Removing Wall Texture - Unknown Texture Material Over Plaster

12 years ago

I am attempting to purchase a house that has an odd wall texture material in several rooms. I have posted photos because I am unsure of how to explain it.

It is:

-Very Hard
-Has sparkles mixed in with the finish
-Seems like a super popcorn texture
-I visited the home with my father who in a previous life worked in construction for 25 years or so and he had no idea what it was.

At the most basic level, I would want to clean and paint over. In an ideal world, it would come off easy and I could take it off, mud where necessary and paint flat walls.

Does anyone have any idea what this is?

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Comments (10)

JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
Here is another photo.
JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
And another.
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User
12 years ago
Where is this house?

country, state, city

And how old is it?
JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
1920's house in Western, NY.

I don't think the finish material is original. It is unique to one bedroom. The rest of the house is either plaster or wallpaper over plaster.
woodbutcher_ca
12 years ago
Hi, It may be easier to just put a skim coat on top of it.
Woodbutcher
JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
I had thought about skim coating, drywalling over the top, or tearing out the plaster and lathe and starting fresh with drywall.

It just seems to me that there must be another option.

On the skim coating front, it wouldn't be too skim. Some of the "peaks" are .5'' out from the valleys. That is a pretty thick skim coat.
User
12 years ago
I'm thinking it's one of the textured decorative "cover up your problem walls" decorative coatings that were used in the 40s-60s.

If you buy the house, chip off a chunk and have it tested for asbestos, because they were often "fiber reinforced" and the fiber of choice was asbestos.
sombreuil_mongrel
12 years ago
Could be one of those commercial/industrial decorative finishes that companies like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams developed, and were only sold through a few suppliers, like Janovic in NYC.
They made sprayed-on suede and marble too.
Spray with water/detergent (or fabric softener?) and see if it peels off with a putty knife. If water beads up and runs down, then you may have to sand it off to expose a water-soluable material, then repeat the wetting/scraping. If the whole thing is an acrylic or an epoxy, sand the best you can, if still too textured, skim coat, oil prime, and paint.
Casey
JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to getting into it (with a respirator on :))
JeremyDL
Original Author
12 years ago
My thoughts on the order of attack are:

1. Use putty knife to get in behind it to the plaster in a small inconspicuous area just to get a better grip on what I'm working with.

2. Water/Fabric Softener out of a pump sprayer. If it soaks in, let it sit for a while and see if it comes off with a putty knife or scraper.

3. Try this product from Amazon (link at bottom) - EcoSolve Home Strip X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover

4. I'm going to be renting a steamer for all of the wallpaper in the home and will maybe give that a go as well.

5. If none of the above works, I will try to sand. If this works, I will likely rent a power sander/vacuum combo.

6. If all else fails, I will skim coat with joint compound.

Does this sound reasonable?

Here is a link that might be useful: EcoSolve Home Strip X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover