how do you remove extremely old wallpaper that now has a symbiotic relationship with the wall?

Question

fixing up a house
wallpaper will not come off with "dif" products or "paper scorers"
have already created an uneven surface w/torn paper

Answer 1

you might want to consider a smooth white paneling over the top

Answer 2

Well Jay, the first house my wife and I lived in we had to peel 17 layers of paper off the walls. It won't be easy, but it will come off eventually, if you work at it hard enough. We wound up using boiling hot water in a garden pump sprayer then scraping it off with putty knives. Once you've dug up the walls and got all the paper off you have to go back and fill the holes you made. Or as one of the answerer's suggested, just panel over it. If the walls themselves are solid, you could install 3/16" underlayment on the walls, tape and fill the joints and paint it, then wall paper over that if you really have to have wall paper.

Answer 3

it sounds like you need to rent a wallpaper steamer and buy a wallpaper scraper knife. that's what i had to do with this house, previous owners had painted with oil based paint over the stuff and it really was bonded to the drywall. to make it worse, the ink on the paper bled into the drywall in the dining room and in turn bleed through 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of creamy yellow after all of that work. yeah, i drink a lot of wine when i eat in there for the holidays now! i find doing so allows me to not notice it that much. some day, when i run out of wine probably, i'll take everything out, apply a few coats of primer sealer, and let her pick out a new color. yup, i'll be a real hero, for sure. might be good advice for you too, use primer sealer anyways just to be safe. good luck, hope this helps, if it doesn't, try wine!

Answer 4

When I was doing that type of work I would use a bug sprayer and fill it 3 parts vinegar and one part hot water. Spray on and let stand for at least 5 minutes. This will help the paper but you will still have a problem with the old chalky paint.

Answer 5

When i renovated my place i had a wall like that. I found it was easier to rip the drywall down to the studs and redo it from scratch. When i tried peeling the paper, it either tore, took out chunks, left a residue.....essentially ruined the finish of the wall. I found it was just faster to redo it and redo the joints. I found wallpaper to be a terrible product when you go back to do reno's .... especially when its really old as the glue seems really strong with their bond to the wall.

Good luck

Answer 6

if the paper is that bonded to the wall, remove any loose paper. then prime the entire wall with an oil primer. when dry, lightly sand then skim coat using joint compound. when that's dry, sand again and reskim. it sounds like a lot of work cause it is, but the results are worth the effort. i've done this many times. good luck and wear a respirator.

Answer 7

There's some kind of tool I don't know the name of it but it rolls around on the wall and has several pokey thing on it. It will poke holes in the wall paper, but not the wall. Do that, then take a spray bottle full of diluted liquid fabric softener, and spray it all to moisten the wall paper. Then use a paint scraper to scrape off the wall paper.

p.s. The liquid fabric softener does wonders on your hands in the process.

Answer 8

i just did this and some guy told me this neet trick, get some downey fabric softner pour into a spray bottle half way and add very hot water, spray the wall down good and let sit for 2 minutes and peel off , the softner loosess it all up and it worked great,, let me know how it went

Answer 9

Steam, chemical removers, and muscle. The only way to get this horrible task done. I have to say, Symbiotic relationship... Priceless description! Made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the entertainment.

Answer 10

Try using hot water with vinegar added. Let it soak well.