My sister sponge painted the room... how do i get the walls smooth again????

Question

Hi, i have a slight problem.... about 5 yrs ago when my sister still lived at home she decided to redecorate... using a sponge. now i've got the big room and i want to redecorate again. i've already sanded down some of the wall but it's not easy to do that for the whole 25msquared!! and even the bits i have done take forever to sand until they look normal!!
I have been using pretty rough sandpaper so it's probably not going to help to go and find rougher stuff ( if such stuff exists, without being pebbles stuck to paper ), i've already been told that using polycell stuff to paint over it is a bad idea by a real ex-painter, and he suggested just using warm water and a paint scrapper.. This didn't really work that well either... it went right through 2 the plaster.. and I'm not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing? is it a good idea to just take all the paint off the walls like that? would it be possible 2 use a paint stripper gel on walls? all the references ive found refer 2 wood

yep!!! definatly "splodged it on" over white paint in a rainbow of colours from green and yellow to purple.. uch! nobody can argue it needs to be painted over!! and the splodges where so bad that in some there used to be little bubbles of air under a little bit so you could go around acting as if there was little tiny bubble wrap bubbles to burst... there wasn't many though so the novelty wore off. it was the only good part, and it was only accidental.

Answer 1

Don't use paint stripper. Your plaster won't like it.
Can your sister remember what type of paint she used? If you can find out & take that info to a decent sized paint store they should be able to advise you.
Are you hand sanding? Switch to an electric but make sure you use the right type and the right paper & wear a mask. You don't want to be breathing in any of that dust!

Answer 2

Without actually seeing the walls, one can only "guess" about the texture of the walls. Sponge painting in the true form does not leave the walls in need of sanding or paint removal, so I can only guess she "globbed it on somehow. Sanding will not usually work, nor will paint removers as the paint is absorbed into the wall to a certain degree. I would try finding some paintable wall paper, then paper the walls, after which you can follow the manufactures instructions for painting over it.

Answer 3

Have a look at the various chemicals offered for paint stripping - I have used one on plaster walls but I am unsure if they are all suitable.
Could you get access to a powered sander? Maybe hire one for a morning from a local equipment hire centre. You would not need VERY rough sandpaper - a medium one with the aid of the powered sander would whip through the paint like a hot knife through butter!

Answer 4

Sand with progressivly finer sandpaper: 80, 100, 120, 220 gritts. Suggest an electric sander to save you a little effort. Lot of work, but results will be worth it.

Don't use stripper. It will penetrate the dry wall and ruin it.

Big job. Invite friends over for a cook out after helping sand your room with you!

Answer 5

You have to sand it down prior to priming the wall and then painting. The key is to take your time sanding since you don't want to sand too deep into the plaster or dry wall and have even areas. Be sure that you wear a mask or respirator so you don't breath in any of the paint particles since they can possibly contain lead.

Answer 6

hmmm...try an orbital sander...should go pretty quickly.
Or why not throw a skim coat of drywall mud over the walls. Must make sure it sticks first though.
Scraping sounds good but it may require a skim coat of mud as well.

Sure you cant just sponge on something else that you like :)

Answer 7

try priming with a few coats then paint.

Answer 8

Try a ele. sander.

Answer 9

electric sander