Some weeks back I spent some time googling how to trim or cut wet wallpaper. I watched some decent decorating Youtube videos which were incredibly informative on this subject.
I decided to attempt to wallpaper a small wall by myself. And watching some how to apply wallpaper videos I felt confident to tackle this on my own. I equipped myself with the correct Solvite paste the paper paste. A wallpaper brush, wallpaper smoother, sharp scissors and a sharp blade. Oh and some step ladders and a wallpapering table.
I gleaned from all the information out there on google that the cutting tools to use must be extra sharp. The reason behind this is I was using a paste the paper wallpaper. So I added the paste on to the back of the wallpaper. And left it to soak in for several minutes. The wallpaper after being left felt soggy and felt like it was stretching as I carried it from the wallpaper table to the wall.
Wet Wallpaper Cutter
So as I said you MUST have the sharpest scissors or blade. If not you have to be prepared to rip or shred the edges where it just looks jagged and untidy. Over the years I have seen many shots on Instagram where budding DIY enthusiasts have cut the edges of wet wallpaper and honestly it looks a mess. So when you watch any videos on how to cut wet wallpaper it looks so quick and easy. But it wasn’t that easy when I did it for myself. But keep in mind this was my first attempt at wallpapering. I pasted the wallpaper and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then I applied it to the wall and smoothed it out with the wallpaper smoother.
Now for the tricky part, I used the wallpaper smoother to edge the line where I wanted to cut. I got out the blade and just like that the wallpaper started to rip. I panicked as the wallpaper was sopping wet and no matter how I tried to cut it with the blade it was tearing. So I stopped and decided to try another way.
Trimming Wet Paper Edges
So my next attempt was to peel back the paper at the top and get my new scissors and cut the crease line. Once this was done I then smoothed the wallpaper back into place and there was a neat line where I had cut with my sharp scissors.
My verdict
So my opinion was I am defiantly not a professional decorator. Hanging wallpaper on a small wall was ok but anything bigger or if I was using a more expensive wallpaper I would 100% book a professional in. Hanging wallpaper is not my forte. And I was not prepared for how easily a paste the paper wallpaper can easily rip and tear. I bought a good quality wallpaper from Graham & Brown to use, so it was a high-quality wallpaper but tricky to cut because the wallpaper paste makes it very soggy.
So if I was to do it again I would feel confident using the scissors. Meanwhile, after doing a little more research on this subject I can see that most professionals opt for cutting with sharp scissors, so that was reassuring. So do not panic if you are faced with having to cut wet wallpaper. And as they always say “If I can do it, then anyone can”