# What to do with old wallpaper?



## salmonslammer (Jan 28, 2001)

Have 6 or 7 layers.... in the dining room and a bedroom. Its over plaster. Not sure what I want to do with it.... but I have to do something!!!

Any ideas?



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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

1: Mud the seams and paint over it. It will most likely bubble though.

2: Strip it. Nothing fun or easy about it. I like to use an extremely rough sandpaper (30 grit, it's like rocks glued to paper) and scuff the face of the paper. I then soak it with HOT water and DIF wallpaper stripper sprayed from a pump up garden sprayer. Give it a few and re-soak the area you plan on starting at. Begin your stripping nightmare. repeat. Swear. Repeat.


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## redshirt32 (Aug 20, 2003)

The same as firefighter says and take your time let the solvents do the work. Don't get discouraged. Careful not to scar up the plaster if possible.


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## salmonslammer (Jan 28, 2001)

I stripped the dining room ceiling a couple years ago....what a PIA! Think I used vinager and water on it.... came off 1 layer at a time.

Might have to go the chemical route this time.



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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

*MOVE!!! *:evil::lol::lol:

Sorry, ain't nothin' easy in that situation. 

John


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## FIJI (May 15, 2003)

drywall over it

might be easier to deal with the extra trim work than to remove the paper


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## The_Don (Apr 28, 2008)

put on another pattern you like :lol:


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## spoikey (Jan 18, 2005)

Try a steamer.


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## t.g.o.d (Jan 11, 2008)

fabric softener. Buy the cheapest you can find. Walmart has some thats cheap. Spray it on the wall paper let it sit a few seconds. Then use a plastic mud knife. I like about a 5 or 6 inch one. The paper will just peel right off its like magic. Since you have so many layers you will probably have to reapply softener and repeat. It really works


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## Hookineyezz (Sep 11, 2008)

I found that Hot water worked just as well if not better than Dif wallpaper stripper. Just my experience. I really didnt think it was that bad of a job myself. And I had to do about 3000 sq ft.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Seriously though, if you do plan on removing it. Go to Home Depot, Lowes, or a hardware store and get a "Paper Tiger". They score the surface and allow wallpaper remover to penetrate and loosen the adhesive. You'll have to do it several times if there are that many layers, but it's the only way to go. I've got one and used it several times and it works very well. It's just a puck shaped tool that has a couple wheels on the under side. You press it against the surface and roll it around. The wheels cut through the paper without damaging the drywall or plaster underneath. 

Once you've thoroughly scored the surface use a spray bottle or sponge (I always used a sponge) soaked in hot water with DIF stripper mixed in. Wet the wall down and let it sit for a while. For removing the paper, I use a 6 or 10" drywall knife and scrape the paper away. It works pretty well and covers a lot more area much faster than a smaller putty knife. 

Here's what a Paper Tiger looks like...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Zinsser-2966-PaperTiger-Scoring-Wallpaper/dp/B0000DI7WP/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321188448&sr=8-3"]Amazon.com: Zinsser 2966 PaperTiger Scoring Tool for Wallpaper Removal Single Head: Home [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51LRlBWsewL[/ame]

Good luck!!! 

John


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## Largemouth (Feb 23, 2011)

jpollman said:


> Seriously though, if you do plan on removing it. Go to Home Depot, Lowes, or a hardware store and get a "Paper Tiger". They score the surface and allow wallpaper remover to penetrate and loosen the adhesive. You'll have to do it several times if there are that many layers, but it's the only way to go. I've got one and used it several times and it works very well. It's just a puck shaped tool that has a couple wheels on the under side. You press it against the surface and roll it around. The wheels cut through the paper without damaging the drywall or plaster underneath.
> 
> Once you've thoroughly scored the surface use a spray bottle or sponge (I always used a sponge) soaked in hot water with DIF stripper mixed in. Wet the wall down and let it sit for a while. For removing the paper, I use a 6 or 10" drywall knife and scrape the paper away. It works pretty well and covers a lot more area much faster than a smaller putty knife.
> 
> ...






Spent a year or so doing repaints in an apartment complex that let tenants wallpaper.  A paper tiger and DIF are the way to go! First, you have to see if it's cheap or quality wallpaper. If it's the cheap, paper-thin stuff, you want to go over it lightly, not to score the paint or drywall underneath to bad and cause you more headaches. If it's the good wallpaper, that's like fabric, or multiple layers in your case, you'll need to put some pressure on the paper tiger. Start with a small section to see if you're scoring it too much, or not enough, and adjust your pressure. Once you get all the paper off, spray the wall down with DIF and hot water and take a putty knife to remove any significant glue left, then wash down with hot water and a sponge to smooth it out. Then treat it as any other wall repaint from there.


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## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

IMO, stay away from anything that scores the paper!

Had a customer once that used one of those, scored the drywall as it went through the paper. Looked like the wall was shot with bird shot!
Had to skim coat the entire wall before primer and paint.

No quick and easy way for this situation you are in. Hot water and a plastic putty knife. Let the water "work" and you may have to re apply the water several times.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

They must have gone nuts with the scoring tool. I've used a Paper Tiger several times and it worked great every time. Even on one layer of wallpaper. In order for the stripper to work, it has to be able to get to the adhesive. The Paper Tiger cuts many tiny slits in the surface of the paper and it allows the remover to get to the adhesive and do its job. You'd have to press pretty hard in order for the tiger to so any damage to the plaster below. 

John


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## Team Icemonkey (Jan 22, 2009)

Been there with the layered wallpaper over plaster. I used both the paper tiger to score it and cheap fabric softener mixed with hot water in spray bottle. It works pretty good. Make sure you get any scraped paper off your trim before it drys it makes clean up alot easier. Good luck and hopefully you have kids around old enough to help out they will really enjoy the experience!:rant:


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## Largemouth (Feb 23, 2011)

Big Reds said:


> IMO, stay away from anything that scores the paper!
> 
> Had a customer once that used one of those, scored the drywall as it went through the paper. Looked like the wall was shot with bird shot!
> Had to skim coat the entire wall before primer and paint.
> ...


 As posted above, that's why you do a test area first and adjust your pressure accordingly to be sure you're not doing damage to the surface underneath. Most of the time, it takes very little pressure. You're not supposed to go completely through the wallpaper, you just want to score the surface so the remover can get through and soften the glue.


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## salmonslammer (Jan 28, 2001)

FIJI said:


> drywall over it
> 
> might be easier to deal with the extra trim work than to remove the paper




I think that's what I'm leaning towards.... 

My buddy is a drywall guy and says he can put 1/4" up over it and mud it tight to the trim... thankfully there isn't cove molding in that room! 

I redid the electrical 2 years ago so I can flush them up pretty easily so that won't be a problem.. 

I have one of the Paper Tigers and it works great! Figure I'll drywall the the BR and strip the dining room...( put up some wainscotting and repaper it) 

Thanks for the tips guys.. I'm sure they will come in handy!

Sure be glad when I get this house done so I can get a cabin up north and throw money at that!







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## mi duckdown (Jul 1, 2006)

1/4 1nch drywall.


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## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

Don't score it unless you like picking it off a zillion tiny pieces at a time. Soak it with the solvent and give it time to work, then peel it off in large sheets.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

ih772 said:


> Don't score it unless you like picking it off a zillion tiny pieces at a time. Soak it with the solvent and give it time to work, then peel it off in large sheets.


Have you ever tried this technique? I've scored, soaked, and removed wallpapers a few times and it works great. It doesn't come off in a zillion little pieces. Scoring the surface allows the remover to actually get at the adhesive and do its job. Then a wide bladed scraper easily takes the paper off. If you don't score the surface, it either takes a lot longer for the remover to work or it won't work at all because it can't get to the adhesive if it's a vinyl faced paper. 

I don't claim to be an expert, but I've done it a number of times and found that the score, soak, and remove works fine.

John


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