Wow...I can't believe how much time flies when you're busy! I guess that is a good thing! There has been a lot of talk of wall paper removal in my circle of peers. I too, have had the great opportunity to strip wall paper a couple weeks ago in my mother's kitchen. NOT a favorite past time, I will tell you that.
Not sure how many people still do a full room floral like this, but this cover from a Waverly "Rose Garden" Wallpaper book is not my idea of a calming space. My opinion! If you do have a room that looks like this, you should read on for tips on getting rid of the wall paper that drives you crazy!
I thought I would share the not so rocket science technique I have for stripping wall paper. Not all wall paper is created equal. Not all adhesive is created equal. If you are lucky enough to have only one layer of paper, and the paper comes off in sheets, you may not have to use the scoring tool as much. I would not bet all your chickens at the market on this, however.
On to stripping (wallpaper!)-
1 -After peeling off what you can, run a scoring tool, can be found at your local hardware store, over the face to lightly to create holes in the top of the paper, this allows the removing agent to penetrate back to the adhesive. Careful to not press too hard, you can mark up your sheet rock underneath. Then you have an even bigger job to skim coat your bare wall when your done!
2-Soak the area. Literally soak it, with the removing agent(see below for removing agents). I use a spray bottle as it seems to be less messy, but you may want to try a paint roller. Let the area sit for 10 minutes or so. Pull from a loose corner if the face is still in tact. With luck you will get sheets. Without, you will need a paint scraper and multiple repeats of the above steps. Good luck.
3-Prior to painting, you will want to take a bucket with warm water and a sponge and clean off any remaining residue left from the adhesive. This may take several passes. Once all the residue is removed. You are ready to paint, unless you have patchwork to do. That is a whole other article. I will try to get my contractor expert Matt Regan of Regan Construction to do a piece on that.
I did want to share my findings on removal agents...
In the kitchen removal job....I did an experiment with DIF, wall paper remover and Sol-u-mel, a multi-use all natural product from Melaleuca. It was a test. Someone had told me that Sol-u-mel could indeed be used as wall paper stripper. Of course, I wanted to see just how good it really worked. So I tried it!
I had a spray bottle of both DIF and Sol-u-mel. They
worked exactly the same. Honest...I was working the room from two sides. Spray and soak, let sit, with DIF...to the other side...spray and soak, let sit, with Sol-u-mel...same outcome. I find that amazing since Sol-u-mel is meant as a cleaner and disinfectant, it truly has 100 uses. I will begin posting those on my website eventually for all you skeptics.Good luck with your wall paper removal! Of course, you can
always choose to hire a professional. Trust me, it may cost you some money, but the money spent will save you one GINORMOUS headache. If you are looking for one, let me know, I can refer you to one. Happy Spring!
