old wallpaper adhesive removal help

4 years ago

I have read so much advice on removing the residual adhesive. The wallpaper was a horrible thick paper with medallions flocked in old gold on a whitish background. The house is 1920, the walls plaster, and the wallpaper probably 1960-70? I started the project pre-COVID and am coming back to it. A lot of things I found said the paste for others that remained was sticky. This is/was not ever sticky. Sometimes I can just scrape it off and it flakes off. The walls are not perfectly flat, so have a few gouges.

Safe and Simple does not seem to be available at the moment. I am allergic to liquid fabric softener, so did not go that route. Tried vinegar and hot water. It helped loosen some. Tried a scrubby and it seemed to wear away the top coat of the plaster around the stubborn paste faster than the paste that remained in those spots. Tried some Dawn and baking soda solution. The paste that is tough to get off is hard and slick and the color of Bondo. Now that those test patches have been wet and scrubbed, the edge has totally disappeared and a razor can't even get under it. Any thoughts?

And how do I scrape the fragile dry bits out of tight corners that have less than 2" between wall some trim around a doorway on the adjoining wall? I am going to do as much of it dry scrapping as possible since it seems wetting it with water based solutions makes it harder to get off. What is this stuff? Any other thoughts?

Luckily it is only the top 1/2 of the wall. Sadly the bottom half seems to be a pressed paper wall covering (painted fingernail red) adhered to dry wall that was then... maybe glued to the studs or lath underneath? There are no obvious fasteners visible. What happened to that plaster? Shrug. Who knows.

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Comments (12)

kathyg_in_mi
4 years ago
Have you used one of these to score the wallpaper?

Scorer
User
4 years ago
From the above the wallpaper is gone and the poster wants to remove residual glue.
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Sara D
Original Author
4 years ago
@kathyg_in_mi - the wallpaper is gone. I did try to score the dried glue with a razor to get more surface area for solutions to be taken in. the results were mixed. the areas that are hardened seem ready to stay. have seen some posts about applying Guardz over what does not come off. the previous owner handyman sure did like his adhesives.... so am worried that because it is not likely real wall paper paste, that Guardz won't seal it in anyway.
Sara D
Original Author
4 years ago
@User - exactly right!
Faron79
4 years ago
Get a REAL wallpaper-stripper!

* Roll/brush on a couple coats about 20 minutes apart.

* Here's the TRICK.....

* Get some light (half-mil) painters-plastic. Press it on the wall.

* The idea here is to keep the stripper from drying-out, by using the plastic film!! It's the same reason you wrap up Meatloaf in Saran-wrap!

* Leave it on for a couple hours....watch a Football or Baseball game :-)

* Then, pull some plastic back, & start scraping. Consider getting one of those BBQ Grill scrubbers with the handle & open scrubby-head. This will help you chew-thru the paste.

* Now.....rinse, rinse, & rinse again!

* Then apply a couple coats of Gardz.!

Faron
Sara D
Original Author
4 years ago
@Faron79 I will give it a try. Thanks
HU-464286693
4 years ago
Be careful. Old bathroom (vinyl) wallpaper often contains asbestos. Removing it will release friable particles into your home and endanger the health of you and your family. It's best to wet an area and send the sample off for testing.
HU-464286693
4 years ago
Be careful. Old bathroom (vinyl) wallpaper often contains asbestos. Removing it will release friable particles into your home and endanger the health of you and your family. It's best to wet an area and send the sample off for testing.
ci_lantro
4 years ago
Do what Faron says. Commercial strippers contain enzymes to make the removal easier. And enzymes require time to work.

Alternatively, you could experiment using something like Biz laundry booster or a top shelf laundry detergent like Tide. I've not used laundry products personally so there may be good reasons not to. That's why I said 'experiment.'
ptreckel
4 years ago
Two other suggestions for removing the glue from your walls: TSP and VERY hot water. Or liquid fabric softener and very hot water. The hot water is the key.
Sara D
Original Author
4 years ago
update... i tried a few of the suggestions, there are places that the plaster scrubbed away around the area I thought was glue... maybe it is not? Am waiting for an estimate on fixing some cracks in the coved plaster ceiling, will ask about the make of the walls then too. thanks
Tootsie
4 years ago
Consider a skim coat to cover up everything. We just resorted to this!