# Getting Around Wallpaper Glue



## CharlieWis (Apr 7, 2008)

Hey everybody, I was recently steaming off wallpaper in a small kitchen and I had all of the wallpaper down and it was time to start scrubbing the glue off with a sponge and hot water, when I thought theres got to be a better way. I don't like using chemicals like dif because they don't really work anyway, you still have to scrub like crazy. But in this kitchen I was going to have to skim coat half of the walls, prime them, and sand texture the whole thing anyway so i was thinking why not just scrub off the really heavy glue spots and then seal it all up with oil based primer, then sand texture, skipping the glue scrubbing part. I didn't do that because I wasn't sure how it would turn out in a couple of years after the glue had flexed and shrank. But in the future is this an option? Or could I dry out the glue with fans for a day or two and sand it off? What is your process for taking off wallpaper and repainting? Thanks


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

I like those scotchbrights on the handles and just got to town on the wall. works well for me.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

I always try to remove as much PASTE as possible and prime with an oil based primer( orderless coverstain). It is said that Gardz will lock down the residual PASTE but I still fell more comfortable with the oil. Never had any problems.


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## Joewho (Apr 17, 2007)

Even though a primer might hide staining, it won't stop the paste from checking.

Hot water and just keep it wet. Use a bucket with a screen and a roller and just keep it wet, wet, wet. Use a mud knife to scrape off most of the paste. This will do 84.554% of the job for you. Then, while keeping it wet, wet, wet, use the scrubbie to get the rest of the paste off. 

Nothing like the feel of the scrubber when it gets to solid wall. 

In the end, it will make the sand tex pattern more consistent and fresh, rather than using it to hide the paste.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

This will do 84.554% of the job for you.

I have found it only does 84.445% for me, so I must be doing something wrong.:blink:


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

IMO, 

Joewho has the right approach. Use water to do the work for you. My preference is is a sprayer - the garden type that has never been used for garden chemicals. The walls are continuously misted. My stripping solution of preference is Safe and Simple it works better than DIF and has absolutely no oder.

Spray the walls and then wait for the paste to "re-wet" . Patience is a virtue when stripping and cleaning

Joewho also mentions a mud knife to initially scrape off major sludge - another good piece of advice. Some folks use those little mud troughs to scrape the knife clean of the sludge. 

Then spray again and scrub with the scotch brite pad on a handle - also called a grill scrub










I then rinse clean with a micro-fiber towel - or as a Boston NGPP Member coined, a "miftie"









They are found in the auto detailing department of Costco, BJ's, WalMart, etc. I like the ones from Costco the best.

I've seen too many failures of paint and wallpaper over poorly cleaned walls to trust anything but CLEAN. 

Now one hint, when stripping wallpaper, again mist and keep wet until paste is loose, but then after stripping one small section, spray and remove paste. It is self defeating to strip the whole room and allow the paste to dry before washing it off.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I have only tried it once, but Chomp wallpaper glue remover seams to work better than just hot water. I never really felt Dif worked better than hot water.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

very complete post, daArch. thats exactly what i was talking about. those grill scrubs are nice cause they are extra abrasive. and Charlie if you have a lot to do you could head over to badger cleaning in middleton and pick up a doodlebug (its a pole mountable swiveling scrubber pad holder)


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

As you can see CharlieWis, your answer is basically "no", the paste should come off

Some excellent tips and tricks on removing it here though...
...thanks guys


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## cadchick (May 21, 2008)

Wish I would have had this thread 2 weeks ago...


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## Paul_R (Apr 19, 2007)

Arch, very good post. Do you charge by the hour, or bid out your stripping jobs? You do prime after cleaning? I like Zinnzer 123. Comments? Happy stripping, and painting, Paul.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks Paul,

I bid all jobs. I test all strip jobs before bidding. My pricing is based on minutes per sq feet (my hourly wage is determined by several variables such as distance from home, parking (city), tolls, and PITA factor). The "average" stripping job takes one minute per square foot. I have not seen any go higher than 1.25 min/sf nor lower than .80 min/sf in a long time. BTW, that's "gross" sq ft - windows, doors, etc are not subtracated. 

As I am now a paper hanger and no longer paint, I am usually applying wallpaper prep coat after stripping. If I am stripping for another to paint, I will not coat walls with anything.

123 is a good primer on which to install wallcoverings, IMO. But it has to dry for a couple of days. 

-bill


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## Joewho (Apr 17, 2007)

Those scrubbies look good for sized or painted walls, but do they tear into dw paper or do any damage under "soft" circumstances?


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

123 is a good primer on which to install wallcoverings, IMO. But it has to dry for a couple of days. 


Not so good for priming to paint though.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Joewho said:


> Those scrubbies look good for sized or painted walls, but do they tear into dw paper or do any damage under "soft" circumstances?


"dw paper" ? You mean the cardboard facing on drywall? ahhhh...YAH!
But if you have paper (residential) pasted to raw rock, you're having more problems than scrubbing residue paste.

And what other "soft" circumstances are you talking about? The scrubbies will help clean anything that is water soluble from the surface, like joint compound, calcimine, builders flat, etc. 


BTW, just to set the record straight, "sizing" is thinned paste or even a thinned animal-fat based glue. Although common nomenclature calls modern wallpaper prep coat "size", it is not correct.


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## CharlieWis (Apr 7, 2008)

Hey everybody thanks for the advice, I was really hoping there would be some kind of "miracle cure" or something.... damn. Guess I can't be lazy with wallpaper. But dArch, your approach seems to be a good bet, Thanks! 

tsunami, you should email me your contact info at [email protected]. Whenever I'm booked solid, or run into a job that is beyond me, I'd rather pass leads onto you than Genesis or something. Hope I hear from you soon bud!


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