Scraping wallpaper and stripping paint...

Jstas

...sucks.

That is all.

kevhed72

I scraped wallpaper ONCE and that was enough to convince me never to wallpaper any house I live in. Good luck...

jimmydep

Yup it really sucks trying to get wallpaper off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I'll EVER put wallpaper on again.

Stripping paint is fun though....

GOOD LUCK

Jimmy

Face

I had to use a lot of this when I bought my house.

comfortablycurt

What you've gotta do is just wait about 20 years for the adhesive to wear out. Then it will fall off on it's own...lol


I've scraped wallpaper...it sucks. I will NEVER put wallpaper on a wall. Paint is just fine for me.

bobman1235

Ugh, I'm doing the exact same thing this weekend John. Tiny upstairs bathroom is gonna end up taking me a freakin' week to do.

Two rounds of stripping, two rounds of spackle and even re-tape in some areas where the corner tape came up, sanding, priming, painting.... pain in my ****.

kcoc321

I would definately recommend using the Zinsser Wallpaper Stripper Face linked...
Still a chore, but nothing like trying to steam it off..

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?productid=17

mmadden28

Its not so bad if the walls were sized properly when the wallpaper was applied. We had some walls there were and some that weren't. The walls that were were a breeze. The ones that weren't--well we had to skim coat them to make them paintable again.

A few years ago my wife decided one day to take the wallpaper down in the bathroom. Lets just say that it didn't go well and one thing led to another and before I knew it I had completely gutted the entire bathroom. I mean completely-I had everything ripped out to the sub floor and the studs (walls and ceiling). I redid all the electric and ventilation, toilet, sink, EVERYTHING. This included ripping out wet bed tile flooring 2" thick, tiles walls in the shower (including a tile ceiling) and this was all cement and metal lathe-not the cement board used today. The drain in the showerpan was even a headache-It was sealed to the drain using Hemp rope and poured lead-Now that was a **** getting out.

Well good luck and hope the rest of your project goes well and one thing doesn't lead to another for you too.

Face

Don't forget the oil based primer afterwards.

mmadden28

Needless to say-when we moved into our new house-the previous owners had a lot of wallpaper up in almost every room. We hired pros to take it down, prep the walls and paint them. I won't do it myself again.

Toolfan66

Face wrote: »

I had to use a lot of this when I bought my house.

That stuff works great, I even used it to take the tint of the windows on the front of the house the previous owners had put on.

jimmydep

Face wrote: »

I had to use a lot of this when I bought my house.

I used this also, it worked pretty good, but it was still a **** to remove the paper.

It was very good at removing the residual glue though.

Danny Tse

I, too, agree that stripping wallpaper sucks big time.

However, if you're willing to invest a little bit of money, the whole job will be a lot easier. Definitely but the Zinsser Papertiger....it's under $10.00 or less at places like Walmart and it scores the wallpaper with tiny holes. At this point, you can either use chemical wallpaper stripper....or use what I purchased, Wagner's Power Steamer for wallpaper removal. It's about $65.00 and it uses steam to "melt" the glue on the back of the wallpaper. The holes you scored onto the wallpaper with the Papertiger will allow the steam to get through. In a good size room, the cost of the chemical stripper will add up quite fast, whereas the Power Steamer use tap water to make steam. When you're done with your wallpaper removal project, you can sell the Wagner on Craigslist.

disneyjoe7

If put on wrong at first it's sucks

Funny I removed some wallpaper but I install some wallpaper also. Sizer is what should be used if you're going to wish to remove it nice.

I found Fabicsofter with hot water worked best. But I think I tried it all Zinsser, steam thing, hot water with fabic softer, it all.

mmadden28

Danny Tse wrote: »

I, too, agree that stripping wallpaper sucks big time.

However, if you're willing to invest a little bit of money, the whole job will be a lot easier. Definitely but the Zinsser Papertiger....it's under $10.00 or less at places like Walmart and it scores the wallpaper with tiny holes. ..

That's what my wife used...and why I had to start by replacing the wallboard.

Still all comes down to how it was applied and if it was sized, etc. as to how easy it will come off. In some cases it might be better to just paint over it. :eek:

treitz3

Hehe, that's part of what I do for a living. Some of the suggestions are funny........rookies.......:eek:

jimmydep

treitz3 wrote: »

Hehe, that's part of what I do for a living. Some of the suggestions are funny........rookies.......:eek:

Enlighten us Please!!!!;)

opus

This is why you should hire a pro.

We have kids to feed you know.;)

disneyjoe7

Tom YOU're HIRED

treitz3

Steve, we'll talk. Alright, I will be honest. There is no way in hell that I will post the secrets to removing wallpaper successfully. Opus, you read my mind . Our industry is hurting nationwide and to give away our secrets right now after years of research and development would be to basically be the same as digging our financial grave. I will however say this. DO NOT in any circumstance EVER use this......unless you like to spend money and work your ever living **** off. That company should be sued for even putting the product on the market!



I don't know how many times I have been hired to go back in and correct wallpaper removal F ups. What I do know is that it has put a lot of money in my wallet over the years. Right now, in our industry we could use the money just to survive. That is the reality of things.

Besides, I have encountered so many different scenarios when it comes to wallpaper removal, it would take me about a half a day to cover all of the different scenarios that you will run across and how to best correct or attack each situation. I'd rather get paid for that kind of knowledge, seeing as I have spend thousands to achieve it.

Jstas

:rolleyes:

You people will argue over anything.


Oh and there's no trick to removing wall paper. The "pros" use enzyme based strippers that breakdown the glue. The "DIF" stuff is enzyme based also. But it needs two applications if you are dealing with wallpaper over wallpaper like I am. And yes, I've been using it

And if some ham-fisted monkey applied the glue to the paper and got gobs all over the place, those can be a real pain to remove and can gouge the drywall. But it's nothing a thin coat of joint compound, not spackle, and some sanding can't smooth over. As long as too much of the paper layer isn't missing. But then again, old drywall is brittle and can be a pain because the paper starts to break down after a while and it can be difficult to separate wallpaper from drywall paper.

treitz3

Jstas wrote: »

Oh and there's no trick to removing wall paper.

Ok, If you say so :rolleyes:. I haven't used DIF in years, carry on.

Jstas

The "trick" to wallpaper removal is getting the adhesive off the wall as well. paper removal is a cinch with the right tools and requires patience.

The difference between what a retail customer DIY'ing it can do vs. a pro is in the adhesive, not the removal. There are four major types of wallpaper adhesive. There is:

Cellulose methyl ether (aka: Cellulose)
It's made by treating cellulose, usually from wood but in other places where it is more available, apparently cotton can be substituted for the cellulose base. The cellulose is treated with an alkali, commonly sodium hydroxide both other kinds are used. Then it's treated by methyl chloride and that forms the granular stuff that you see in the pails. It only mixes in cold water though. Any chemistry class in high school or college has the ingredients to make this stuff and it's a common way to illustrate chemical bonding as well as what a hydroscopic substance is and what colloidal dispersion is. The bonding is mechanical and this is the easiest stuff to strip off. But that also means that it's only good for light coverings. Heavy, textured or backed wallpaper will not stay up with this stuff. Heat works real well for this because the hotter the solution gets, the more viscous the solution becomes and it loses it's bonding ability. Usually steam will take it right off. It'll actually start to fall off with just the steamer alone.

Wheat Paste
Yes, that wheat. This stuff is made from flour. It's tenacious stuff because all the sticky stuff in bread dough is what makes this stuff so good at holding paper up. The gluten, proteins, starches and carbohydrates that wheat is rife with end up making a good glue. Papier-m

disneyjoe7

^^ Who cares?

Danny Tse

treitz3 wrote: »

I will however say this. DO NOT in any circumstance EVER use this......unless you like to spend money and work your ever living **** off. That company should be sued for even putting the product on the market!

Really? I have no trouble using the method I posted above. Granted, it was my first, and only, time removing wallpaper, but I have no issues with the drywall underneath. I subsequently primed the drywall and painted the room (a kitchen) without any problems.

markmarc

Danny Tse wrote: »

Really? I have no trouble using the method I posted above. Granted, it was my first, and only, time removing wallpaper, but I have no issues with the drywall underneath. I subsequently primed the drywall and painted the room (a kitchen) without any problems.

The Tiger is a great tool. Use it in combination with water/fabric softner combination from a spray bottle and 95% of all wall paper will come off quickly.

amulford

Stas, if it were me, and I'm just sayin, rip down that brittle **** 50 year old 3/8 **** and re-rock the room.

Eff it, you'll spend as much time trying to get it to look good as you'll spend in new rock and three coats of compound...

Jstas

amulford wrote: »

Stas, if it were me, and I'm just sayin, rip down that brittle **** 50 year old 3/8 **** and re-rock the room.

Eff it, you'll spend as much time trying to get it to look good as you'll spend in new rock and three coats of compound...

Those are my sentiments but my dad, who is helping me out with it, thinks otherwise. So we will muck with this for a while until he gets fed up. I was fed up before we even pulled the paneling down. I knew what was underneath wasn't going to be pretty.

Thankfully, the other rooms that are papered are in good condition and some sanding where the paint met the baseboard is all that is in order. I should be able to cover them with any color easily enough.

The real pain was the garage and hanging the sheets 10 feet up. We built 4 foot tall scaffolding from "unassigned lumber" to give us platforms to work on. But the garage door was able to be raised and the garage is now insulated. Gotta insulate the door, lay the floor and punch a hole in the wall for an HVAC vent to take the bite out of the air in the winter and heat in the summer.

Sherardp

I like wallpaper, but the wallpaper used in Japan is totally different than that sold in the USA. Overall a much better product from what I seen. When I decide to change it, I'll defiinitely hire someone. GL gents.

disneyjoe7

Has anyone painted over old wallpaper? I'm not sure if I even wish to remove the old wallpaper in my open kitchen area.

madmax

I sprayed this blue gel I bought at home depot, waited 20 minutes and the wallpaper pulled right off. Then I wiped the glue off with wet towels. Maybe it was the gel, maybe it was they type of wallpaper but it was no big deal.
madmax