Help: Right order of steps in wallpaper removal to painted walls?

15 years ago

Hi,

Situation: I've got old (horse/cattle hair) plaster walls and my goal is to get the wallpaper removed and the walls painted and have it look decent. :-)

I've been learning as I go, reading a lot of postings here. Just when I think I have the order of steps laid out and feel like I know what to do next, I see something about my walls or another posting here that makes me rethink what step comes next. I'd appreciate any feedback on this so that I can be more sure of what I'm doing.

I think the order of steps is:

a. Rip off top layer of wallpaper. (Done. This came off easy for me--from baseboard line to ceiling).

b. Plastic sheeting/drop cloths, taped along baseboard joint to protect hardwood floor from wet in step (c).

c. Remove underlying paper layer and wallpaper paste from wall using liquid of choice (hot water, Dif, Chomp, Safe & Sound, etc)

d. Wash walls using Dirtex.

e. Gardz on walls to seal any remaining paste, etc.

f. Repair holes, dings, etc.

g. Sand repaired places.

h. Gardz again after repairing steps.

i. Paint with color.

Questions:

1. Do the above steps and order look OK? Anything missing or in the wrong order?

2. About removing the underlying paper and paste layer: I've scraped off the underlying paper/paste layer of a portion of the wall. When I drag a fingernail down the wall, I can pick up gunk still. My question is whether I need to go over the wall again with a scrubby sponge and hot water to remove the gunk I feel by hand and then wash with Dirtex in a 2-step process OR wash with Dirtex and scrubby as one step to get rid of the gunk I feel by hand.

Or is it just try it and see how gunky it stays after the Dirtex, and then repeat again?

3. Caulk and the baseboard/wall joint:

So, this room was probably done over 50 years ago, and there is a definite gap between the baseboard and the wall. I hadn't read know anything about caulking this joint before I started, so when I was wetting one portion of the wallpaper, and noticed the water running down and hitting the baseboard joint, I started to freak out. :-)

Soooo, what am I risking when/if some wetness gets into that gap? What protective step should I take and in what order of my steps for removing the wallpaper?

I'm a bit worried because I haven't gotten to the point of washing the whole wall, prior to putting the Gardz on. The postings that I read about caulking implied to prime first and then caulk BUT with this wallpaper paste, don't I need to wash first and then prime with the Gardz?

Should I caulk up that baseboard gap before I attempt to go any further with the wet removal of the wallpaper?

Thanks for reading this long note and thanks in advance for any advice you have!

Lee

Comments (9)

paintguy22
15 years ago
Your steps sound perfect, except that you may want to use a real primer after your wall repairs are done tinted towards your finish color to help with coverage of the finish coats, but you certainly don't have to. Gardz serves as a fine primer, the only drawback being that it is clear.

The caulking after priming really only applies to trim and is not a super big deal if you caulk and then prime. I just say that caulk sticks better to primer than anything else but that doesn't mean that caulk won't stick to anything else....it just sticks to the primer best. If you are worried about water getting behind the baseboard because of the gap there then by all means caulk it first.
PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
15 years ago
As paintguy says your steps sound good.I will add that you really should try to remove as much of the residual paste as possible.When you think you have it all, re-spray with your removal solution and scrub with a scotch brite scrubbing pad( used for pots and pans)
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la_koala
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi paintguy and christophern,

THANKS for giving me that peace of mind that I'm heading on the right track. And for confirming that I should be super-vigilant about removing the paste.

To paintguy: is that standard terminology about having the real primer tinted towards the finish color? I mean, if I go into the paint store and ask for a primer to be tinted towards the finish color, will they know what I mean or look at me like I'm crazy?

After reading the postings on this forum, I had been thinking of using BM Aura paint, except that I'm a rank beginner and I just read a posting about someone having difficulty with Aura because it sets up so fast. If I go with the Aura, do you think that I should still get the real primer tinted towards the finish color?

Thanks again for your input--I cannot tell you how much you've eased my mind. :-)

Lee
paintguy22
15 years ago
Yep, if you ask for a tinted primer they will know what you mean. It's easy and it's free to have the primer tinted so that is why I say you may as well do it if you are using the primer. Most colors will cover in 2 coats but for the ones that take 3 coats or more at least your primer being tinted towards the finish color will have you headed in the right direction. It may save you a coat of finish.
la_koala
Original Author
15 years ago
Great, thanks for that and thanks again for your time and input!

Lee
katie8422
15 years ago
Lee,
What did you end up doing about the baseboards? I'm getting closer to the painting/priming part of the journey, but I first need to clean my wood work and remove all the plaster and wallpaper that got stuck between my baseboards anf moulding. Please let me know if you have a trick to getting the junk out or tips for caulking!
Thanks,
Katie
la_koala
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Katie, my apologies for the delay in responding to your comment. I've been traveling over the holidays and rare access to a computer.

I did end up caulking the gap between the baseboard and the wall. For cleaning gunk out of cracks, I'm starting to like using the bamboo skewers used for grilling that you can get at the supermarket. I had a batch of them in my cupboard and gave one a try and it worked so well, that I'm using them first in situations where I need something pointy. The bamboo is soft enough that it doesn't scratch anything, and I can dampen it and it'll pick up extraneous paper that's stuck in the crack.

For some pieces of gunk in the crack, I also used a pair of needle-nose pliers, to extract the pieces. And, while I don't know if it's a bad thing to do, sometimes a piece of gunk would just fall more into the gap between the baseboard and wall, and I left it there. :-) I figured it would just get sealed under the line of caulk afterwards.

Wear eye protection! Even if you don't think you need it, wear safety goggles, or at least your eyeglasses if you wear glasses. One day, I was caulking the baseboards in one of our bedrooms for the insulating value, and as I dragged my finger along, a chip of paint flew up off the baseboard toward my face. Since then, I always wear my goggles.

About tips for caulking:
- Do a search on YouTube for caulking. It really helped me to see videos of people actually doing it.

- Get a good caulking gun. I got one from Lowes or Home Depot (I forget which one--I've been in and out of each so much these past weeks!) that was in the $10 range. I love its trigger mechanism.

- Hold the gun at a 45 degree angle to both the wall and to the baseboard gap. I mean, this is in three dimensions: as you put the tube tip to the baseboard gap, make sure that it is a 45 degree angle between it and the vertical wall and a 45 degree angle between it and the horizontal-running gap line. (Hope that makes sense--it's hard to explain in words vs a picture. That's why the YouTube videos are so helpful.)

- Do not make the hole in the tube too large when you cut it. The hole should not be larger than the gap you're trying to fill. And there was a post on one of these forums about tapering the hole that I thought was useful. While I can't find the posting this moment, I'll add the link when I locate it.

Hope this helps!
Lee
la_koala
Original Author
15 years ago
Found the posting with good caulking technique advice:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/remodel/msg111002491044.html
katie8422
15 years ago
Thank you SO much! Very helpful. I'm surprised the skewers didn't break. I guess I need to go buy some supplies!

Help: Right order of steps in wallpaper removal to painted walls?

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Help: Right order of steps in wallpaper removal to painted walls?

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paintguy22

Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting

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