Removing Painted Over Wallpaper, Exposed Dry Wall, Stubborn Glue

ThisBroHouse · 06-14-10, 09:02 AM

Hi there,

I just moved into a house that has a few rooms with painted over wallpaper that has probably been there for twenty years or longer.

In the room we wanted to tackle first, it looks like the wallpaper had been partially removed or peeled off at some point, then the patchy/ripped off wallpaper surface was painted over to try to make it look even. We tried to peel of the wall paper manually as well as with a steamer. Either way a thin layer of fuzzy paper or glue seems to remain on some of the wall. On other spots some of the drywall covering came off revealing a cardboard like texture. The steaming seemed to get a little bit of water into these exposed areas so we stopped that. It didn't do this everywhere but enough drops to make us stop.

It looks like the walls weren't primed right for the wall paper whenever the house was built (I think in the 70s). So now we have walls with large patches of this glue (or fuzzy paper), paint (on the wall itself as well as painted over wallpaper), bare drywall (I assume it's drywall it has a kind of a thin uneven, plastery finish), and small bits of exposed drywall (feels/looks like cardboard).

The goal is to get an even surface to paint over.

From what I've read I need to put a seal on the exposed bits of drywall. But after that I'm not sure what to do. Should I try to sand the glue down to make it even with the wall? Is there something I can coat the whole wall with that I can then sand? Is there another option?

I know this is going to be a long and laborious adventure. Any advice would be appreciated.

06-14-10, 09:02 AM	#1
ThisBroHouse Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Removing Painted Over Wallpaper, Exposed Dry Wall, Stubborn Glue Hi there, I just moved into a house that has a few rooms with painted over wallpaper that has probably been there for twenty years or longer. In the room we wanted to tackle first, it looks like the wallpaper had been partially removed or peeled off at some point, then the patchy/ripped off wallpaper surface was painted over to try to make it look even. We tried to peel of the wall paper manually as well as with a steamer. Either way a thin layer of fuzzy paper or glue seems to remain on some of the wall. On other spots some of the drywall covering came off revealing a cardboard like texture. The steaming seemed to get a little bit of water into these exposed areas so we stopped that. It didn't do this everywhere but enough drops to make us stop. It looks like the walls weren't primed right for the wall paper whenever the house was built (I think in the 70s). So now we have walls with large patches of this glue (or fuzzy paper), paint (on the wall itself as well as painted over wallpaper), bare drywall (I assume it's drywall it has a kind of a thin uneven, plastery finish), and small bits of exposed drywall (feels/looks like cardboard). The goal is to get an even surface to paint over. From what I've read I need to put a seal on the exposed bits of drywall. But after that I'm not sure what to do. Should I try to sand the glue down to make it even with the wall? Is there something I can coat the whole wall with that I can then sand? Is there another option? I know this is going to be a long and laborious adventure. Any advice would be appreciated.