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Question about glueing onto a painted surface


TheBamaMan

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Hello all! Glad I found this forum because my step-daughter received the Victoria's farmhouse (RGT) for Christmas and I am putting it together. Very much enjoying this also. Using the manual and the website the manual recommends as I go. Been a very slow process because i do not want to get in a hurry and mess up at all. I am sure I will have lots of questions but these are the two I need to know initially:

Due to leaving an area or line of bare wood for the walls to glue to the floor and ceiling, it got me to thinking. Can I glue flooring (hardwood or whatever type) and wallpaper to a painted surface? Reason I ask is that we do not have all the wallpaper/flooring yet (actually none of it) and I wanted to basically go ahead and paint the interior so it will look nice for her and then go back and do wallpaper and floors. Will it still stick?

Also, I would assume its MUCH easier to decorate the walls and floors of each room as you build each floor. I see though, most folks build it, then go back and wallpaper or whatever. Besides being slower, what are the drawbacks of doing wallpaper and floors as you build it? It sure seems like it would be tough to do all that with the entire thing put together. Even as big as the VH is, its got to be tough to work in an area that small.

I have the outside walls painted and the two porch sections so far. I have glued down the first floor walls to the foundation. Basically just painting ahead the second and third floors and ceilings for now. Like I said, I am in no hurry on this thing. I hope it looks perfect when I get done.

Thx for your help!

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I don't do wallpaper, I prefer to paint. In real and mini life, but I do know a lot of old hands at kit building do prefer to paint and paper as they go along, rather than saving it for the end. Even for painting, it's easier to do as much as I can as I go along. Turning dollhouses upside down because you forgot to paint the ceiling can sometimes be a real pain.

As for glueing painted wood, I'd sand the painted area a bit to get a little "tooth" on it.

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I don't do wallpaper, I prefer to paint. In real and mini life, but I do know a lot of old hands at kit building do prefer to paint and paper as they go along, rather than saving it for the end. Even for painting, it's easier to do as much as I can as I go along. Turning dollhouses upside down because you forgot to paint the ceiling can sometimes be a real pain.

As for glueing painted wood, I'd sand the painted area a bit to get a little "tooth" on it.

OK cool. thx for the info. Yea i could see how it would be tough to turn it upside down, lol. This being my first one, its tough not knowing exactly what I have to do. Or better yet "when" i need to do something.

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You definitely want to glue onto bare wood. If you glue something onto paint, the glue will bond to the paint (which can peel away) and not the wood, causing a lot of problems not too far down the road.

I too agree with everyone here. I would hate to have to do all of the interior finishing work in a confined space. That's why I build my houses in sections and connect everything together after I have as much of the finishing details completed. Of course, all of my houses are scratch-built, so I design them to be built that way from the beginning. Sounds like you're taking the right approach. Don't rush anything, just go at your own pace. That way you won't be kicking yourself later if it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it.

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You definitely want to glue onto bare wood. If you glue something onto paint, the glue will bond to the paint (which can peel away) and not the wood, causing a lot of problems not too far down the road.

Ummmm ... it depends on what you're gluing. Wood to wood ought to be bare wood to bare wood. But before wallpapering, you really should prime the wall in some way ... gesso, acrylic paint, sanding sealer ... whatever floats your boat. The chemicals in the wood will eventually discolor the paper if it's glued onto bare wood. If you go to my miniatures blog (link below) and scroll back a few posts, you'll see a photo of what happened to white paper glued onto bare wood 50 years ago or more. It's now grocery bag tan.

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You'll want to paper the bay on the first floor, and do the hinged 'bumpout' for sure, before you attach them. I did the bay after and it is doable, but not easy. However, most of the rooms are plenty big enough to paper afterwards. This house is not one you want to have to turn upside down to paint ceilings, though!

Also, when you start putting down baseboards, start at the back and work your way forward so that you can see the ends you are trying to match. It makes the bay and the bumpouts much easier to do a good job on.

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The trick to wallpapering before has to do with doing the dry fit first. Once I know what paper will go where I can lay out the adjacent walls to apply the paper and dropmatch the pattern and figure laps to minimize glaring seams. You want to glue wood to wood (with wood glue!); otherwise, as KathieB mentioned, you'll want to seal the wood before painting or papering, either with a clear sealer or with primer (which, IMO, does a better job). If you've already painted the floors you might want to make a template of card or heavy paper and apply your flooring to that.

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Ummmm ... it depends on what you're gluing. Wood to wood ought to be bare wood to bare wood. But before wallpapering, you really should prime the wall in some way ... gesso, acrylic paint, sanding sealer ... whatever floats your boat. The chemicals in the wood will eventually discolor the paper if it's glued onto bare wood. If you go to my miniatures blog (link below) and scroll back a few posts, you'll see a photo of what happened to white paper glued onto bare wood 50 years ago or more. It's now grocery bag tan.

The wood may have some effect, but the most likely culprit is the glue. Glue, like paint, will eventually oxidize. Thats why white paint eventually turns yellow and then orange. If I were to glue anything onto paint, the paint would have to be applied to a good primer first, and even then you might encounter peeling. Then again, my experience has been with model kits and vinyl signs, where good contact to the structual surface is important. The one time I wallpapered a house I applied a layer of joint compound to smooth the surface of the walls, but sanded joint compound is an excellent surface for adhesives.

One other consideration is that in 50 years my great grandkids might want to rehab it and change everything anyway! :)

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