Protecting original Victorian wallpaper

[grahamwookie]

Hi, I own a 1901 terrace and whilst removing the previous owners terrible wallpaper, I uncovered a whole wall of intact old Vic wallpaper. Now half a year on we are to rent our house out. How can i protect the wallpaper for the future when I've got to cover it up to rent out?

My misses says no one would like the old wallpaper, so I've got to paper over it.

Thanks

 

[Nigel Watts]

Tricky problem. I found quite a bit of early Victorian paper in my house - enough to reconstruct the scheme but not enough to leave uncovered. In the end I photographed it then, with some help from a former wallpaper restorer who happened to be working on cleaning my cornices, managed to remove a few sections. I was hoping to reproduce it, but this proved a bridge too far and I have now put up a different paper.

The technique used to lift the paper involved sticking some thin but very strong semi transparent Japanese repair tissue paper onto the surface using a reversible paste which comes off with cold but not hot water (I didnt make a note of what this is). The sandwich (original paper plus repair tissue) was then removed carefully with steam. My paper (c. 1840) was very thin, very well stuck down, and covered in a kind of glaze so was a b*g*er to get off, and got slightly damaged in the process, but I do at least have some reasonable samples.

If you stick something on top I guess there will be a risk of further damage if and when you remove it again. How about a layer of hardboard or thin mdf?

Good luck (any chance of a picture?)