Small Leak Caused Wallpaper To Warp

[dlt123me]

I have a small leak in my MH and it caused one panel of my wallpaper in my bedroom to warp with rolls and waves. I am fixing the leak first then tackling the wallpaper afterwards..

I am wondering what to do, since I will not be able to find a replacement wallpaper to match the existing paper and I've been thinking of ways to fix that strip of paper. I'm asking for ideas of what to do without taking all the paper down and putting up new WP all around.

I've been thinking of taking down that one section of WP and running an iron with low heat over the waves and warps to iron out of the wallpaper then putting it back up. Can you iron wallpaper, on very low heat, to take out waves and warps?

My concern is that I will possibly tear the WP if I try to take it down... It's only one section and the seam is up from the wall, so I can slip some glue behind the wallpaper if I decide to not take it down and iron it while in place on the wall.

What do others think, is there a better way to fix this or should I strip out that section completely and replace with something else... such as a fabric or lining? Is my ironing idea crazy?

Any help is appreciated.. Thanks,

Dennis

[Donna D.]

Dennis, you've landed on a forum that's dedicated to all-molded towables which is a different build type than your Fleetwood Jamboree. Ours are built like fiberglass boats, no inner framework. I sincerely suggest you check out IRV2.com or the Open Road forums on RV.net. You'll find trailers of your build type there.


Best of luck!

[SherryNPaul]

FYI, if this is a factory "wallpaper" on a stick-built trailer, it's likely an actual part of the panel. It's not really "removable" and replaceable. Sorry.
You may be able to remove that section, but I'd wait until the roof leak is fixed, and the offending panel has dried with a heater or a/c inside running and see how it looks.
My neighbors fixed up a twenty year old motor home with leaks. They managed to salvage the panels, as the leaks weren't too bad, and painted over the panels.
Good luck. Unfortunately, this forum is dedicated to molded trailers, and we don't deal with those issues in our trailers often.
Sherry

[dlt123me]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Dennis, you've landed on a forum that's dedicated to all-molded towables which is a different build type than your Fleetwood Jamboree. Ours are built like fiberglass boats, no inner framework. I sincerely suggest you check out IRV2.com or the Open Road forums on RV.net. You'll find trailers of your build type there.


Best of luck!

Thanks Donna and SherryNPal... Just trying to get this remedied before I sell it so I can buy a Fiberglass trailer. Thought maybe someone here would have some suggestions... Thanks for the links though.

Dennis

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by dlt123me

...Just trying to get this remedied before I sell it so I can buy a Fiberglass trailer. Thought maybe someone here would have some suggestions...

Sounds like a smart plan! Many of our eggs, as mentioned, have some kind of carpeting or headliner on the walls and ceiling, so we aren't used to dealing with paneling. However, many of our members have previous experience with conventional RVs, and some molded fiberglass trailers do have paneling, so I wouldn't give up. Some good pictures of the damage would help, and see what the creative folks here come up with.

Best wishes!

[Darral T.]

Sounds like a good place for some wall "decor" .

I have a friend who just came to me last night with a junky Forest River Surveyor that's delaminating. He's found a fix on youtube that epoxies it from the outside between the walls.... and basically, that's what YOU have as well but interior delamination. But the interior is a "luan" ? type of material made of of wood laminates with the wallpaper basically made on to it.

Good luck and you're making the right choice with fiberglass. I like the sizes of the larger "laminate" trailers and the layouts and wont say that I will never own one if I full-time. But for longevity and resale? You will NOT beat fiberglass trailers!

Originally Posted by dlt123me

I have a small leak in my MH and it caused one panel of my wallpaper in my bedroom to warp with rolls and waves. I am fixing the leak first then tackling the wallpaper afterwards..

I am wondering what to do, since I will not be able to find a replacement wallpaper to match the existing paper and I've been thinking of ways to fix that strip of paper. I'm asking for ideas of what to do without taking all the paper down and putting up new WP all around.

I've been thinking of taking down that one section of WP and running an iron with low heat over the waves and warps to iron out of the wallpaper then putting it back up. Can you iron wallpaper, on very low heat, to take out waves and warps?

My concern is that I will possibly tear the WP if I try to take it down... It's only one section and the seam is up from the wall, so I can slip some glue behind the wallpaper if I decide to not take it down and iron it while in place on the wall.

What do others think, is there a better way to fix this or should I strip out that section completely and replace with something else... such as a fabric or lining? Is my ironing idea crazy?

Any help is appreciated.. Thanks,

Dennis

[Kai in Seattle]

I don't want to sound arrogant, but I have done this with regular wallpaper, and I taught interior design (community service) for a few years as well as ran an independent interior design biz for a while.

As others have suggested, some close-up photos would help, plus info about whether this is "added" wallpaper or something bonded to the wallboard.


If it is "loose" or added paper, then I might slit it carefully with a sharp x-acto knife all along the apex of the bulges all the way to the "corners" or edges of the bulge. Then carefully use a thin or narrow brush to coat the inside with a nice thick glue like tacky glue or even Elmer's wood glue, and press it with the lower section first to the wallboard, then overlap the top section. Use something like thin plastic sheets (thin cutting board types) over it and hold tightly in place with that blue masking tape or stand something against it like a board to hold a cutting board in place. Try it on another part of the wall first to see if you can peel the tape off later without harm. Let it dry thoroughly. If you are careful and slit it far enough, it should lap over and be fairly hard to see. But ironing it? No. You'll end up with a bigger mess than you have now. The water caused the paper fibers to expand, and they don't go back to size even when dry. If it were a piece of notebook paper you could try ironing it, but with much of it still attached to the wall it doesn't really work.

It's a slow, "exacting" fix, but should work pretty well. (x-acto blade~exacting--pun inended).

If it's bonded to the paneling, it may be the panel itself that is warped, in which case, never mind.




This is all my opinion. I've done things like this, and the slit and glue method does work. In fact...it's how I've fixed wallpaper indoors on more than one occasion. It's a standard for "blisters" in wallpaper, though there they suggest wallpaper paste. Be sure to use a clean, damp sponge or cloth to wipe off all excess glue before it's entirely dry or you'll make a shiny spot that'll be harder to get off later on--if it matters to you.

Best luck! Will you let us know what you decide to do and how it goes?

[dlt123me]

Some have asked for pictures... So here are a few...















Thanks for the ideas everyone..

Dennis

[dlt123me]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

...

This is all my opinion. I've done things like this, and the slit and glue method does work. In fact...it's how I've fixed wallpaper indoors on more than one occasion. It's a standard for "blisters" in wallpaper, though there they suggest wallpaper paste. Be sure to use a clean, damp sponge or cloth to wipe off all excess glue before it's entirely dry or you'll make a shiny spot that'll be harder to get off later on--if it matters to you.

Best luck! Will you let us know what you decide to do and how it goes?

Good idea... thanks,
Dennis

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi, Dennis, nice looking pattern, a shame to have to mess with it.

A point about small "bubbles" or blisters--you don't have to slit them, you can just poke the center and squeeze some glue in (a thin little brush helps a lot). Then gently push from the outer perimeter toward the tiny hole, pushing the air out and helping it adhere. If it's small enough, that'll work well if you have any such blisters.

Best.

[dlt123me]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

Hi, Dennis, nice looking pattern, a shame to have to mess with it.

A point about small "bubbles" or blisters--you don't have to slit them, you can just poke the center and squeeze some glue in (a thin little brush helps a lot). Then gently push from the outer perimeter toward the tiny hole, pushing the air out and helping it adhere. If it's small enough, that'll work well if you have any such blisters.

Best.

I thought the same thing... I just need to see where I can buy a hypo needle to shoot some glue into the blisters or WP separations.. Not sure what kind of glue to use at this point.. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the input..
Dennis

[alan H]

Ask someone who is diabetic i m sure they can help with a needle
Glue type is another matter


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Kai in Seattle]

As I suggested earlier, perhaps some Tacky Glue or Elmer's Wood Glue. Both are fairly thick and sticky, both will hold under slightly damper conditions than school glue or paste. Neither requires solvents and both can be washed away with plain water or in the laundry if you get them on your clothing.

By the way, they both make very good splinter removers from your skin: you put a thin layer over the splinter and wait until it's dry. Then start pushing at an edge and roll it off the skin; it will usually pull the (often tiny) splinter along with it as you roll it off.

Not so sure you can inject these thick glues with a diabetic needle, but if you want to try, you "can" buy needles at a drugstore without a prescription now. I'd get a pretty large (thick) needle...you can also make a slightly bigger hole (or even better, cut a small X) to start with in the wallpaper, and then only cut a VERY tiny hole in the tip of the glue bottle.

Wish we were there; it's possibly a simple fix, but there are so many variables. Be SURE to do this first (and maybe 2nd and 3rd) somewhere as out-of-sight as you can find before going for the really obvious places. There's a learning curve.

Best.

[dlt123me]

Thanks everyone... I think I have an idea for what to do now... Hope all your suggestions help someone else who stumbles upon this thread.

Dennis