Removing Wallpaper

[TheRic]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far. Wife pulled all the wallpaper off a little while ago, took about 1/2 hr. What is left is something like a thin paper stuck to unprimed drywall / mud. She said this was the glue you guys were talking about. But if we do anything with water / steam / etc won't that seep into the drywall causing all kinds of problems?? We can pull this thin paper off easy in some spots, no way it's coming off in others.

Parnelli: If we paint Kilz over the paper/glue won't that just peel off down the road??!!!

[Cheeky]

Parnelli: If we paint Kilz over the paper/glue won't that just peel off down the road??!!!

the paint will magnify all of the irregularities.

do you have one of those household steamers? . You can hold it far enough away that it will just loosen the residue and then you can scrape it away without compromising the gyp board.

otherwise, have you tried hot water and a rag/sponge (wrung-out as much as possible), isolating the affected areas?

Also, my 6" ROS did wonders for the residual fuzz/glue (150 and 220 grit solid, holeless discs).

[TheRic]

....Also, my 6" ROS did wonders for the residual fuzz/glue (150 and 220 grit solid, holeless discs).

Thought about using my ROS, was thinking about 80 grit to cut down on the glue gumming up the sanding disks. Then touch it up with a finer grit like 200.

Did the paper/glue gum up the sanding disks at 150 and 220? Why the holeless disc vs ones with holes?

[gabedad]

Zinser makes some stuff that is good - don't use the gel - very messy.

For the most part I found vinegar and very hot water (50/50 mix) works just as well. A steamer with that mix would probably be even better

[DaveS]

What is left is something like a thin paper stuck to unprimed drywall / mud.

On the wallwik site, they have another product which sounds like exactly what you need...

http://www.wallwik.com/categories/vi...dditional.html

[Cike]

We just moved into a "new" old house (built in the mid '70s) which had wall paper in every room. My wife went right to work pulling wall paper down, but ended destroying the wall surface underneath, necessitating major drywall surface repair. I have recently tried removing some wall paper myself, but this time using a Wagner steamer from Lowes. It doubles as a steam cleaner, with numerous attachments, but it does a great job with the wall paper and preserving the wall surface underneath without making a big mess. It's not a speedy process, but if I score the paper surface with a paper tiger, then hold the steamer attachment in place for 30-60 seconds, the paper peels right off with little fuss. It takes a while, but it's not frustrating and messy either.

C

[Cheeky]

Thought about using my ROS, was thinking about 80 grit to cut down on the glue gumming up the sanding disks. Then touch it up with a finer grit like 200.

Did the paper/glue gum up the sanding disks at 150 and 220? Why the holeless disc vs ones with holes?

correction, i used 80 and 150 (was just in the garage using 220 and 150, so that was still on my mind ) . the solid discs worked better imo. i vacuumed off the discs every now and then, which helped. i also have a ton of discs (thanks amazon, next to nothing deal), so changing them is cheap.

[Curly Qsawn]

But if we do anything with water / steam / etc won't that seep into the drywall causing all kinds of problems??

I steamed every inch of the kitchen wall. The gypsum did not get wet enough to do any harm and dried in a short period of time. If you do any skim coating you'll want to spritz the wallboard anyway, otherwise it'll suck the moisture out of the compound before you can get it smoothed out.

[LYU370]

I used the paper tiger to score the paper, then use HOT, HOT water & vinegar in a spray bottle to wet it down. Give it a few minutes to work it's way to the backing while spraying some more and the sheets should peel right off.

Depending on the type of paper, you might be able to rip the top layer off leaving the glue layer behind, then it'll come off real easily. I did three rooms in my old house this way, and now have two bathrooms to do in my new house.

My realtor also said that liquid fabric softener in very hot water works as well. Haven't tried that one yet though.