How to Fix Wallpaper Bubbles

A few months ago I installed the prettiest chinoiserie peel and stick wallpaper mural and framed it. I loved this feature wall, but it soon started developing huge bubbles that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I pushed on them. It was pretty disappointing- I’ve wallpapered dozens of walls and this was the first time I’ve gotten bubbles.

I’m not sure if it’s the paper, the frame, or if I didn’t let the paint cure long enough before papering. But whatever the reason, I needed a solution. I asked my lovely Instagram readers and they gave me some great tips. I thought I’d share what ended up working!

how to fix wallpaper bubbles

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. P.s. I’m trying to build that page up, so if you’d subscribe, I’d really appreciate that!

before

Here’s all the sad bubbles in my mural! They made me crazy! I was pretty excited to try out some solutions. 

SUPPLIES

• Wallpaper paste
• Syringe with Needle 
• Squeegee
• Microfiber Cloth 
• X-acto Knife

start simple

In life, I’m a big believer that you should start with the simplest solution possible. For this project, it was poking a holes in the paper with a pin and then pushing down the paper. This worked for a few hours, but then the bubbles popped right back up.

But if you have wallpaper bubbles, definitely try this first! It’s by far the fastest and easiest option.

tips for small bubbles

Since that didn’t work, I picked up a syringe with a needle from my local grocery store (I had to ask the pharmacy for one and they sold it to me for $0.25). Next, I loaded it with wallpaper paste and stuck the needle right into the wallpaper and squirted in a bit of paste. Use the paste sparingly or you’ll get even more bubbles from extra paste!

Make sure to wipe off any paste that gets onto the wallpaper with a wet cloth or sponge. If the paste dries on the outside of the paper, you’ll get a shiny spot when it dries.

Finish up by pushing super hard towards the hole with a squeegee to push out any air and smooth out the bubble. I’ve also read that using a roller to push out the bubbles works nicely too.

tips for big bubbles

And now, the scariest step, but I promise that it works! Use an x-acto knife and make a small slice in the air bubble. Try to make it so that it blends in with the wallpaper pattern to make it blend in as much as possible. You can see that I make the incision right at a leaf so it’ll blend in later.

Next, I reloaded the syringe with wallpaper paste and stuck the needle right into the slit and squirted in a bit of paste. Finish by repeating the steps above- wipe off excess glue, use a squeegee to smooth.

I’ll be honest, doing this over and over on this mural took forever. I spent many, many hours on this project because I just had SO many bubbles. These steps work, but if you have lots of bubbles, be prepared to spend the time to get them out. 

Again, in the spirit of transparency, I wish I’d pulled off the wallpaper and pasted every bit of it on. It would have been scarier, but faster and possibly more effective.

after

Chinoiserie Wallpaper mural (sand in pomegranate), Frame Corners, Panel Molding, White Paint, faux fur ottoman, pink paint

Here’s the after picture- the mural is looking SO much better! There’s still some small bubbles that I need to get out (they look like small wrinkles). The wallpaper is 90% better and with a few more hours of work it’ll be finished. 

If you have wallpaper bubbles, don’t stress! You can get them out with a little time and patience. Good luck and let me know if this works on your paper too!

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