Wallpaper Remov

[anglerdave]

Wallpaper RemovalAnyone hae any good ideas on how to remove wallpaper? I got some DIF AT lOWES but it will take forever to do job. Would like something a little faster. Is it worthwhile to rent a steamer?
Dave

[AIK68J]

I have removed paper with a steamer (helps some) and with DIF. Try using a Tiger Paw (round thing with scoring wheels underneath) score the wall up take a sprayer loaded with DIF soak the wall let it set and scrape it

[Clark W. Griswold]

Or you could do what I did. Pull the old sheetrock, insulate the walls and put up new sheetrock. Definitely not cheaper, but less headache than removing wallpaper.

[Spot77]

As pointed out, use the Paper Tiger to score the wallpaper first. Mix the DIF with HOT water and spray it on the walls generously. Let it soak for a few minutes, then spray it again. Wait another minute than pull what you can and scrape the rest.

Some people will use vinegar and hot water which works well usually too....but the smell can bother some people.

Steamers work pretty well but can be messy and some heat the water dangerously hot.

[f26tiger]

When you finally get what you can off the wall, depending how damaged the wall is, you may need to put a coat of sealer on the drywall b4 you attemp to mud the wall. If you do not apply the sealer you will have bubbling behind the joint compound. You may need a good finisher?

[Capt Bob]

I've used DIF very successfully as long as I scored the surface of the paper, it used a razor knife and ever so lightly dragged it back and forth and then sprayed with hot Dif solution...did a bathroom in about an hour and it had vinyl coated paper on it..good luck

[anglerdave]

Thanx for the info. I'll have to get a Pqper tiger at Lowes. I didn't heat the DIF so I guess iit would help also.
DIF

[mchar]

I remove wallpaper for a living. Here goes.
Tools: garden sprayer, (or 5 gal bucket and roller/screen) 6" spackling knife, Paper Tiger or 36 grit floor sandpaper, 2 gallon bucket, Scotch Brite pads (green), kitchen towels, lots of bath towels for the floor, ladder.
if you have plaster....it's easy. Try and peel the front of the paper off dry. If it won't go, use the Paper Tiger or some 36 grit floor sandpaper at Home Depot Rental or any place that rents floor sanders. Score the surface well - very well. Soak a small surface with hot water repeatedly. Use a garden sprayer or 5 gallon bucket and roller/screen to get plenty of water on the surface. If you have alot of layers or painted - over paper on plaster, you can shave it off with a 3 1/2" razor scraper. Then get the glue off.

Drywall is more delicate - same thing, try and remove the front layer of vinyl dry. DON'T PEEL THE TOP LAYER OF DRYWALL OFF!
Otherwise it's the paper tiger or better, the 36 grit floor sandpaper. After I sand all the walls I vacuum up the pieces of sandpaper so not to scratch the floor.
PLACE TOWELS along the baseboards, you will use alot of hot water.
Some papers are best removed by spraying hot water directly on top, repeatedly.

I will wet a wall many times untill the hot water gets to the glue....then the paper will release.
Work in smallish areas, remove the paper w/ a 6" spackling blade, then wash the glue off w/ a 3-M green scotchbrite rubbing in circles, then a kitchen towel and bucket so to rinse all the glue off. ALL the glue, or the paint will orange peel. If the glue is creamy (clay based, for older heavy wallpapers) I will use the 6" blade to scoop it off the wall into my mud pan. Most glue is clear though - it will dissolve easy.

It's best to finish a wall com[pletely before moving on..strip the paper, get the glue and rinse while the wall is wet...it's bad to let it dry, then re-wet it etc.

A steamer is a complete waste of time.
email me mchar@verizon.net if you want.
Mark

[anglerdave]

Thanx for the info.
I think I have ninyl coated paper over drywall. The paper sems to be in two layers so when I strip, usually only the top layer comes off, so I scrap some more to get the bottom layer off.
I hadm't heard of the 36 grit paper so I try to get some at home depot.
I got tied up this weekend so I haven't worked on for a while.
Dave

[mackaroni]

mchar is right the steamer is a waste of time and money but I like the dif w/hot water. we usually tape painters plastic to the baseboard w/blue tape. soak it good after scoring let it soak in/spray again. If its really tough do small area's at a time if you have to

[anglerdave]

I went to LOWES but they didn't have a Paper Tiger. So I bought a Piranha which according to their ssalesman works the same . I tried and it seemed to help but not that much. I think I'll try some hot water.
Dave

[Joker]

I do the paper tiger thing, then spray the wall down with a concentrated solution of DIF, with an Ace hardware pump type sprayer. Then I go have a cup of coffee while the steamer's heating up.

Steam seems to speed up the removal process when used in conjunction with DIF.

After the paper's off I spray the wall again with DIF solution and use a scotchbrite pad to get the rest of the snot off the wall.

Not a pro, but this works best for me.

[hydra25]

It sometimes takes less time to remove old drywall and replace.How about adding a 1'/4" layer over top.Even if you get the wallpaper off, you will have to skim the entire wall to make it look right.

[anglerdave]

I got some blue DIF. It seemsa to work better than the red sttuff was using. You are right about the walls. I'll have to spacle and sand b4 I do any painting. I want to get this job done so I can go fishoing!!!!
Dave

[wallelf]

Everything Mark said, with a few additions.

If your walls are drywall, go easy with the PaperTiger. You only need to apply enough pressure to score the paper. Apply too much pressure, and you will end up perforating the drywall facing paper, which means after the removal you will have to seal and skim coat.

My choice for drywall sealer/repair is called "Gardz", put out by the Zinsser Company.

Another tip would be to use plastic sheeting to cover your floors...tape it to the baseboards, then lay out your towels to catch the water. After the removal is done, shake out the towels onto the plastic, wrap up the whole mess and bag it.

I use a removal solution called "Safe and Simple", it's not readily available, but you can order it online from safeandsimple.com Their #603 formula will work on most wallpaper pastes; they have another formula that will work on the clay based and vinyl-over-vinyl adhesives (i.e. border adhesives)

Buffy Groves
The Paperhanger
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
National Guild of Professional Paperhangers

[anglerdave]

Thanx for the info.
I have another product called STRIP hich is concebtrated. One cup makes 1 gallon of remover. I haven't used it yet so no report on it. The two bottles of DIF were 32 oz and were supposed to do 75 sq ft each. I'm nearly through both and have aboout 100 sq ft done. The paper seems to come off once it gets thoroughly wet but this takes about 4-5 soakings with DIF. Then I do the same with the back layer.
The floor will be replaced so I'm not too worried about it.
Dave

[mchar]

I know this thread is old but Dave, you're killing me.
I just dry-razor scraped 2 big rooms.
2 layers of wallpaper painted over on plaster.
wallpaper / paint blue / paint yellow / wallpaper / paint pink / paint pink again -
When I scraped the paper it went down to bare plaster.
1935. Funny writings on the walls!
So, I dry scraped the plaster walls. Some backing and glue is left over.
Then I laid down the towels/dropcloths, used boiling water
and vinegar (vinegar helps neutralize the acid in the plaster)
in my garden sprayer, used my 6" putty knife and
mud pan to scrape off the backing, glue, etc.
Then a 2 gal bucket of hot water w/ green scrubby and other towel to remove all glue.
Easy. With practice.
I just like removing wallpaper! I'm efficient!
Mark

[salmann]

Every wall surface and wallpaper is different. Some wallpaper will come off with the razor blade some will not. I install and strip wallpaper professionally in VA. Before I give a quote for stripping wallpaper I'll strip a small 1x1 spot in a place that is out (ie.behind a piece of furniture) of sight. If the paper is strippable the top layer will peel off exposing a paper backing beneath. That's the easy part. I then spray the backing with a solution of hot water mixed with diff in a garden sprayer. The backing should start to bubble in a matter of minutes. But sometimes, the surface that was wallpapered has not been primed, (sized) this makes it difficult to remove the paper backing. Good luck in this case. Trying wetting the surface again and waiting. If this method does not work, at this point I tell the home owner that it would be better to prime over the wallpaper with cover stain, spackle any seams and repair any bubbles that would occur when priming. I only prime wallpaper as a last resort.
If the paper is not strippable I use a 3" wide razor blade tool to strip off the paper. If this doesn't work then I sand the surface lightly with an orbital/pad sander with 80 grit sandpaper.This makes the surface of the wallpaper porous and allows the hot water mixture to penetrate the wall paper to loosen the paste. I used to use a paper tiger to score the surface of the paper but I found that they tend to pierce the drywall if too much pressure is applied. You will have drywall damage if this happens when the hot water mixture is applied. It takes a little longer to sand the surface of the wallpaper verses using the paper tiger. But you save time in the final result by not having to repair the drywall. :yes: Once the wallpaper is stripped I spray the surface again in small sections and lightly scrub the wet surface with a 3m pad then sponge off the excess paste. Be careful to remove as much of the excess paste as possible. When the walls are reprimed or painted any excess paste will bubble. :eek: One final note..........when sanding wallpaper try to hook the sander into a shop vac with a dust bag.

[crabby and son]

IMPORTANT..........after you have removed the wallpaper and washed the walls down with hot water and DIF. Let them dry and prime with an oil based primer. This will seal any glue you have missed that will be re activated by the latex paint. Avoid the big mess and seal the walls!!!! Only got me once 25 years ago.

[fshn4fun]

hot water and vinegar works great. Dif is good but leaves a mess on the walls afterwards so have to be careful to wipe it down quickly.

[marstang50va]

is it possible to paint over top of existing wallpaper?

[Spot77]

is it possible to paint over top of existing wallpaper?

Yes, but I suggest strongly against it. Applying paint can re-wet the paper causing it to bubble and the seams to start lifting. If it's in an area where you don't care about it looking great, it might be ok to paint over. A highly visible area like a dining room might not be a great idea.

There's also the bleed through where the color of the wallpaper bleeds through the paint. Even with the best primers this can still happen.

I had decent luck using wall liner; it's a product that you can put over bad drywall and wallpaper to hide imperfection in the wall. It's paintable and you can put new wallpaper over it if you want.

[salmann]

Yes read my post DIY under this thread. I mention about priming over wall paper at the end of the first paragraph in my post.

Sal