Removing emulsioned woodchip

[ren]

Does anybody know if there's an easy way to take off thrice-emulsioned woodchip paper please? Have to do the landing and stairwell.

Steve

[Roger Mills]

'Fraid not! It's almost easier to knock the wall down, and start again.

Seriously, it needs soaking and then scraping off - but the paint stops the water or, preferably, steam from getting to the paper, so you need to score the surface first. I'm sure you can get a proper tool for doing the scoring. The nearest I can find is

from Screwfix, which would probably do the job.

[EricP]

The only way is to scratch the paint so steam or water can penetrate the stuff. I have occasionally seen small tined scrapers for this. The only way I do it is with a stanley knife and lots of work. It also makes a mess.

I have also been told that hanging an old wet blanket over the wall for half an hour loosens the paper quite well, but that is also very messy and you need elaborate methods of keeping the blanket on the wall.

[Stuart Noble]

I've never known wallpaper that didn't have a few easy bits somewhere. Even a few strips here and there gives you a starting point where the water can get behind it. Failing that, I usually plough a groove across the paper high up with a

1" chisel scraper. Hard work initially but then you just wipe a wet brush across the edge and work your way down. You really don't need scoring if you have a wet edge. No doubt someone will chip in and say it takes 5 minutes with a steamer. Generally, I don't use mine except on really old walls where they used some kind of gluey starch based adhesive. That stuff is a bugger

A heavy duty scraper is a big help, not least because it leaves you a perfectly clean surface

edge quickly but sharpens the opposite edge IYSWIM

[Phil L]

It needs wetting.

While this is a simple thing to say, it's a rarity to get it right, I've seen people wet a patch 3 foot square and then start hacking at it with a scraper - total waste of water and time.

1) Do one wall at a time and wet it completely from ceiling to floor. 2) Leave for 10 minutes and do the same again, starting where you started the 1st time. 3) Repeat. After 3 good soakings the paper will come off quite easily, if it doesn't, you haven't wet it enough, go back to numbers 2 & 3.

A good tip is to put washing up liquid in the water, this helps the water stay on the suface rather than run down to the skirting board.

Another tip is to isolate any sockets etc on that wall and put a rolled up sheet against the skirting to soak up excess water.

The main cause of hard stripping is being afraid to seriously drench the wall.

[Steve Walker]

Whilst it's still dry, see if you can get a sharp-blade scraper (or even a wood chisel) under the paper/paint. Sometimes the outer part can be removed this way, due to the added strength of the paint layers I guess. If you can rip plenty of 'stripes' of paper off this way, then the rest can easily be soaked and peeled.

[Dave Liquorice]

That's what I'd start with, go gentle with the pulling so as to get the largest amount off by this method. After that normal water (or better steam) stripping is on order. Any bits that are still painted will need the paint penetrating to let the moisture into the paste. I've a very good device for that three pairs of spiked wheels on a large central handle. You just roll it over the surafce and it makes hundreds of little holes, without damaging the plaster (unless you *really* lean on it). Bought in one of the sheds 5 or so years ago, black and yellow in colour.

[Pete C]

IME:

Score paper or blat woodchips off with large scraper. Soak paper with water and detergent Wait for a while Steam Scrape off with large scraper

Once the water has soaked into the paper, steaming will help it spread underneath and soften the old paste.

cheers, Pete.

[Owain]

Plasterboard over it?

Owain

[Weatherlawyer]

Buy a short saw or cut an old fairly good one to half the blade length and sratch away the top surface of the paint and paper with it in a sawing action where the blade is held at an angle so it works as a scraper.

That will do it. A long saw is unwieldy. The job is tiresome enough without that. And a new short one is an investment for even just that one job.

Use a squeezy (or pop bottle with an hole in the top) to spray water on the paper. Leave it soak for half an hour or so, then it will come away in large strips. One should never underestimate the importance of cups of tea during jobs like this.

[Aidan Karley]

Flame thrower, followed by demolish and re-build? More seriously, PeteC's scrape/ soak/ wait/ steam does work, but it still takes a time. I've never tried one of those funny peculiar spikey-wheel type perforating things, but they never struck me as worth the effort when you've got the scraper in your hand already. The biggest difference in time/ success is getting a really good steam stripper. I'm not sure if it's heat or steam volume (hmmm, should be exactly 100C at sealevel pressure, so steam volume?) that makes the difference, but the last time I did this horrible job (for cash in hand when I was seriously skint), my wall clearance rate more than doubled after the lass I was working for took the stripper back to the hire shop and got a different one.

[The Medway Handyman]

Here is the kiddy!

About halfway down - 63466 Perforator

[Stuart Noble]

Good idea.

[Dave]

Called a Tiger Claw.

It works as said, but the secret to getting this paper off the wall is to get as much steam into the room as possible. You eventually reach the point where the steam gets behind the paper and it fall off (almost). The point where you have enough steam in the room is when you wished that you did not have to work in a tropical rain forest.

Dave

>

[somebody]

In message , [e-mail] writes

Hi,

We were struggling really bad with stripping paper (particularly vinyl paper) off the walls of this place - we tried everything including the usual steam stripper (it wouldn't penetrate the vinyl).

A friend suggested a spiked roller to perforate the paper, prior to a wall paper stripping solution and then a proper scraper.

I looked and asked everywhere (B&Q, TP, Wickes, local merchants etc etc) and all I got was a blank expression. Finally, in a local builders merchant (at the hire counter) someone knew what I was talking about. The normal sales counter at this builders merchant didn't have a clue - but the hire counter knew exactly what I needed.

They sold me this quite lethal, probably 2kg or so, of metal roller with some bloody sharp spikes on. The main roller is angled and has a sort of trailing leg on it, so you get a nice even pressure regardless of the angle or reach you're using it at. It leaves these tiniest of fine pin pricks all over the paper you're trying to strip. I have googled for one of these and can't find anything similar. If you're interested, say so, and I'll take a photo and post it somewhere.

Then use a proprietary wall paper stripping liquid/solution, followed by a 'proper' stripper (not a pallete knife or decorators knife, a fairly heavy duty bit of kit with what feels like a 4" razor blade on the end).

Nowadays, I look at a papered room that needs stripping and just chuckle (whereas I used to shed tears at the thought!!!).

Let me know if it sounds any good for you and I'll sort out some pics.

Hth Someone

[Aidan Karley]

That's *not* the devices that I've seen, and which I was dismissive of (without having used). Would I be able to get one at the local chains, whips and bondage store, I wonder? Would I be able to rent one out at the same store. Come to think of it, putting up a card saying "steam stripper for hire" in the same shop might get quite a few hires too. Which is fine, as long as they clean out the tank before hand.

[Dysanovic]

I'm currently decorating a room which has woodchip wallpaper which ha

been painted. Provided it is not stuck to plasterboard it comes of fairly easily with the following tools:

• Steamer

• Scraper

• Spiked device with wheels, commonly called a tigers claw (used t perforate the paper)

There's no getting away from the fact that it is going to be a mess job. However it should come off fairly easily with the above tools Loads of people told me it'd be a nightmare but it wasn't too bad. suggest putting down a lot of plastic sheeting. Note plastic and no material sheeting, as it is easier to sweep the mess up off plastic!

Also I've been told not to get the room too steamy. In some case peopl have made their room so steamy that the plaster has started t deteriorate!

snipped-for-privacy@i> Does anybody know if there's an easy way to take off thrice-emulsioned

-- Dysanovic

[The Medway Handyman]

Where do you get one? Google for Tigers Claw only brings up crap?

[somebody]

No-one seemed to have a clue what I was talking about when I was looking for a spiked roller. If I remember tomorrow (ie - post beer evening!) I'll put up a pic somewhere.

Regards Someone

[Woby Tide]

I'm guessing it's like this