Stripping ’00’s Vinyl Wallpaper Off Of ’90’s Wallpaper Off Of Un-Primed Drywall

Considering that this previous installer broke just about all the rules of hanging wallpaper , his job looks good, seams are tight , and it’s held up for 20 years .  This is one of the typical materials we were hanging back then, a pre-pasted , paper-backed , solid-vinyl wallcovering .  Not my favorite material at all (often curling at seams , especially in bathrooms and/or when installed without proper wall prep ).  Thankfully, they’re not very prevalent today, outside of the lower-end market.  
Anyway, these are usually fairly easy to strip off the wall .  All you need is water , a putty knife , and patience .

But here’s a wrench in the works – the previous installer hung this vinyl paper over existing wallpaper .  A big no-no!  You can see the original stuff peeking out around the light switch.    
That original wallpaper was installed by the builder in the ‘90’s , and almost always you can bet it’s been hung directly on un-primed / un-sealed Sheetrock .  This can be very difficult to get off, without tearing up the surface of the drywall.  If that original paper is paper instead of vinyl ( plastic ), sometimes it’s OK to leave it on the wall , prep it correctly, and hang the new wallpaper over it.
So that was my original plan.  Strip off the vinyl and its paper backing, and then prep the bottom layer and hang new paper over it.  But, as you can see if you look closely at the edges of the bottom wallpaper, that fuzzy manilla paper backing is telling us that it, too, is a solid vinyl material.  No matter how  you might prep it, we don’t want this thick , slick , plastic stuff under our new wallpaper.

Back to the topic of stripping wallpaper .   Done properly , it’s not a horror show.  All you need is water and patience .  The theory is to reactivate the old paste with water , and it will let go and the paper will come off the wall. 
But water won’t penetrate the vinyl / plastic layer (and it won’t penetrate the thin acrylic coating on other types of wallpaper, either ).  So, the first thing you need to do  is remove that top layer. 
These solid vinyl materials are pretty cooperative.  Simply get under the vinyl with a 3” stiff putty knife and then use your hands to pull it away from its paper backing .  It usually separates and comes off in fairly large pieces.  The same process works for thinner paper wallpapers , too, but it helps a lot if you sponge the surface first with water , as this seems to strengthen the fibers somehow, and you’ll get that top layer off in larger chunks (instead of 1” bits). Sometimes works better pulling from bottom to top, or from right to left…. experiment and see what works best.

Next use a sponge and a bucket of warm water …

… to wet that paper backing .  You’ll want to go over each area several times , to be sure it’s thoroughly saturated .  The idea is to get it wet enough that it will reactivate the wallpaper paste underneath .  Be sure to cover and protect your floor and vanity countertop .

Once that paste has softened , you should be able to use your 3” stiff putty knife to gently scrape the paper backing off the underlying surface .  If you’re really lucky , it will release easily and cleanly and all you’ll have to do is pull with your hands.

Here you can see the original layer of wallpaper underneath.  Since this turned out to be another paper-backed solid vinyl material, it also had to be removed , following the same process outlined above. 

Once that top decorative vinyl layer was removed , the paper backing was left stuck to the wall.  I wetted it , let it soak until the paste was soft, and then gently scraped it off the wall.  Doing so revealed that – what did I tell you?!  – yes, the builder’s wallpaper hanger didn’t prime or seal the wall before hanging the paper.  This is usually disasterous, because  the wallpaper will often actually bond with the drywall surface and be nearly impossible to get off.  So  I was really surprised that I was able to scrape this off with absolute no damage to the drywall .  No peeling surface , no gouges , not even much paste residue (I did sponge off what I could). 
Once all that water evaporated and the Sheetrock dried , I did some minor prep touch-ups , sanded lightly , and then applied my wallpaper primer . 

  I like Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime .

Stains Bleeding Through Wallpaper

This is the current wallpaper, and I’m to put a new paper in this powder room.  For various reasons, this paper cannot be stripped off the wall , so I’m prepping the walls to be able to hang the new paper on top of it .  Normally, my favorite Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime will seal this effectively enough.  But – hard to see in this photo – but this existing paper looks dirty to me.  Some of that is due to the mottled look of the pattern / colorway .  But I’m seeing tan discoloration , and I think it’s coming from under the wallpaper . 
This home was built in the early ‘90’s , and in a neighborhood where , through stripping off many old wallpapers in order to prep for new installation , I’ve noticed that someone working in that area and era used what we call clay-based paste .  This paste is made using actual clay – i.e. dirt – and has a reddish color .  I  believe that this red clay paste is able to work its way through wallpaper, and creep onto the surface, causing a subtle “dirty” cast to appear on the wallpaper. 
Once you strip the old wallpaper off the wall, the wall can then be washed , and hopefully you’ll get all the clay paste off .  But usually, no matter how much you scrub, residue will remain.  I fear that that residue will work its way through the new wallpaper, as well. 
Additionally, the most severe stains are in the vicinity of the toilet – housekeeper splashing cleaning agents?  or little boys with bad aim ??  
Yes, most homeowners will never notice this, especially since it can take years to show up.  And the paper I’ll be hanging is black , so it’s highly unlikely that any discernable stains will become visible .  But I get a little anal about wanting jobs to look perfect. 
 

So I like to use a stain blocker , which will ensure that no discoloring elements will work their way through .  My two favorites are KILZ Original , oil-based primer .  KILZ is wonderful, unparalleled stuff.  But it does have strong fumes , so you have to ventilate the room thoroughly and also wear a chemical respirator while applying it, to avoid becoming “high.”  i.e. “sick”   
My other option is BIN , which is shellac – based  .  This is also an excellent stain blocker , and has a strong smell , but nothing that will kill your brain cells .  Since my current clients have little kids, I opted for the BIN . 
Unless you want to go through a LOT of paint thinner and mess , you can’t easily wash oil-based or shellac-based liquids out of your roller cover or brush es .  So I plan to use disposable rollers and brushes.  This doesn’t mean cheap rollers and brushes – it just means that I factor in that these will be used once and then thrown away. 
Speaking of factoring in costs – the gallon of BIN was  $70 (and that was a reduced price due to dented can).  The KILZ was $40 , but I would have had to purchase a new respirator and cartridges , which would have added an additional $40 – some of the respirators went up to $70.  March 2023 prices . All this needs to be considered when figuring up the price for doing a wallpaper job.   I’ll also note that these products can be difficult to source – my local hardware store, which typically has stock even when larger outfits are out , had only one can of KILZ and one scratch-and-dent can of BIN .  Whichever I would have chosen, I sure got lucky. 
Note that these stain blockers are formulated to block lots of nasty stuff – water stains , blood , rust , wood sap / knot holes , ink , tar , grease , crayon , lipstick , cooking stains , marker , Sharpies , etc. 

Back to BIN….  It’s very watery and runny and drippy .  So you really have to cover the floors and baseboards , as well as countertops , toilets, etc.  Microfiber roller covers help a lot to minimize splatters .  Roll slowly and in an upward motion . 
Oh – additional plus … both BIN and KILZ dry quickly, so you can apply it and then move to your next step in less than an hour. 

Besides the shadow-y paste residue , this room has other issues .  Here, someone used ink pen to mark placement of the hooks for the powder room mirror .  Eeek!  Ink will bleed through paint and wallpaper even faster than clay paste residue will.  Here you can see one coat of the BIN applied – but the ink seems to have  been “resurrected” and is actually enlarging and spreading, and bleeding through the stain blocker . 

Here I’ve spot-primed with a heavier coat of BIN , and that appears to be holding the nasty ink at bay . 
Note that wallpaper paste will not adhere to oil-based products like KILZ , and probably not to shellac , either, because it dries kind of glossy.  So whichever of these primers you choose to use, you will need to top-coat with a primer formulated for use under wallpaper – and that will adhere to the stain blocker.  Tomorrow, I’m going to follow up with Roman Pro 977 , as mentioned above . 

Wallpaper Paste Residue = Crackled Paint on Bathroom Cabinet

Adding to my previous post, here is the wooden door to the medicine cabinet, which took on a lot of paste when the previous installer hung wallpaper. He evidently was unable to successfully wipe off all the paste.
The unfortunate aftermath is that the paste will eat into paint that is existing, or that is applied later, and cause it to crackle and flake.

Wallpaper Paste Residue = Crackled Ceiling Paint

You’re looking at the junction between a wallpaper border at the top of a wall and the ceiling. You can see crackled and flaking paint on the ceiling.

This was almost surely caused by the previous wallpaper installer getting paste on the ceiling (which is typical and normal) but failing to wipe it off completely.

The paste is clear and difficult to see. Even when you do a diligent job, it’s easy to leave some residue behind.

The problem is that wallpaper paste attacks water-based paint, and will cause it to do what you see above … crackle, flake, chip off. This can happen if the paint was in place before the wallpaper paste got on it, or if there was paste residue and fresh paint was applied on top of it.

In fact, the decorative paint finish called “crackle finish” is accomplished by applying hide glue onto a surface and then coating it with latex paint.

The crackly paint on the ceiling is unattractive, and impedes adhesion. It takes a lot of scraping and sealing and skimming the wall to rectify this.

A way to avoid this is to astutely wipe off all paste residue. Better yet, what I do is to use special plastic tape at the top of my wallpaper strips, so that no paste gets onto the ceiling in the first place. Do a Search here to see previous posts describing that technique.

You can also use a stain blocker like KILZ Original oil-based primer, or BIN shellac-based primer, to seal off the area before painting. There are water-borne primers that claim to seal such problem areas – but I prefer to stick with oil or shellac.

Danger Tape Brings Safety

Read below for info.

After pasting the wallpaper, I apply the plastic strip to the pasted side of the top, then book the paper, making sure to not let the tape contact any of the wet pasted areas.

The red stripe you see is plastic “Danger” tape from the home improvement store. You can also use yellow “Caution” tape. Some installers use painter’s plastic cut into strips … although I find it too flimsy. I put this on the back / pasted side of my wallpaper strips to keep paste off the ceiling, woodwork, etc. And, as you see to the left of the top photo, when you bring a strip of wallpaper up against another strip, such as in your final corner, the plastic tape will prevent paste from transferring onto or staining the other strip of wallpaper.

After I make my trim cuts, I remove the excess wallpaper and the plastic tape – making sure to get the parts on both sides of my cut.

Now the paste can reach the wall surface, and adhere the wallpaper securely, with no paste residue left on the ceiling, molding, or wallpaper.

Crumbly / Unstable Wall Issues

Starting to strip wallpaper. You see the top, inked layer, the tan backing layer, and the white skim-floated wall beneath.

Wall surfaces delaminating at seams

Gardz, a penetrating sealer that binds surfaces together and dries hard.

My first idea was to just Gardz the lifted areas. The sealer is newly applied and still wet in this photo.

Gardz’ing the whole wall created a more stable surface. This doesn’t look much different from the photo above. But in actuality, the the Gardz has sealed and “locked down” the surface, as well as soaked into the material and sealed the inner layers as well.

Applying a skim-coat to even out the surface levels.

Once this skim-coat is dry, it will be sanded smooth.

The installer of the original paper did a good job of skim-floating the wall and creating a smooth surface. But he didn’t apply a sealer or primer. Thus, when I used water to strip off the old wallpaper, the moisture soaked into his skim-coat (drywall joint compound, a plaster-like substance, which we also refer to as “mud”). Some of the skim-coat came away from the wall,,, particularly in areas of stress, such as where the wallpaper seams had lain.

In fact, long (years) before I began stripping the wallpaper, many of the seams had started to pull away from the wall, taking inner layers of the wall along with them. This is because wallpaper shrinks as it dries, and that creates tension on the wall. If the wall surface is unstable, these layers can delaminate (come apart), and the result is an open seam with chunks of wall material stuck to it.

This can also happen over time, as temperature and humidity changes can cause the wallpaper and / or wall surface to absorb and then let go of moisture. All this puts stress on those wallpaper seams and on the layers inside the wall.

Besides these seam areas that let go, I had one wall where the entire surface came apart in a mottled effect.

Another factor is that the original skim-coat had been applied over a glossy paint. It’s hard for anything to stick to gloss. The guy probably should have rolled on a “bonding primer” before applying his skim-coat.

Of course, all that increases the time and materials needed, and ups the cost to the homeowner.

Gardz is a wonderful product that is designed to soak into surfaces and “bind them together.” It dries hard and is pretty water-resistant. It was originally intended to “lock down” torn drywall. But workmen quickly discovered that it would fix a whole lot of other surfaces – such as my delaminating skim-coated walls.

At first I thought I would just Gardz (we use it as a noun and as a verb!) the areas that were lifting. Once it dried, I intended to skim-float over these areas, sand smooth, and then prime the entire room with my usual wallpaper primer – Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime.

But I realized that, even after I wiped down the walls with a damp sponge, they were still covered with powder or grit. This was powder from the layer of skim-coat, as well as residue from wallpaper paste. Neither my primer not wallpaper will stick securely to powder.

So I decided to roll Gardz on to all the walls, ceiling to floor.

Fifth photo – I was really pleased with the way the Gardz soaked in and drew all those layers together. There was no more power on the surface, and the inner layers of the walls were all pulled together.

To even over these vacant areas, and to create a pristine new surface, I skim-floated over the entire wall surface – all walls, floor to ceiling. See last photo.

Once that is dry, tomorrow morning, I will sand everything smooth. Next I’ll apply my 977 primer.

Then walls will be stable, and the surface will be ready to take on the new wallpaper.

Whoops! Someone Painted Over Old Wallpaper

Just looking at the walls, I had not noticed . But when I removed the light switch cover, it was clear that someone didn’t bother to remove the old wallpaper, and just painted over it.

Actually, they probably did do some prep, because you could not see seams under the paint. They must have taken steps to cover the seams.

And there was no flashing … difference in texture between paint over wallpaper, for instance, and paint over smoothing compound that was used to disguise those seams.

And there were no bubbles (caused by latex paint on top of wallpaper that absorbs moisture from the paint and swells) and only a few tiny loose areas.

Still, it would have been better if the previous guy had put some effort into removing the wallpaper, and then washing the paste off the wall and then sealing with a stain blocker, to prevent paste residue from causing the new paint to crackle and flake off the wall. Then the room would be adequately ready for paint.

Paint Must Be De-Glossed Before Adding A New Coat On Top

The original paint in both these photos was a gloss or semi-gloss. When it came time to update, someone applied a coat of new paint right on top. Then the floor guys came and stained the floor. To protect the new paint, they applied painter’s tape. Unfortunately, when the tape was removed, it took some of the new paint along with it.

Believe it or not, even something as relatively gentle as wiping wallpaper paste off the woodwork is enough to cause poorly-adhered paint to delaminate.

This happens because the new coat of paint was not given a sound surface to grab ahold of and adhere to.

To have properly prepared the original gloss paint to accept the new coat of white paint, the painter should have done one or more of the below:

1.) Sanded the paint to knock off the gloss. This leaves dust residue, so that dust will need to be wiped off with a damp rag or sponge (rinsed clean frequently) or a Tack Cloth.

2.) Wiped down with liquid chemical deglosser, such as Liquid Sandpaper.

3.) Primed with a bonding primer, formulated to stick to glossy surfaces, and also formulated to serve as an appropriate base for the new paint.

A primer is also not a bad idea to follow up in the case of 1.) and 2.) above.

Yes, all of this is a whole lot of work, and it creates dust and/or odors, takes more time, and adds cost.

But it’s a step well worth the investment, because properly prepped and painted surfaces will hold up and look professional for decades to come.

10″ Head Space – I Can Do It!

Not only was there only a mere 10″ of clearance between the cabinet and the ceiling, the niche was way deeper than the typical cabinet, because below it was a 36″ deep refrigerator. Even standing on the very top of my ladder (ya know – the step that OSHA says NOT to stand on!), and contorting my whole torso on top of the cabinet, it was difficult to reach the back wall. And even more difficult to maneuver my hands and tools.

I managed to skim-float the area, sand it smooth, and prime it. Today it was time to get paper onto it.

The fewer tasks I had to do, the easier (and safer) it would be to accomplish.

The first thing I did was to trim the paper horizontally at the point where I wanted it to meet the ceiling. This eliminated the need for me to squeeze in a straightedge and trimming blade and try to manipulate them in the deep, narrow space.

Likewise, I wanted to avoid having to trim in the last corner (on the right). So I measured carefully, and pre-trimmed my last piece to fit. It was 3 7/8″ at the top, but widened to 4″ at the bottom.

After the strip got pasted and booked, it expanded a tad, so I had to trim off a teeny bit from the right edge. And also a little more off the upper right, due to the wall being un-straight at that point.

I was able to get my plastic smoother and damp microfiber cloth into the space, to smooth the strips to the wall and wipe off any paste residue.

I Hate Sloppy Work! – Overspray on Light Fixture

This home in Kingwood (far northeast Houston) was flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The homeowners were pleased with their contractor’s work in getting the repairs made and getting them back into their home.

But when you get close and look at details, you can see that everything was not done as carefully as it should have been.

I guess the painters did not bother to remove, or even cover, the light sconces in this powder room. Because when they sprayed paint on the woodwork, plenty of paint got splattered onto the new fixtures. Look at the white residue on the base of the fixture.