How To Clean Walls After Removing Wallpaper

I'm redecorating one of the rooms in my house. Anyway as i strip the wallpaper there's a gluey residue left on the wall. What's the best way of getting rid of this to have a clean surface ready to paint underneath? Washing the wall/sanding/scrapping?

In reply to Frank4short:

scrape and wash with sugar soap.

In reply to interdit: Could also just reline it with a heavy grade lining paper prior to painting it...

In reply to LRB:

> (In reply to interdit) Could also just reline it with a heavy grade lining paper prior to painting it...

Never looks quite as good if you don't get the surface underneath as smooth as possible...

Soaking works wonders - wet the wall with warm water with sugar soap on, then wet a different bit, leaving the first bit to soak for a while...

then go and scrape the gooey gum off the wall with a scraper, and give it another wash - the leaving it bit should have let it all dissolve...

In reply to tlm: What's the difference between sugar soap & well regular soap?

In reply to LRB:

> (In reply to interdit) Could also just reline it with a heavy grade lining paper prior to painting it...

you could, but i'm going to have to agree with TLM about the need to prep the surface.

i reckon that you can get away with a slightly rough plaster surface painted in the right colours, but even using 800gsm backing paper you need to remove all lumps and bumps before papering.

In reply to Frank4short:

> (In reply to tlm) What's the difference between sugar soap & well regular soap?

here's my lazy, late night answer....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_soap

available from all DIY sheds.

preparation is the key to getting a good finish in all decorating imo.

In reply to interdit: To be clear i've done this once before & been fastidious about how the walls were prepared. Just last time i sanded them after removing the wallpaper. I was wondering what was the best way to get rid of the gunk left on the walls. As i'm sure there's got to be a more efficient way of removing it than what i did last time. I've no intention of repapering it. All holes & imperfections will be filled & sanded to an extremely high standard.

In reply to Frank4short:

> (In reply to interdit)

> I was wondering what was the best way to get rid of the gunk left on the walls.

got to be sugar soap and scraping

> I've no intention of repapering it.

good

> All holes & imperfections will be filled & sanded to an extremely high standard.

that's the way to do it. there are no real shortcuts to a quality job.

to be honest, in this current house i've just generally knocked down the old walls and built new ones.

if you know what french crepi is then you'll understand why!

also it's allowed easier access to replace the lethal electrics that are in place.

In reply to interdit:

> to be honest, in this current house i've just generally knocked down the old walls and built new ones.

Might be a tad excessive to get rid of some dodgy wallpaper. Especially seeing as one of the walls is external.

In reply to Frank4short:

> redecorating one of the rooms in my house. Anyway as i strip the wallpaper there's a gluey residue left on the wall. What's the best way of getting rid of this to have a clean surface ready to paint underneath? Washing the wall/sanding/scrapping?

1, Strip off all the wall paper 'dry' as best as you can, not with the traditional stripper, but with the new bladed ones from 'travis perkins'

2, bucket with water, then a good (car type) sponge - soak the wall

3, then re-scrape the gloopy/glue or old straggler bits of paper

this will prevent you from forcing the scraper to hard making deep gorges in the wall, so you should have a neat wall, however this will be highly unlikely and as you want to paint, you should really re-skim the wall, but you can now buy a bag of 'aims/ames' cheap enough (same as plaster, but drys quickly) apply - sand - paint

bobs your uncles mother ferret

In reply to El-Mariachi: I've been using a steamer to get the wallpaper off. I don't forsee any of your problems.

In reply to Frank4short: All of the above for best results, wash it down with plenty of water and scrape it off, let dry then sand well. That way your prime layer will take more easily when it has been prepared properly.

In reply to Frank4short:

If you plan to paint the bare wall get it skimmed, filling and sanding down doesnt give the best of finishes and all that scraping will inevitably lead to gouges in the walls. I recently had a 4mx3mx3m room skimmed for £160, money well spent I think as it would have been the best part of a day's work filling and sanding.

In reply to Frank4short: I've skimmed most of my walls. You can really tell the difference from the few that have been painted after stripping off the paper.

In reply to Frank4short:

When I had the same problem with the ceiling in my lounge (god knows what possessed them to paper it, that horrible wood chip stuff too) I just used water with washing up liquid, and a kitchen non-stick type scourer sponge. Didn't know about sugar soap, maybe I should have researched, although it turned out fine and I got a nice finish with the paint. Took ages to get all the gloop off mind, I think two lunchbreaks and two evenings flat out from memory.

In reply to Frank4short:
The residue might just be 'size' that was used for good paper adhesion. Get a plasterer if you want a perfect finish, and watch in admiration as he applies the skim!

In reply to Frank4short:
Let it dry, then sand it with an orbital sander and medium grade paper.
Unibond the plaster before re-papering. I always crossline, but that's up to you, it gives a much better finished job.

In reply to Frank4short:

> (In reply to interdit) Just last time i sanded them after removing the wallpaper. I was wondering what was the best way to get rid of the gunk left on the walls. As i'm sure there's got to be a more efficient way of removing it than what i did last time. I've no intention of repapering it. All holes & imperfections will be filled & sanded to an extremely high standard.

All this sounds very familiar...! We are currently going through an identical procedure with our hall.

Thoughts:

a) You've GOT to get that glue off. We tried just sanding it flat in the living room and the paint cracked to hell where the glue residue was.

b) Hence we used a high sugar soap concentration, about fifty scouring pads and a very boring week or so scrubbing the stuff off.

c) We tried a lot of other methods of getting rid as it was taking AGES (serious sanding works but takes ages too and your ears ring for the next month), various cleaning fluids (which didn't work at all, and I'll include Mr Muscle oven cleaner in that), etc.

Oh, and then we put four coats of cheap emulsion on the walls after filling the holes and will be sanding that to a smooth finish, then putting the topcoat on...

In reply to John_Hat:
But be careful not to fill the threaded holes, or you'll never get the holds back on.

In reply to John_Hat: Ouch. Skimming seem a whole lot easier! =o)

In reply to Frank4short: Right folks thanks for all of the suggestions, though not all of them were entirely practical. At the moment the clear winner appears to be a composite creation of my old way of taking them smooth with the mouse sander & then giving them a good wash down with sugar soap.

In reply to Frank4short:
I have a 100 year old house. Using a steamer is a nightmare as it damages the plaster. Handstripping is the best, any professional decorator will always use handstripping.

In reply to Frank4short:

Simply use hot soapy (washing up liquid) water and a scrubby kitchen sponge (the green ones - my mind has gone completely blank as to what their proper name is). Works fine.

In reply to Frank4short:

You'll be at it for weeks with a mouse sander won't you? Haven't you got anything larger?

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In reply to neilh: im a professional decorater with 32 years experience ,and i agree that the steamer in some cases if you leave it on the wall it might blow/damage the plaster...but as for hand stripping the extra time that could take could add an extra couple of hundered quid on to the job .... the steamer will get rid of the glue you are talking about..after that fill anything you can see that needs filling with easyfill ...its so easy to rub down but be prepared for plenty of dust after you have rubbed down give it a coat of emulsion and see how it looks fill again and then you should have pretty smooth walls ..however gettin a plaster in to skim the walls is far easier ...

In reply to Frank4short:

Back in the days of living in and owning a grotty terraced house in Leeds, I used to use an orbital sander to get rid of the little bits left after steaming & scraping. It worked well, it dealt with little filled bits at the same time and I think I later saw someone else doing the same thing on the TV. However it created a lot of dust and wearing a mask would have been a good idea. The result was terrific, and if you are repapering leaving the glue residue is helpful - after all that is what sizing the walls before papering is doing.

In reply to neilh:

> (In reply to Frank4short)
> Handstripping is the best, any professional decorator will always use handstripping.

Really? S**t, ive been using a steam stripper for years. I better stop calling myself a professional decorator!

In reply to Toby Kluth:

> (In reply to neilh)
> [...]
>
> Really? S**t, ive been using a steam stripper for years. I better stop calling myself a professional decorator!

Yep, me too. I only use the steamer on the really stubborn stuff though. Perhaps I am a semi-professional then.

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