The wallpapering seems to be one of the most popular do-it-yourself activities. It saves money, and it’s fun to redecorate your own flat or house.

Crucial: the right tools!

Thorough work is important, but you must have the right equipment too. The mako-wallpapering center is the right partner in this case: special tools designed by professionals, tested practically, easy to use, timesaving. By using the mako-wallpapering center you can work like a professional but much cheaper!

Wallpaper

While buying wallpaper pay attention to the symbols on the labels. They will inform you about the consistency of the wallpaper and about the right way to work with it.

In the same time, please don’t forget to check the production number on the wallpaper roll, buy only such rolls that have the same production number, otherwise they can differ in colour and pattern.

In the table below you can find out how much of the wallpaper you need (if you plan to work with pattern wallpaper you will have to add few additional rolls for the processing):

1. The preparation

If it’s possible try to remove all the furniture from the room you plan to wallpaper. Space is crucial for successful wallpapering. If it is not possible cover all the furniture and the floor with the mako Turbo Cover covering foil.

A thorough preparation of the surface is a basic requirement if you want to achieve satisfactory results!

Before starting you have to remove all the old wallpaper. Try to macerate the wallpaper with detergent water or water with a little bit of vinegar – use the mako ceiling brush. Then you have to scrape it all off the wall, you can use the mako scratcher or the mako spatula.
Try to make this process even faster: before macerating the wallpaper treat it with a perforating roller first, so the fluid can penetrate much easier. Sometimes when the residues are extremely hard to peel off, use a special fluid - wallpaper detacher.

mako professional hint:
probably the fastest way to peel off wallpaper of the wall is by using the mako wallpaper detacher with steam. The device produces steam out of regular water. The steam penetrates the wallpaper and the old paste layer. You can work approx. 1h with one water filling.

2. Check the surface

Before starting please note: the wall must be dust free, free of loose or flaking parts and of course it must be able to absorb the paste.

mako hint:
if you want to know whether the underground is firm enough, take a small stripe of an adhesive tape and press it against the wall, and then tear it back. Residues on the tape indicate that the wall is not in a best condition and the underground must be pretreated before the wallpapering.

Wet the wall slightly with plain water, but please note: if the wall shows any signs of flaking or intense fluid absorbing– it must be pretreated with a primer, please use the mako special primer brush.

Wholes and cracks have to be filled in with spackle and then be smoothed.

Do you want to use the old anchor wholes after the wallpapering? Just put a match into such whole before attaching the wallpaper It will perforate the wallpaper, so you can find it without problems!

Don’t forget:
switch off all fuses; deinstall all affected wall outlets and switches. Pay attention! Are your home devices – alarm device, refrigerator, your computer affected by the lack of power?

3. Cutting to length

Measure the room’s height in each of the room’s angles. How to know how long each wallpaper pass should be?
Add the highest measured height and approx. 8 – 10 cm for the surplus. You can use the first pass as a pattern for all the following.

If you want to work with pattern wallpaper, you must know that you always need to arrange for the same piece of pattern matching together on both passes. There are marks on the backside of the wallpaper that make this matching easier.

mako professional hint:
if you use the mako wallpaper cutter “easy cut” you can cut any required wallpaper pass, in any required length, without scratching the table.

mix the paste according to producer’s advice. In general it is always better to mix it little bid thicker than too thin. – you can always add some water! After mixing the paste needs time to mature.
For further information please read the producer’s information on the package.

Important:
always use suitable paste, and read the further details on the package. If using mako pasting machine we recommend a special paste available at mako too.

Apply the paste with a special mako paste brush evenly and don’t make the paste layer too thick. Wrap the 2/3 of the wallpaper’s upper part and 1/3 of the wallpaper’s lower part, and let it mature for few minutes, or according to the producer’s advice.

Apply the paste to only so many wallpaper passes you can work with within app. 15 min. Of course you have to use them in accordance to the order of pasting.

mako professional hint:
an evenly applied paste is a basic requirement, if you want to achieve satisfactory results. Please use the mako pasting machine. It is extremely sturdy and thorough (you can define the layer of the paste up to a millimeter!). The wallpaper will be pushed through the machine and in the same time it will be pasted, so that you can cut it evenly on the ending edge. The machine can completely be dismantled and cleaned up with plain water.

An extra hint:
you can save a small amount of the paste for later fixing. Fill it in a glass, that you can close and set it up side down in a relatively cold place – an isolation layer will emerge between the glass’ lid and the paste, so the paste it will not dry out.

5. Wallpaper the walls

Apply the paste both to the wallpaper pass and to the wall (a little bit thinner than the layer on the wallpaper pass), in oder to be able to remove each pass to even it out.

There are no upright and straight walls. That is the reason why we always recommend to plumb the first wallpaper pass with a plumb – line, and to mark it on the wall with a pencil. All the following passes can be adjusted to the first pass. But it will definitely help if you plumb from time to time to be sure, you are still on the right track.

Attach the pass to the wall, according to the marks and don’t forget to leave some surplus on the ceiling side.

Even out the upper portion using the mako wallpaper brush, a mako wallpaper roller or a wallpaper scraper starting in the middle and moving to the upper end.

If you are sure that the upper part is just fine and firm start to work on the lower part.

Seams between the passes can be evened out with the mako seam roller, but please note: it doesn’t work with structured or imprinted wallpaper.

Are there any bladders under the wallpaper? Use the paste syringe and apply the paste directly to these areas, and even them out. Wall outlets and switches: wallpaper over them, and cut them out after the wallpaper dried out using the mako switch cutter.

 

Ceiling and floor boarders
Mark the edge between the ceiling or the floor and the walls using the back of a scissors.

Then remove the wallpaper from the wall as far as needed to cut off the surplus along the mark, and of course put the wallpaper pass back to the wall and even it out.
It works exactly the same way on the boarder between the wall and the floor..

mako professional hint:
To mark the cutting edge exactly you may use the mako wallpapering bar. You can press it into the angle and then cut the surplus with a sharp knife directly on the wall.

Reveals
use the rest parts of the wallpaper for the reveals, or put the passes on both sides of the window so you have so much surplus, it is enough for the reveal.

Doors
you can either prepare the passes and cut them, so they reach only to the doorframe, or you can wallpaper over the door and cut it out afterwards.

Angles and protrusions
lay the pass over the angle, app. 5 mm. lay the next pass exactly over the end of the first one. Check if they are upright.

A protrusion is always an eye-catcher. If you plan to work with pattern wallpaper put the wallpaper in the middle of the protrusion first, and continue wallpapering from this point on.

mako hint:
freshly applied wallpaper dries the best in a regular ambient temperature. Please avoid draft, or too high temperature, otherwise the wallpaper joints can burst or in the worst case all passes can peel away from the wall!

6. Wallpaper the ceiling

put the wallpaper pass in a kind of accordion shape it will make it easier to work over your head. Apply the paste to the ceiling.

It’s important to know how the light falls into the room. Start to wallpaper the ceiling close to the window, and apply the passes diagonally to it.

Mark a straight line on the ceiling with the chalk line, so you are sure the first wallpaper pass can be applied exactly.

Apply the first wallpaper pass exactly along this line and reveal the wallpaper bit by bit and even it out with a brush.

It will make your work much easier if you have someone to help you out. This person can press the wallpaper on the ceiling with a clean broom.

mako hint:
don’t forget to turn on the fuse after wallpapering, so you can avoid things like e.g. the de-frosting of the freezer.

If you work according to our recommendations your wallpapering will be a success and you will be able to enjoi the results for a long time!

Your shopping list:

1. Basic equipment
	Wallpaper (how to know how much you need, see above)
	Paste according to the detailed recommendations of the wallpaper producer
	mako Turbo Cover a covering foil and adhesive tape in one. You can work extra fast and extra clean!
	Paste board (table), the best use the mako alu tec, a real professional table,
	mako paste brush and bucket
	mako all-purpose wallpaper scratcher or mako wallpaper brush or mako wallpaper roller
	mako flex-scraper
	mako seam roller
	mako pocket rule
	pencil
	mako wallpaper shears we recommend mako super shears, extra sharp and easy to use
	mako plumb-line
	mako wallpaper bar
	mako utility knife
	ladder