Jun
25
What is the best way to remove layers of wallpaper?
By
I am trying to paint walls, but they all have multiple layers of wallpaper I need to strip. Is there a way to get them all off at once?
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5 Comments
June 27th, 2010 at 1:13 am
I don’t know how many layers of paper you need to remove. There may be so many that you will need to resort to steaming, which is quite effective. There is a wonderful product called “Diff” that is a wallpaper and paste remover. It works great. I highly recommend it.
June 28th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
you need to get a wallpaper scorer and wallpaper paste remover. Just start peeling to see how many there are.
You are in for one big job so don’t plan on painting for a while.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:56 am
There is a tool you can get at the hardware store that scores the wallpaper so you can easily steam it off, or use the “Diff” product that someone else mentioned.
Be sure to get ALL the old paste off the walls, if you don’t it will start to flake off. I would put a sealer on the walls before I painted them.
It isn’t an easy job, but it is worth doing right.
June 30th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
As valkyria said, Zinsser Dif is a great product {available from decorators merchants such as Brewers in the UK}. It breaks down the adhesive and returns it to a liquid state, BUT the problem is you have to ensure that it can penetrate each layer of paper which is hard to do. A Paper Tiger is a good tool for perforating the surface, but it involves a lot of hard work.
I would suggest you see how much of the paper you can pull off by hand first, then tackle what’s left with either a steam stripper or the Dif {which is best applied with a garden sprayer}. I’m afraid there is no easy way.
Professional painter and decorator
July 4th, 2010 at 12:09 am
I just removed a wallpaper boarder yesterday. Here is what I did: make a mixture of Downy liquid fabric softener and water. I did about one part Downy to three parts water. Use a sponge and get a wallpapered area wet with your Downy mixture. After it has soaked in (a couple of minutes) the top layer will easily peel off. Then, I sponged the bottom layer of paper (with the glue). Let it soak a couple of minutes and that, too, will peel easily away. I did large areas at one time, BTW. I thought it was a miracle how easy this boarder came off. To peel it away, I used this small, hard, plastic, square, blunt, kitchen scraper (for pots and pans). Please try this “home made” recipe before you spend money on a steamer or store bought products. I can’t tell you enough how easy this was — who would of thought?