My daughter has decided it’s time to paint her walls. However, when my brother drywalled and papered this room over 20 yrs ago (the farm’s been in our family for a looong time) he didn’t bother to size or paint the drywall before he painted it. [At least he didn’t paint over the wallpaper.]
Anyway, we’re trying to remove the wallpaper backing without totally destroying the drywall paper. I’m lightly moistening it, then using a scraper as flat as I can to lift the backer, but wow, it’s taking forever to get even a little bit done.
I figured if anyone would know a good solution, it would be someone here. We’re tempted to paint over it, but I think that would be a godawful disaster, right??
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You are talking about wallpaper BACKING. That indicates that you have already stripped off the surface of the wallpaper so that getting water through it is not a problem.
"I'm lightly moistening it, then using a scraper as flat as I can to lift the backer"
that is your first mistake. You need to really wet it and allow several minutes for the water to soak in. Then wet it again as you scrap.
And if you have a plastic wallpaper scraper they don't do much.
You need a sharpened metal scraper. And you want to round the corners so that it does not dig in.
You might try some of the wallpaper remover chemicals (Diff is one). But I have not had that much luck with them and then only when I was trying to get through the facing.
But you already have the facing off.
And some stuff is just STUBBORN and asks like it was put on with contact cement. You have to work each sq in off.
No matter what you do you will have repairs to make to the DW. Upto having to skim coat the wall.
" We're tempted to paint over it, but I think that would be a godawful disaster, right??"
If you do you will have the fuzz of the backing paper show through. And the roller will also pick up paper.
If want to try that I would only do it if it was coated with a sealer. (Gardz or maybe BIN) and then skim coated over.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
What Bill wrote, plus;
add a small amount of tsp detergent to the water. It seems to break the glue down a bit faster.
I try to prevent wetting the paper so much that the drywall facing is soaked. Work small sections from top down so gravity carries excess spray toward your next attack.
Take your time. Care now will last for decades. When you look at it that way, what's another weekend spent doing it slowly?
Troy Sprout
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should also have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
-- George Washington