Wallpaper over sheetrock removed -- now what?

Bear with me here, I almost know what I'm talking about. :)

We have removed some circa 70's wallpaper (a lovely large floral in shades of burnt umber and harvest gold, I kid you not) from the bathroom wall and there is wallboard underneath. The wall board is in good shape but with a fine pebbly texture from the wallpaper paste.

I don't want to repaper the walls because the house will be going up for sale and we're trying to take everything to a very neutral, unoffensive pallet. (Something that wallpaper would never have achieved -- even 30 years ago.) I'm not opposed to putting a textured paint on the wall but something very lightly textured.

What should we do next?

First a dry-wall primer? Two coats? One? Nineteen? ;)

Then the top coat? Are there textured paints that are better than others? Recommendations?

Or do I have to actually try to sand away that pebbly layer? (Please say no.)

Reply to
FragileWarrior
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I would wash off the wallpaper paste and then prime and paint the wall. I dislike textured paint because it is difficult to clean and limits future choices. The wallpaper paste should be easy to wash off with warm water; you can tell it's gone when it quits feeling slimey. One coat of a neutral color should do. The buyer can then do whatever they wish.

My roommate, in the sixties, bought china with dark green roses and black leaves for decoration. Harvest gold would be an improvement :o) Now all the hideous chartreuse stuff from the fifties is coming back into style. I'd rather have avocado and leisure suits :o)

Reply to
Norminn

Norminn wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

This won't effect the wallboard (sheetrock? are those interchangable terms?) underneath? I was afraid of the paper coating of the board getting wet. I think there's only plaster at the joins/corners.

Eyikes. Sounds like a bad chemical reaction during firing. Have you run a geiger counter over them?

But, wait, I haven't told you about the paintings on black velvet yet... there are FOUR of them and even for bad paintings they are bad, bad, bad.

(And I cleaned out under the sink this morning and found a container of furniture polish -- with goop still in it -- with a label straight out of the 50s.)

Reply to
FragileWarrior

On Sep 2, 7:50 am, FragileWarrior

Try to take off as much glue as possible. You might have to do some skim coating and sanding afterwords. It is extra work, but it's the only right way to get it done. Then use a oil-based primer to seal the walls good. If you are painting the walls a color other than white, I would suggest tinting the primer the desired color you want for better results. Finally use a latex paint for the finish product.

Reply to
Mikepier

On Sun, 2 Sep 2007 11:50:42 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior

Sand lightly. Wash the walls with TSP and rinse 2-3 times. Repair corners, patch holes, etc. For re-sale: 1 prime coat, 2 coats of kitchen/bath semi-gloss white.

Reply to
Phisherman

clipped

You should be able to wash the wall without hurting anything. There should already be a coat of primer on the wallboard. Try washing over a corner to test a small area .. joint compound should not wash off. The purpose of washing off the paste is that if painted over the texture of the paste will show through. When I strip paper, I generally let the wall dry out for a day or two, just to make sure I'm not saturating the paper coating. If you have nicks or gouges into the paper coating, you should trim off the edge with a sharp razor and patch and then prime because if you try to sand into the paper it will rough it up more. You will probably need less elbow-grease if you spray the surface with warm water and let it soak for 5 or 10 min. Should come off easily but often takes more than one session to get it all.

Reply to
Norminn

Any primer should be fine unless it is new wallboard or there are stains that might come through.

Reply to
Norminn

Phisherman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm off the hardware store for supplies!

Reply to
FragileWarrior

Okay, same circa 1970 bathroom: what would you do to improve the appearance of the bathroom cabinets that were originally fake white wood with gold trim that are now yellowed fake white crap wood with worn spots and scraps and such? (Think of the cheap bedroom sets for little girls and you'll know what I'm talking about.)

My DD suggested that spray-on texture paint that covers a lot of faults but that brings us back again to having a lot of useless texture in a hard-to- clean spot. I'm not all that sure about it's wearability, either.

Obviously paint is probably the best bet but is there a type/kind that can stand up to wear without scraping off in the handle areas and edges? What sort of prep will be called for? I'm not even honestly sure there's any wood involved in these things anywhere.

Next up: getting rid of the hippy dippy beaded curtain in the bathroom window.

Reply to
FragileWarrior

Clean 'em good, sand, prime, paint. I painted 35 y/o formica covered cabinet in bath and it looks good. You can buy inexpensive replacement doors, if you want more of an upgrade. Replacement hardware if the old stuff is as ugly as the cab. As for the beaded curtain, you can probably sell it on ebay .. they are the rage. Just be sure to select a primer labeled for application to whatever your cabinets are made of. The doors and hardware should be taken off for painting. Preval makes a great little sprayer, to fill with your own paint, that is nice for small jobs. Paint and primer would need to be thinned, which adds a little to the cost but gives nice results. Semi-gloss alkyd.

Reply to
Norminn

On Sun, 2 Sep 2007 11:50:42 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior

You have to remove the paste by washing thoroughly or it will eventually come back to haunt you. I prefer to put down two layers of drops on the floor then wet the walls with a garden sprayer with a fine spray. Keep spraying and testing the adhesive with your nail until it feels soft. Wash the paste off with tile sponges, changing the water often. When clean, leave it to dry thoroughly. Sand lightly. Spackle and repair as necessary. Sand out, apply a coat of acrylic latex primer. Finish coat as normal. My preference is for two coats of the bath and kitchen paint from Zinsser in an eggshell finish. Not too shiny, good moisture and mildew resistance.

Reply to
Bonnett Decorating

Norminn wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

When you say "sand" you're talking about a light scoring of the painting surface so the paint grips better? Not a full-out sanding off of the current surface, right?

I think the cabinet doors are plastic doors on a metal frame. I've taken down the side cabinets but not really studied them yet since I managed to spill the wall primer yesterday. TWICE. Anyone who thinks that a gallon of milk spreads farther than a gallon can possibly reach has never dropped a gallon of paint. TWICE.

Thank God it was in a bathroom.

Reply to
FragileWarrior

Bonnett Decorating wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The paste is washed off and the wallboard primer is on. I did notice one area where the joint tape seemed to have lifted AFTER the primer went on (it certainly didn't look loose at any point before that) and another place, the size of a plum, that got wet wrinkles -- although that seemed to smooth out when the paint dried. I was surprised the wallboard primer had that effect, especially on the tape. I'll have to take a good look at it this morning and decide what to do about it if it is as bad as it was last night.

Reply to
FragileWarrior

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