It wasn't properly prepped if you can't get the wallpaper off now. I have heard good things about Wallwik, though have never tried it myself. It makes sense that it would work though because it saturates the paper and keeps it saturated. You can even make your own by simply soaking down the paper and then covering it with plastic sheeting.

As painguy said, if it is not coming off it was not properly prepped.The wallwik will work well if you follow the directions.

Well now, I ended up contacting a lady that removes and hangs wallcovering for a living. She told me this.

Sometimes even if the wall is properly prepped, it can be a pain in the duff to remove. But forget about scoring the covering.. Just take a razor and open up a corner of the wall covering and start to peel it away. It will leave the backing on the wall. But the top layer will peel away fairly easy. Do NOT wet it at this stage. Once we have the top layer off, then we can now spray water mixed with a bit of white vinager or fabric softener and begin to scrape down the bottom layer. It should come off easily. She said "If it went up with water, then it will come down with water.".

She was absolutely right. I managed to peel off the entire kitchen in just over an hour. Now all I have to do is tackle the bottom layer.

She told me about some of the so called strippable papers.. some are only strippable one layer at a time. And scoring only serves to weaken the top layer thus
making it far more difficult to remove in large sheets.

I won't be needing the Wallwik after all.

Thanks for your replies.
Helen

Yeah, that is absolutely correct. You should always attempt to dry strip the top layer first.

Just for fun, we should define what 'properly prepped' means because this has caused a whole lot of problems for a whole lot of people over the years and it has given wallpaper stripping such a bad rep where it really isn't deserved. Years ago, before drywall was around, everyone used sizing to prepare the walls for wallpaper. This worked great on plaster because plaster is hard as a rock. Then when the industry started using drywall, people still continued to 'size' the walls. Sizing is really the wrong thing to use for drywall. You should use a wallcovering primer, that is one that is designed for wallpaper to be hung on. Anyway, the clerks in paint stores continued to recommend to its customers that they use sizing for years and years because nobody educated them. Heck, even I used sizing until I somehow learned that was the wrong thing to use. These days thankfully, it is difficult to even find sizing on the shelves.

So, the point of my story is that you very well could think that you have done the proper wall prep and could have been wrong, by no fault of your own.

What I used was Zinsser Shieldz to prep all the rooms that I hung wallcovering in. But the kitchen wallcovering was a totally different type than what I put in the other rooms.. and the most difficult. But now I have the top layer completely off and will start on the bottom layer on Friday. (Doctor dsy tomorrow).

That saga is nearly over with, thank goodness, and I will now get it ready to paint. Paint is so much easier to replace. lol.

Thanks bunches,
Helen

Sorry for my initial response. I just assumed that you could not get the face of the paper off. Paintguy was also spot on in assessment of the industry. Sizing is (was) nothing but watered down GLUE( not like todays PASTE. Putting sizing on drywall was much worse than not priming and so as he said the industry has taken a beating and people hate wall covering for just that reason, it has been a nightmare to remove.As you are finding out, it is pretty simple with the proper installation.

I'm a pro painter and decorator and I've done a lot of wallpaper stripping in my time. Came acros this old thread and figured I'd give anyone reading this my pros and cons of both of the methods above! Hope it is useful to someone.

Firstly, to review the "Dry then Wet" method which was apparently recommended by another pro.
Disadvatanges:
- unpredictable results
- patchy in stubborn areas
- can be slow as you are picking at small areas at a time
- can damage wall with razor
- no recourse if it doesn't work
- can be messy
- dust and powder can be created during the dry stripping phase
- laborious
- various different bits of equipment need to be tracked down before you can start
- vinegar can have an unpleasant lingering odor

The advantages of this method are:
- can be cheaper if you already have some of the equipment
- environmentally friendly
- can be quick if you already have all the equipment

Summary of method 1
I would say that this method is ideal if you are not in a hurry, and you already have the scraper, spray bottle, scoring tool, groundsheets, face mask...etc. It's not a bad method, certainly better than steaming I find. I guess it works well about half the time. So half the time you will then have to go back and keep working on the walls.

Secondly, the Simple Strip / Wallwik Wallpaper Removal System. The idea is similar, basically, that you score the paper to get into the adhesive, then dissolve it. The difference is that you then aim to peel it all away in one go.

Avantages:
- everything you need is in one box - it has a safety scoring tool which is precise and I found once you get a feel for the pressure required, you don't risk damaging the wall

- they include a solution specifically for the task and a powerful enough sprayer to help you apply it

- they also include a scraper, although of course this is quite an easy item to pick up
- all the equipement is reusable so if you are doing a whole house you can save money by just buying more solution and re-using the sheets etc.

- it claims to be as environmentally friendly as washing up liquid, as the solution is biodegradable
- pretty quick and clean

Disadvantages
- only available online
- you have to guess what size kit you need but as I do this professionally, I constantly have a supply of the Pro Kits, which are a bit bigger.
- you have to follow the instructions closely

Summary of the Simple Strip method
The more wallpaper you are removing, the more benefits there are of using simple strip. It's basically just a much better version of the first method, in that it is the same principles, and has all the bits and pieces included, but if it doesn't work you can get a refund haha!