Prepping Your Walls

Last updated: 7 August 2026

This is the least glamorous step and the most important. A perfectly hung wallpaper will still look poor over a bad wall — and a well-prepped wall makes hanging far easier. Spend the time here.

The goal

Your wall needs to be four things: clean, dry, smooth, and sound.

Step 1 — Clean

Wipe the wall down to remove dust, grease and cobwebs. Sugar soap does this properly and is worth using in kitchens especially, where a greasy film can stop paste gripping even when the wall looks clean. Rinse, and let it dry fully.

Step 2 — Repair

  • Fill any holes, cracks and dents with filler.
  • Once dry, sand smooth so you can't feel the repair with your hand.
  • Wipe away the sanding dust.

Bumps and lumps show through wallpaper, so this is worth doing properly.

Step 3 — Sound surface

Press and check the existing surface. If there's old flaking paint or loose old wallpaper, it has to come off — paste won't hold new paper onto a surface that's letting go. See How to Remove Wallpaper if there's old paper to strip.

Freshly painted? Paint needs about four weeks to cure properly, not just to dry to the touch. Hanging over paint that is dry but not cured is one of the more common causes of lifting later. If the room was painted last weekend, the wall isn’t ready.

Textured walls

Not every Australian wall is flat. Orange-peel, knockdown and rendered finishes will read through wallpaper, and a heavy texture will show through almost anything.

The honest options are: skim coat the wall to flatten it, line it with lining paper, or choose a design busy enough to disguise it. A dense pattern is far more forgiving here than a plain, a fine stripe or anything with long straight lines — texture is at its most obvious where the eye expects a flat, even field.

Skim coating is a real job. If you have never done it, expect the first wall to be practice.

Step 4 — Seal if needed (sizing/priming)

  • Fresh plaster or filler is very absorbent and will suck the moisture out of your paste. Seal it first with a suitable primer or size so the paste grips properly and you can still slide the paper into place.
  • Glossy or previously painted walls may need a light sand and a suitable primer so paste can grab.

Why priming matters more than it sounds. Sealing the wall does two jobs. The obvious one is grip. The one people discover too late is removal: paper hung straight onto bare or porous plasterboard can take the surface of the board with it when it eventually comes off. A sealed wall gives the paper something to release from. It is the difference between a strip-out and a repair job, and you won’t find out which you have for another decade.

If you're unsure what your wall needs, check the advice on your wallpaper's product page, or ask us.

Step 5 — Switch off and unscrew

For safety and a tidy finish, turn off the power and loosen (don't fully remove) socket and switch faceplates so you can tuck paper neatly behind them. Turn power back on only once everything is dry.

A quick checklist before you hang

  • ☐ Wall is clean and grease-free
  • ☐ Holes filled and sanded smooth
  • ☐ Old flaking paint / loose paper removed
  • ☐ Fresh plaster or filler sealed
  • ☐ Faceplates loosened, power off
  • ☐ Wall fully dry

Tick all six and you're ready for How to Hang Wallpaper.