Hello Everyone. Does anyone have an tips for removing wallpaper that has what appears to be 2-3 coats of paint on it?
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Replies
Hope it's strippable.
happy?
That is what I am wondering. Do I try wallpaper stripper first? What will steaming do?
What will steaming do?
Probably nothing unless you can score the paper to get the steam or remover underneath it.
Probably not the best solution but...I had a room with textured paint over wallpaper. The paper was coming off in 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch squares. After about an hour of trying I gave up. A week later, I brought home a bunch of sheets of 3/8" drywall and covered it up. Looks great now and I had brand new walls to start with.
No, you try to "strip" the paper first. Get started on a corner and see if you can peel off the front layer, leaving the backing portion of the wallpaper. If so you have no problem. If not you'll likely need to use a Paper Tiger or coarse sandpaper to perforate the surface and allow water to get through.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
How much is there? In the past, with really stubborn stuff, we just peeled what we could, then floated with hot mud. Let it dry, and cut out the bubbles. Once more, then topping, texture and paint.
"he...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
First of all, is it necessary to remove it? I've often seen where the wallpaper was hung without the use of sizing and has now become "part of the wall". In the cases, it's much easier to paint over it again (after spackling seams/ridges).
If it definitely has to come off, a wallpaper steamer will actually work without using a paper tiger since the heat will soften the glue even if the steam can't get to it. It takes a little longer, but I haven't had great success with a paper tiger anyway.
-Don
The paint doesnt make any difference as long as its latex.
The paper tiger and a steamer will work but its painfully slow.
Heres a tip thats easiar for removing a lot of paper ;
Use the tiger extensively on one wall really boogering it up. Get the wall wet with a roller using stripper . Use a wall paper knife and cut slits with the handle of the knife pointed at the ceiling . This will open cavities behind the paper that water can become trapped and dispense it self . Then continue to keep the walls wet as you work your way around the room. Dont tear any paper off until the walls have been kept wet for a couple hours. People try to rush it and dont give it time to soak behind all the paper . When the time is right it will come off in sheets. I would rather keep a room wet for 4 hours than use a steamer 1 sq ft at a time .
Tim
I have tried this and sometimes it works, and sometimes it is better to just give up.
Sometimes you can do a skim coat, or a veneer layer of drywall over it for a lot less cost.
Sometimes the best choice is to just rip it out and rerock.
I disagree with the people who say cover it up. I think everything will be better in the end if you remove.
If you search over on the Old House Journal web site,
http://www.oldhousejournal.com/talk/index.shtml
this question comes up about every other month.
Before you start, protect everything with tarps, and a layer of throw away plastic. The pieces of paper will float down everywhere, particularly windows. You don't want to have to clean up what you just removed.
You have to get the solvent down to the level of the adhesive. Use a scoring tool (paper tiger) firmly, but figure on having to skim over the bare wall at the end to fill the holes.
I don't like the steamers, but some people do.
I like the wallpaper stripper concentrate, ZIP (I think). You can spray it on with a garden sprayer, or roll it on with a thick nap paint roller. If you use the roller, be sure to get a square bucket that you can dip the roller in. However, really hot water will work pretty well too.
Get the paper as wet as possible without having a lot of run-off. Then try a variety of putty knives to see which one works for you. I like a long handled 4" one, plus a 1" one and a 5-in-1 tools. Ideally start at the top and work down to let gravity help you.
Keep a spray bottle hanging from your belt to hit any places that are stubborn or didn't get wet. As soon as you see one, spray and work past it. Let it soak and then come back to it.
After all the paper is off, be sure to wipe off all the adhesive. You don't want any left on the wall regardless of what you do next. You can use some of the enzyme solution in a bucket with a sponge, or hot water with about 2 cups of white vinegar. Wipe it all off.
Good luck!
Score it with a Paper Tiger. Score it a lot. Just keep on running that little bugger around. Do about a two strip width.
Soak it with Zinsser's DIFF wallpaper remover.
Start Scoring the next two strips.
Soak the first area again with DIFF.
Score the second area some more.
Soak the first area again and the second area with DIFF.
Try to lift a corner on one of the first area's strips. If it doesn't come up, soak everything again.
Run the Paper Tiger over the third area and soak all three areas. (you will notice a patern to my madness)
Do not rush it. Let the releasing agent in DIFF do its work. I have soaked areas every five to ten minutes for an hour. It has always come up for me. After the paper/covering is off, let the wall dry out for a day or two.
I have removed vinyl, and enamel painted paper using this method. The only time it failed was because some yoyo used contact cement to repair an area (he even bragged about it!)
Use DIFF and patience, it will release. BTW, I think the Paper Tiger is one of the few gadgets worth its cost. Good luck.
I'll repeat, before you do anything try to "strip" the wallpaper. Most newer (than 30 years old or so) wallpaper is "strippable", meaning that the front surface can be torn loose from the back surface easily. Then you're left with a porous paper that is easily soaked for removal with a scraper.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I had this situation in a powder room. I used the paper tiger as everyone else has mentioned. Scored the heck out of the wallpaper. I mean go to town on it. I ended up using plain hot water in a spray bottle; I have never found wallpaper stripper to be worth the expense. Keep wetting, over and over, as Mooney said. Don't try to start removing until it has been wet for at least an hour or two. When it is wet enough, it will come off fairly easily with a scraper of your choice. Hopefully yours has sizing on the back, but don't count on it. Mine didn't. Took the primer right off of the wall with it. I ended up floating the entire room. It was very labor intensive. Depending on how big your room is, it just may be better to demo the drywall and start fresh.
Good luck!
Nugsy
Our whole house was papered over no sizing OR primer. Some folks in the area are having fits over it because the tiger actually makes it easier to tear the drywall face.
Start at the top of the wall with a mild mixture of soapy water and a VERY SHARP (shaving sharp) 5-in-1 tool.
Cut/scrape a small section of the paper face off the backing, then spray only enough mixture to wet the paper backing. Wait a bit til it dries some and wet it again.
Now start peeling the paper with the 5-in-one and work across the whole sheet of paper.
Then start at one side and mist/scrape ACROSS the paper Slowly. If the paper gets a bit dry, mist it.
The farther you work down, the faster the removal becomes because the mist is soaking the paper below what you are working on.
Take your time. I figure one sheet a day or I go crazy.
TSP to clean the walls after you are done. Clean water wipe down after that.
Prime. Repair any bad spots. Sand smooth. Prime the repairs. Paint. Paint.
You'll never know the paper was there.
Troy Sprout
Square, Level & Plumb Renovations