I was helping my in-laws and they had a wallpaper border above their kitchen cabinets. Like you, I tried everything to get it off. I ended up painting over it with some primer and paint. You cannot tell it was there.

Did the paint stick to the viinyl without looking bad?

If you have to paint it then be sure that everything loose is off. Then seal it off with something that moisture cannot penetrate. If there any lines that you can feel such as the edge of the border you can smooth those out with mud.

I would only do this as a last resort. Removing the border would be preferred.

Sounds like you tried everything. After we tried everything, I hired a pro to remove it. Worth the money.

The problem in our case was that the professionally applied wallpaper glue was not water-based. So it did not dissolve or loosen up when water was applied. The pro used some solvents and very sharp tools.

Zisser DIF Gel wallcover remover is the product we've used with success. The trick is to score the paper first with a gadget you'll find in the wallpaper section of your hardware store. Then apply the gel as directed. Then? Wait...give it a time to work...maybe an hour or so, and make sure it's thoroughly wet. It should peel right off. Because we have plaster walls, we did have a pro come in and touch up the dings -- very happy with the results. Our house is 90 years old.

Two things left to try:

Heat gun.

If that doesn't work, try acetone.

Just don't use the heat gun and acetone at the same time! Might have an unexpected kaboom!

I'll try the heat gun first then, don't need an explosion! Thanks

Pam P, we have tried Zisser and scoring tool, those were the first things the wallpaper store suggested. The scoring helped with the lower border, but not at all on this part.

Chloebud, I have someone coming in a couple weeks to see what they think. (unfortunatley not sooner, as I have jury duty this coming week)

I have removed vinyl wallpapers several times before, and in my case they had a paper backer below the vinyl. The vinyl peeled right off like the skin off a banana, leaving the paper layer stuck to the wall. I soaked the paper with lukewarm water mixed with dishwasher soap in a hand sprayer, and kept it saturated for about 5-10 minutes. Then I could scrape it off with minimal effort with a putty knife.

After that I washed the leftover paste thoroughly with 1/4 cup Mr. Clean in a gallon of warm water twice, then I rinsed thoroughly.

Sand the border with 100 gri paper

prime with zinnser cover stain

allow to dry overnight

skim and patch area

sand smooth

paint