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Discussion Forum

removing adhesive border

megspop | Posted in General Discussion on June 8, 2006 10:07am

What is the easiest and/or  fastest way to remove a border that seems to be a peel and stick border. It’s approx. 10 inches wide and wraps around the entire room (11’X9′) at a 4 foot level. Will the steaming technique work here or will a wet sponge and scraper be more effective?

Thanks

Reply

Replies

  1. User avater
    BillHartmann | Jun 08, 2006 10:54pm | #1

    What kind of border are you talking about?

    Is this somekind of wallpaper or contact paper.

    Wallpaper is not a peal and stick. Rather it uses a water active ahesive.

    There is a large number of different types of wallpaper.

    Some is stripable. Catch and edge with a wide putty knife and start pealing. If it is stripable then it will come off in reasonable size chuncks. But it leaves a paper backing and adhesvie. Spray it with not water (or use a sponge and then start scraping of the paper and adhesive.

    Others require more work. You can try just wetting. And repeating. Scoring with a drywall removal tool does help.

    In other cases dynamite works.

    If this is some kind of contact paper or similar then water will probably not work, but you can try it.

    I would start scraping as much as you can get loose. Then try some water. If that does not have much affect then you need a "solvent" or "cleaner". You might want to start with one of the safety label adhesvise removers.

  2. DanH | Jun 08, 2006 11:07pm | #2

    Yeah, try peeling it off a bit in the mythical "inconspicuous area" and see what happens. If it's standard wallpaper paste then any residue left will come off with copious amounts of warm water. If it's really a "peel and stick" sort of adhesive then an adhesive remover like Goo Gone will likely be needed.

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  3. GregGibson | Jun 09, 2006 12:48am | #3

    There are a lot of different products out there.  If it looks like some sort of self adhesive treatment, I'd try a few minutes with a hair dryer.  A little heat will soften lots of glues.  Couldn't hurt to try.

    Greg

  4. User avater
    Fonzie | Jun 09, 2006 04:04pm | #4

    megspop,

    A method we have had success with is to dampen a paper towel with white vinegar/water mix and leave it on as a "poultice".

    After it's on (by whatever method you get it "splat on" with - we have used little rollers by the way) you could mist it with more of the same.

    We did this successfully on some paper that was really stuck.

    Fz

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