- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Wallpaper removal
Posted on 5/16/25 at 1:46 pm
Posted on 5/16/25 at 1:46 pm
What the hell am I doing wrong? I am scoring it and using a solution, but it’s coming off in bits and pieces AND the part that’s glued to the wall remains..
11
Posted on 5/16/25 at 2:02 pm to Lake08
That shite sucks
Posted on 5/16/25 at 2:27 pm to Lake08
That's likely due to the walls never being sized prior to applying the paper.
Sizing is a product you put on the walls like paint and it allows for wallpaper to be removed at a later date without much trouble. A lot of contractors will just use a cheap primer to apply over the sheetrock exterior paper and that is perfectly fine.
You will likely find you are going to pull that exterior paper off the sheetrock exposing the gypsum underneath. That is a PITA to deal with and will require you to skim the entire wall surface to smooth them back out to paint.
You might want to try a steamer to help loosen the paper. You can rent them from a tool rental place.
Sizing is a product you put on the walls like paint and it allows for wallpaper to be removed at a later date without much trouble. A lot of contractors will just use a cheap primer to apply over the sheetrock exterior paper and that is perfectly fine.
You will likely find you are going to pull that exterior paper off the sheetrock exposing the gypsum underneath. That is a PITA to deal with and will require you to skim the entire wall surface to smooth them back out to paint.
You might want to try a steamer to help loosen the paper. You can rent them from a tool rental place.
This post was edited on 5/16/25 at 3:02 pm
Posted on 5/16/25 at 2:51 pm to Lake08
Posted on 5/16/25 at 3:07 pm to Lake08
I had the same problem when I tried to remove it. I just finally had the old wallpaper covered in a white paintable wallpaper.
ETA: After I could not get it to come off, I had a company come out to remove it. They said it would be a lot cheaper to just put up the paintable wallpaper over the old wallpaper.
ETA: After I could not get it to come off, I had a company come out to remove it. They said it would be a lot cheaper to just put up the paintable wallpaper over the old wallpaper.
This post was edited on 5/16/25 at 3:08 pm
Posted on 5/16/25 at 4:20 pm to Lake08
Sounds like a vinyl wallpaper with a paper backing. You have to get the paper backing wet. Can use dif or warm water. Expose the paper backing by peeling bits of vinyl then dip a paint roller in water and wet it thoroughly. Give it a couple of minutes and take a putty knife to gently scrape the wallpaper backing off the Sheetrock. May take a while because as was mentioned the wall wasn’t sized before hanging paper, but it will come off. Couple hours for a small to medium bathroom.
I would not use one of those paper tigers to score the vinyl. They are marginally effective and will also score the Sheetrock.
I would not use one of those paper tigers to score the vinyl. They are marginally effective and will also score the Sheetrock.
Posted on 5/16/25 at 7:33 pm to Lake08
We (the wife) did removal in 6 rooms at one house. Scoring and solution did nothing. She got a handheld clothes steamer and it worked 10x as fast, and better. Just gotta watch how wet you get things.
Posted on 5/16/25 at 7:40 pm to calcotron
It was invented by Satan !!!!!
NEVER AGAIN…….
Don’t believe the comment that the walls were not properly sized.
That might be true in some cases but not in our case.
Trying to remember if I left out any cuss words trying to get that shite off the walls. No, I used them all, multiple times
Good Luck !!!
NEVER AGAIN…….
Don’t believe the comment that the walls were not properly sized.
That might be true in some cases but not in our case.
Trying to remember if I left out any cuss words trying to get that shite off the walls. No, I used them all, multiple times
Good Luck !!!
Posted on 5/16/25 at 8:36 pm to Lake08
Why are you removing the wallpaper?
Posted on 5/16/25 at 10:40 pm to Lake08
The one method that worked for me perfectly was to remove as much as I could, then when I got frustrated at said F it, I just painted over it with the wrong primer and it rolled right off 
Posted on 5/17/25 at 10:56 am to Ncook
wallpaper, like suicide, is a permanent solution to a temporary problem LOL. Easiest thing to do is skim over it and paint
Posted on 5/17/25 at 11:51 am to Lake08
quote:
What the hell am I doing wrong? I am scoring it and using a solution, but it’s coming off in bits and pieces AND the part that’s glued to the wall remains..
Some wallpaper is just a nightmare. If you're already into it and want to get it off, you just have to keep going layer by layer.
Often the outer layer comes off, then you have to get the paper behind it, then scrub the glue residue completely off.
Then you have a bunch of places where the sheetrock's nicked that need to be skimmed.
Keeping the solution very warm helps.
This post was edited on 5/17/25 at 12:09 pm
Posted on 5/17/25 at 3:55 pm to Lake08
I'd rather rip walls out and hang new sheetrock than remove wallpaper. It would probably take less time as well.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 11:01 pm to cgrand
I really don’t usually like to skim over paper, but sometimes I will.
Sometimes the moisture in the mud will cause some of the paper to loosen, especially the seams. Cutting the seams out with a razor knife and then skimming is another option.
Sometimes the moisture in the mud will cause some of the paper to loosen, especially the seams. Cutting the seams out with a razor knife and then skimming is another option.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 10:04 am to 9rocket
Use a primer to prevent this
Posted on 5/19/25 at 8:32 am to calcotron
quote:
handheld clothes steamer
This is what I used as well except it wasn't a cloths steamer.
It had roughly a 1'X1' steaming head that you would place on the wall. Almost identical to this. AMAZON LINK
It worked surprising well. Even used it to remove glue left over from some glue down flooring we ripped up.
Posted on 5/19/25 at 4:07 pm to Lake08
quote:
What the hell am I doing wrong? I am scoring it and using a solution, but it’s coming off in bits and pieces AND the part that’s glued to the wall remains..
I've done a lot of wallpaper and that's pretty much how it's come off every time. The longer it's been on the wall, the worse it is. Also, don't get me started on places I've lived and removed multiple layers where the previous owner just papered over things. It's a tedious process, but I like detail and I don't hate it.
Posted on 5/20/25 at 11:53 am to LaLadyinTx
home depot rents a steamer for wallpaper. I have used it in the past. It works well.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News