DIY Wallpaper Removal Tutorial

• Repair Blistering Paint
• Repair Torn Drywall Paper
• Paint Over Wallpaper
• Paint Stripes on Walls

Wallpaper removal is a messy job no matter how you do it. But if you want to get rid of old wallpaper, you really have no choice but to strip it. While it may be a bit of a hassle, it's well worth the effort when the result is a fresh new wall to decorate.

Stripping the paper off the walls is probably the toughest part of wallpaper removal but the most important part is dissolving the paste. After the paper has been removed, the paste will be left behind causing new paint finishes to crack and may cause new wallpaper to peel. To remove the paper and get rid of all the paste we recommend Savogran® wallpaper stripping solution. Not all wallpaper strippers will loosen the paper and dissolve the paste so it can be washed off the walls but this product will do a good job on both.

Vinyl Wallpaper Removal

Before beginning to remove wallpaper it's important to consider the type of paper you're dealing with. For instance, vinyl paper will be impervious to wallpaper stripper, so the vinyl topcoat will have to be removed before attempting to soak it with liquid stripper. Fortunately, it is usually easy to pull the vinyl cover off.

To determine if the paper is vinyl, try peeling it off the wall using a joint knife to lift the edge. If the surface coating comes away from the wall in a sheet, it's vinyl paper. Thick vinyl wallpaper will come off in full sheets and paste will usually be all that is left on the wall. With some types of vinyl wallpaper a backing paper may remain on the walls as well. Thinner vinyl wallpaper will tear randomly as you pull the coating off and will almost always leave a backing paper on the walls.

If you're dealing with thin vinyl that tears, pull off as much as you can before it tears and then peel up a new edge with the knife. Continue until you have removed all the vinyl and the backing paper and glue are all that remain on the wall. Because the backing paper is porous, it will quickly soak up the liquid stripper.

Paper–Wallpaper Removal

"Paper–wallpaper" is another type that may be encountered, especially in older houses. Older wallpaper like this is usually easy to strip because it will absorb the liquid quickly and scrape off the wall will little effort. Grass cloth is another paper–wallpaper that will absorb liquid quickly and be fairly easy to remove.

If you're dealing with paper–wallpaper in a newer house it may help to score the surface to aid in the absorption of the stripper. These papers will usually have a sealer coating the surface to make them more durable. This also makes them harder to strip, cutting the surface with a tool like a paper tiger will help to speed things along.

Mixing the Stripper

Begin the process by mixing the wallpaper stripper with warm, to hot water in a compression sprayer. To prevent foaming, add the water first and then add the appropriate amount of stripper. Put the pump on the sprayer and pump up the pressure.

Cover floors with a cotton drop cloth to soak up run–off from the sprayer. Some floors may be stained by the remover liquid, test a hidden spot on wood floors for damage before continuing. If the floor is affected by the stripper, tape 1 mil or thicker plastic to the baseboard and cover with the drop cloth to keep water and stripper off the floor.

Removing the Wallpaper

Spray a 4 foot swath of the wallpaper, soaking it completely with a fine spray, from ceiling to floor. Wait 5 minutes and spray the same space again. Move to the next 4 foot swath of wall space and soak it in the same way. Go back to the first swath and spray it a third time. Spray the second section again. Wait a few minutes and go back to the beginning.

Try to peel up an edge of the paper with a joint knife. If the paper comes free from the wall easily, it's ready to be stripped. Spray it again to keep it wet and then spray the second section again before beginning to remove the softened paper. If the wallpaper doesn't come away easily, spray the wall again and keep spraying it until the paper is soft enough to come off.

When the paper comes off easily slide the blade of a wide joint knife under the wet paper and skim it off the wall. Deposit the wet paper into a trash bag immediately to avoid creating a mess that you will have to clean up later.

After removing the paper from the first section begin the softening process on a third and fourth 4 foot swath of wallpaper. Keep each section wet by soaking it every few minutes. Move around the room spraying a few sections ahead as you work. Let the stripper do the work. The more you spray, the easier the paper will be to remove. Spray the paper as many times as needed to make it soft and easy to remove with the joint knife.

NOTE: If you are dealing with plaster, all this spraying will have no real effect on the wall surface. If however, you are working with a drywall surface, particularly un–painted drywall, you will want to be careful with the joint knife when removing the paper. To avoid tearing the drywall paper use gentle pressure and don't force wallpaper that's not ready to come free. Also be aware of how much stripping liquid has penetrated the surface. Don't let the drywall become soaked as this will cause the paper surface to ripple and pucker. See Repairing Drywall Paper for help with this type of damage.

Removing the Wallpaper Paste

When the paper has all been removed, go back to the starting point and spray the paste in the same manner. Soak a few sections of wall space at a time. Spray the glue repeatedly before attempting to remove it.

When you're ready use a scrub brush, rag and a bucket of warm water to wash the dissolved paste off the wall. Start at the ceiling and scrub a small area in a circular motion with the wet brush.

Saturate the rag with clean warm water, wring it out and wipe the paste off. Turn the rag to a clean spot and rinse frequently to avoid spreading the paste around. Work from the ceiling down so the water runs off the cleaned wall. Refresh the rinse water frequently as it becomes saturated with paste.

When you have the paste off the walls, wash the baseboards and floor with clean water and let them dry. Let the walls dry for a day or so before doing repairs and decorating.