Stripping stubborn wallpaper is driving me nuts- any tips ? Perhaps steam ?

I'm trying to strip some wallpaper which has been up for 7 years but its really really stubborn. It's waterproof/vinyl on the outside surface and when pulled its leaving a residue of backing. Even at that the outside surface is really difficult to get off also.

My main problem is I want to paint the walls when I am finished. The walls are really beautiful, flat and plastered really well underneath. I don't want to damage the surface of the wall but the slow pace of progress is breaking my heart.

Do steam powered devices tend to help or do they damage walls ? I saw a few in the argos online catalogue. Perhaps because the 2 rooms I wish to strip are small I might be better off hiring a professional wallpaper stripper from a toolhire company (if such devices exist) ?

I am a total newbie at this so any advice would be welcome.

Ask at your local hardware shop or
Check out your local hire shop... They may be the ones to help...

Tear off the vinyl - the lining paper will be left. Mix warm waterVA at 4:1 and paint on. Leave for ten minutes or so. That should blister the backing paper enough to use a scraper on. Only paint on enough of the mixture that will stay damp while you're working - otherwise it becomes hard.

hi.
From loads of experience, tear of the outside vinyl. Then hire out an industrail wallpaper steamer. It will make very easy work of it. TIP Wear rubber gloves

nediaaa said:

From loads of experience, tear of the outside vinyl.

Click to expand...

Agree. You'll spend the rest of your life trying to remove the vinyl by steaming alone. Dunno about an industrial steamer but our €30 one did fine once the vinyl was removed. As long as you let the walls dry out thoroughly before (I assume, painting?) there will be no harm done.

Never. Hang. Wallpaper.

Remove the outer paper if you can and then a mixture of 2 parts warm water to 1 part white vinegar does the trick with stubborn backing thats left on the walls

edit: Dont forget to wear gloves. Your hands will be covered in sticky glue in no time

on a building site you will not see a decorator with water and vinegar. He will have a steamer

Surrender to the steam. It's the only way (I speak from experience of trying all the other ways)

nediaaa said:

on a building site you will not see a decorator with water and vinegar. He will have a steamer

Click to expand...

I would agree with this. My decorator said he avoids using a steamer as there is the danger of taking plaster of as well which wouldn't be good if you want to paint the walls. Water and vinegar is the way to go first.

Have a party . Get a few friends round. Many hands make light work. And you might have a laugh. Might just cost you for barbeque and few beers.

Well worth it though...

Megan said:

My decorator said he avoids using a steamer as there is the danger of taking plaster of as well which wouldn't be good if you want to paint the walls.

Click to expand...

Well I'm sure there's a chance of it but just to say that we have steamed wallpaper off about 7 or 8 rooms and haven't damaged plaster yet.

Trick is not to leave the steamer on one patch for too long and to take care when using the scraper. A plastic one or even a scraper for car windows might be better than a metal one.

Make sure the walls are well washed with sugar soap afterwards and sandpapered if necessary as they will be slimy/sticky.

Caveat said:

Agree. You'll spend the rest of your life trying to remove the vinyl by steaming alone. Dunno about an industrial steamer but our €30 one did fine once the vinyl was removed. As long as you let the walls dry out thoroughly before (I assume, painting?) there will be no harm done.

Never. Hang. Wallpaper.

Click to expand...

Now, there is an idea ......... nail it up

get some d.i.f. most paint shops have it, mix it with hot water, roll it on over the backing paper.this stuff and a steamer and a flexible scraper, your paper will fly off.no problems and no damage.

Peel off the outer coat of paper, wet it three or four times with hot soapy water and a wide paint scraper will lift it off. Do not try to rush it as you can damage the background plaster.

Thanks for the advice guys. What made the job even harder is an expensive carpet on the floor underneath therefore throwing water onto the wall with a sponge requires even more care than if had a wooden floor. Water thrown up even carefully with a sponge seems to leak all over the place and even a towel underneath gets wet fast. The amount of water (with wallpaper remover added in which didnt work by the way) which I had been soaking onto the wall was huge and none of it was making any headway whatsoever. I had scored and dampened the paper but the paper was just stuck on that wall like it was part of the wall.

In the end I got the cheapest steamer I could find from Argos which was about 32 euro and it really did the job. I am really happy with it even though in future I will never ever use wallpaper again and will mostly likely end up holding it in storage until I lend it to someone. Wallpaper is just too much hassle and much harder to clean. There had been a leak upstairs in the bathroom a few years ago and when peeling back one of the walls I discovered mould which had been quite well hidden. Wallpaper hides all sorts of unhealthy things. The wall is well plastered and as I sweep an area with the steamer I follow in with the scraper and it works really well without any feeling that the wall is being damaged. Theres no risk of gouging the wall either so its perfect.

good on you bullworth,good too see you got it done..wallpaper is nott the worst really,its all too do with the way its put on the wall.plastered walls need a primer on the wall first the best one is shields made by zinnzer.makes it easy too apply the paper and when it comes too removing it its really easy.just a tip if you decide too go for paper at a future date.

Thanks for the tip Jab . I'll pass it on to any poor soul choosing wallpaper who might cross my path

In the bedrooms years ago the walls were quite bad, but I didn't have the money at the time to get them replastered. A friend put up very subtle fresco wallpaper and we have been painting over it ever since, magic. You would never know unless you stood up beside it that it was wallpapered, not painted.

I am never taking that wallpaper down now!!