottom third isn’t too big a job). Paintable wallpaper is another favorite of mine to get rid of the strips (fill them in with caulk or mud so the seam isn’t as noticeable). Use the thickest you can find.
Best of luck!
Sure wish I had found this thread a few months ago. I tried to paint over some faux wood wainscotting and window reveals of my 1988 Shutz. I scrubbed and then primed but didn’t use the right primer. The paint scratched off with the slightest touch.
I ended up having to strip off all of the fresh paint and starting over with the correct primer. Yeach! What a waste of time and money. (I’ll let you know what products I used at a later date. Recoverin from a hip replacement right now.)
Good to hear you are recovering Mary Margeret! I did the same thing when I tried to paint the trim around the top of the bathroom. I thought it was wood but nope, it was some kind of plastic composite. It scratched right off, too!
Hope you heal quickly!
when you say trim at the top of your bathroom, so you mean the flat fake trim they outline the rooms with including the ceiling which is like a contact paper stiff over fake wood strips?
Yes, ma’am!
You know I was amazed not to find any information on painting the cabinets. I have a C Class Jamboree and the cabinets have a vinyl paper over particle board. Is this the same as the VOG you have mentioned on the walls?
Also I am wondering since the cabinets are this type of product is spray painting would be better?
BTW amazing blog I have wanted to remodel the rig for two years but could not find enough info to give me the confidence I needed to get started. Thanks so much for your time and talent.
Looking forward to your reply.
Hi Grama,
Yes, the information in this article is relevant to the particle board cabinetry since they have coated paper. Clean the cabinets very well, prime with a high quality primer and use a good paint.
If you have access to a spray gun you should absolutely use it. Light coats are the trick.
Pam shared some great information about painting her cabinets in this article: https://mobilehomeliving.org/budget-friendly-mobile-home-kitchen-makeover/
Best of luck!!