Wall Paper Removal 101
Once, long ago on a far away planet….I was a painter, specifically an interior house painter and sometime wallpaper hanger. Now I’m an advertising executive and an author, yet I cannot bring myself to hire a painter. That being the case (logical or not), I found myself this weekend beginning a kitchen remodeling project on our house and the first step was wallpaper removal.
I’m going to go on the record: I don’t care for wallpaper and I positively hate the idea of using it in kitchens. I know this will not make me popular with the country kitchen crowd (I don’t care for kitschy kitchens either) with their endless parade of ducks and sheaves of hay, stenciling, etc., but before you hit the back button please understand that there is logic behind my dislike of kitchen wallpaper: Kitchens are harsher environments than most other areas of a house with steam, heat, water, grease, etc., none of which help the cause of wallcoverings. So I happily set out to remove the French country kitchen wallpaper with its endless fleur de lis and peeling corners.
This time around I got lucky- it was vinyl and peeled off handily. The remaining glue was washed off with warm water and a dash of white vinegar, allowed to dry and sanded to remove the last bits. However there are many occasions where removing wallpaper is not that easy.
If you have the misfortune to be removing mylar (a kind of plastic), flock or layers of wallpaper glued on too thoroughly you may be facing the dreaded putty knife removal: one little strip at a time. Here’s some tips that can make a big difference:
- Score the paper through to the wall surface. You can buy a tool for this that won’t destroy the wall (important for drywall which can get damaged if scratched) or just use the corner edge of your putty knife
- Get a pump sprayer from a garden store. Fill with hot water and add wallpaper remover (from the paint store). If you don’t have it you can use a cup of white vinegar to 2 gallons of water.
- Here’s the trick. spray all the paper until soaked (put towels or drop cloths along the floor). Don’t touch the wallpaper. Now do it again- soak it.
- When the wallpaper starts to peel off by itself take your putty knife and start sliding the paper off. This should require no effort- if it does you need more water.
- The key is to get the paper totally soaked through to the glue. You want the glue to dissolve and release the paper. That’s why you scrape coverings that are waterproof like vinyl and mylar- to help the water reach the glue.
Most people don’t use enough water and end up doing a lot more work. Once you’ve got the paper and glue off (a wide drywall knife works great for getting all of it), sponge down the wall and let it dry. Give it a light sand and prime it with interior primer. Don’t use normal paint, primer is formulated to create a bond between paint and funky surfaces. Be sure to have the primer tinted to the same color as the paint you plan to use to save yourself a coat.
If you plan to use wallpaper again use primer designed to go under paper. It will make the job go a lot easier and your paper will stay put a lot longer.
That’s it. Have fun and don’t hold back on the hot water!
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