[tonoplast]

So far, our entire kitchen remodel had been going fairly smoothly, thanks to all your help. Unfortunately we have finally run into the proverbial brick wall and I can't find a solution online. When we removed our old cabinets, we found that the previous owner(s) had left the original wallpaper between the counter and bottom of the wall cabinets and painted over it. The edges of the wallpaper were already starting to peel, so although we hadn't planned on it, we went ahead and used the Downy method someone else suggested and removed what we could. Unfortunately, there were some parts that were really stuck on, and because it was July 4th weekend and my brother had come in town for 3 days specifically to help us with the cabinet installation, we ended up just covering over those areas with joint compound and sanding it down and then went ahead and finished up the cabinets while he was still here. All the cabinets/countertops/etc are finished and we were about to do the final step of painting the backsplash area.

Here is the problem: My husband applied primer over the backsplash today using Zinsler 1-2-3 brand, and he said he had a really hard time over some spots. Now that the primer is starting to dry, there are a lot of very obvious cracks and bubbles starting to appear. Although he is tempted to go ahead and just paint over it, I am worried that the texture will be very obvious even with the final paint color and the rest of the kitchen remodel will be overshadowed by the horrible paint job.

On top of all this, hubby starts a new job on Monday, baby is due in 3 weeks and mom is coming in town on August 1st. What is the quickest, least painful solution? Should we just go ahead and paint and be done with it?

Catherine

[Tigratrus]

Well... First thing that comes to mind is to do a non-paint backsplash?

Pick something that would compliment your design, tile, metal sheeting, glass with the ability to slip pictures (or more appropriately Recipes!) behind it etc etc. The put up the backsplash, add some molding on top and bottom to hide the edges and nobody will *ever* know.

Well... We will, but if you won't tell anyone about the gaping hole to the crawl space under the main sink, we won't tell anyone about your cracking primer.

James

[Emmie9999]

I agree with James. If the primer is bubbling up, then either the Downy is causing a problem (maybe it didn't all get rinsed off or neutralized?), or the old wallpaper/new joint compound is.

For now, covering it with an alternate material would seem like your best bet. The only other thing I can think of is to put 1/4" sheetrock over everything, re-plaster the joints, and then paint. Cutting all that sheetrock might be more work than putting up glass or metal sheeting. What about tin ceiling tiles? Those could look really cool, if you are looking for something other than tile.

What kind of look were you going for in the room overall? I'm sure we can help you figure something out, even if it's only temporary. If the baby is due in three weeks, you have a lot of other things to be thinking about right now!

[yankeelawyer]

Originally Posted by Emmie9999

What about tin ceiling tiles? Those could look really cool, if you are looking for something other than tile.

Tin ceiling tiles were my first thought; they even make ones now that are out of some kind of composite material and really easy to work with.

Rather than covering with drywall sheeting, what about something like Hardi Backer board?

[mlatta]

yeah, you've got something coming through from the backside of the paint. It could be from the wallpaper or it could be from moisture trapped the wall. We ran into a similar problem- the paint was cracking and bubbling from the moisture trapped in the wall. We applied a layer of shellac over the paint, another coat of primer, and then repainted. It was a tedious process.

I think putting a layer of sheetrock over it would be the most permanent solution. But that would require a lot of awkward cutting (unless you have the right blade), screwing, joint compound, skim coating, priming and painting. Still, having done this before, while it's not quick, it is far less aggravating than painting problems and it will completely solve the problem. The tin tiles idea is good too, but I think that may not go with your look of the kitchen? And the tin ceiling tiles are expensive! I'd have to run the numbers, and maybe I'm just saying this becuase I've had the materials lying around from rehabbing the house, but I would think that the sheet rock solution would be cheaper. Not as fast as slapping up tin ceiling tiles, but probably cheaper.

Another possibility is using bead board as the backsplash...

[tonoplast]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. For about two days, we were considering the self-stick vinyl tile backsplash (as seen on HGTV.com) as a temporary solution, but at this point, I think we are out of time. I have convinced myself that the textured white primer backsplash beneath the Stat white cabinets doesn't look so bad from a distance, and perhaps when we decide to sell the place, we will fix it using one of the more permanent solutions you guys have provided. Or maybe we'll leave it to the next owner to figure out.

I will post before and after pics of our kitchen once all the drawer handles and door knobs are in and hopefully no one will notice the backsplash area because you will be so impressed by the transformation of the rest of the kitchen.