Need help refurbishing drywall that has been wallpapered

[icthrooyou]

Can someone tell me the best way to go about painting drywall that has been finished with a vinyl wallpaper covering? I would like to paint the entire house inside, but I have two initial concerns:

1. I'm worried that the paint will not bond well with the vinyl wallpaper and will be prone to peeling. What sort of prep should I do to get a good bond? The walls are horrendously filthy and will need to be washed first. What type of cleaner should I use for that? I'm also thinking the surfaces should be rough-sanded and then primer coated before applying latex-based interior wall paint. Does that sound like the right way to go? Or are there other interior wall finishing methods that might work better over vinyl wallpaper? I'm also considering applying a panel wainscotting with some oak trim (sp?), so any considerations for that would be helpful.

2. This is actually a mobile/manufactured home and the drywall seams were covered with "decorative" trim strips instead of tape and mud, which is pretty typical for this type of home. I presume they don't actually mud the wall seams like a site-built home in order to prevent them from cracking during transport. Anyway, while we are painting the walls, we would also like to get rid of the tacky wall seam trim strips. Is it possible to tape and mud walls like this where the wallpaper actually seems to have been wrapped around the edges of the drywall sheets prior to the construction? As with my concerns for the paint bonding, I am also concerned about the drywall mud bonding to the vinyl wallpaper. Is mudding these walls even feasible or should I just deal with the trim strips and skip the seam mudding?

Thanks!

[RTF]

I would cover it with thin paneling. Any attempts to remove the drywall off of the individual sections will be time consuming, it is tough enough to do it in a normal room. There are several paneling options available at HD or Lowes , one procuct is FRP which is nearly indestructible and cleans up well. FRP is great in wet areas, it is available in a variety of colors and the joints have low profile covers. You can use other paneling choices for the living areas. In my opinion this will be less of a mess, less of a hassle and it will get done faster.

[rwanders]

If you prefer new sheetrock----thinner rock, usually 3/8 can be bought to cover the existing panels but be sure and stagger any joints so the existing ones are covered. Painting over the existing paneling is doomed to failure.

[icthrooyou]

Thank you both for your very helpful answers. I will probably go with the thin FRP covering.