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Best way to paint over existing stencil?

16 years ago

I have a stencil design in the powder room which I want to paint over with a light camel color. The stencil is in medium toned shades with a kind of vine pattern. Is there a stencil solvent that you can wipe on and get the stencil off before painting or should I just prime the stenciled area before painting?

Just want to do it the easiest and most effective way.

Thanks for your help.

Comments (4)

scottmel
16 years ago
I use to have rose/blue stencil in my upstairs hallway. I painted the hallway one day just a natural creme color and never primed or removed the stencil. I use Benjamin Moore paint and it has terrific coverage. You may not even need to prime or remove the stencil..
sarschlos_remodeler
16 years ago
You should be able to paint over it directly. However, depending upon the type of stencil paint used (and the texture on the wall), some of the texture of the former stencil design may show through, even with full coverage of the color. You might need to touch up the texturing to blend with the rest of the wall before painting.
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If in doubt, make a couple square foot test spot before committing to the whole wall. I doubt you will have problems. I would give a little additional dry time for the primer, rather than the short hour or so that the primer can will state. It will suck up quite a bit of primer. In terms of adhesion, Gripper is the best water based primer I have tested of all those I sell. The goal is top wet through and solidify that porous,chalky paint and bond to the solid paint below it. Gripper is also sold under the Glidden label at Home Depot. It is part of the growing PPG family of paints. World wide, PPG ( Pittsburgh Paint and Glass ) dwarfs Sherwin Williams.
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DLM2000-GW
16 years ago
Did you do the stencil? If you did then you know what kind of paint was used. If it's acrylic or latex, a good blockout primer should be all you'll need. You might get away with not priming but I'd hate to wake up in a few months to find that it bled through. If the stencil is oil - there are oil paint sticks and paint pots that are in decorative painting - then you REALLY need a blockout primer for sure. The other thing to do whether the stencil is oil or latex is to lightly sand it - just a few big swipes with a fine sanding block. You may not see it now but the shape of the stencil can telegraph through a new coat of paint.
mclarke
16 years ago
If it were me...

I would paint the first coat with no primer, no sanding. Then see where you stand.

If it's gonna bleed, you'll know it right away.

If you need to sand, you'll know exactly where and how much.

Do what you need to do, then, put on the second coat.

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