Removing gloss paint prior to tiling

[Donwill]

Going to convert an old kitchen into a shower room and utility, I started on removing wallpaper and found there were 3 layers in parts including vinyl, got them off eventually and found yellow gloss paint underneath, this had been painted direct on to plaster. The paint had been partially removed in some parts but is intact in others and wont come off very easily. Question. What is the best method of removing this gloss paint prior to tiling,

Chemical? will the stripper chemical residues stop the tile cement adhering to the wall?

Heat strip? never tried it before.

Mechanical? What kind of mechanical device should I use, I've tried a 3M paint & varnish remover disk (like a disc of plastic brillo pad ) which fits in a drill but it doesn't work. I've seen in the dim and distant past a gouging tool with metal fingers which will fit in a drill ? can anyone recommend something?

Regards Don

[stuart noble]

If the paint doesn't come off easily, I'd leave it. Sound paint is a good base for tiling.

The thicker strippers leave a wax-like residue, but it's water washable.

[Spamlet]

Sounds like, in this case, you won't mind getting things wet, in which case gloss paint does soften considerably in caustic soda. This is how I got the gloss paint off the walls in my bathroom - which was part paper over gloss and part tiles. The paper always peeled back from the edges until I took off the gloss. Kitchen would be a less damp, but similar situation, and people who paint walls with gloss in such places should be exterminated. (Once the gloss was off, I treated the plaster with zinc sulphate against black mould, papered with lining paper and then glossed that, and it lasted with just the occasional wipe down, for years. Can't get the zinc sulphate any more though... which I believe we discussed here - or possibly on the Screwfix forum - a year or three ago...)

You will need a strong caustic solution and will need to wear eye and arm protection as you apply it with an artificial fibre brush (bristles dissolve). It is messy, but not as difficult as it sounds, so long as you have plenty of scope for washing down. (The caustic gradually reacts with the air to become soda carb so the residues are not harmful - unless we are talking lead paint.) 'Course, if you are in an upstairs flat all this is probably a no no, as the people down below will not thank you for stripping the paint off their walls and furniture too...

Of course, if you are tiling, then the preservation of the plaster finish is not that critical, and a decent heavy duty scraper would probably do the job. Grinding discs block up ridiculously quickly and heat just makes things worse on plaster I found.

But having said all this, Stuart's approach is probably quite sufficient: if the paint is that well stuck on it will hold the tiles too.

S

[Phil L]

Two shets of rough glasspaper, rub it down briefly all over, just once over is ample.

two handfulls of raw cement, mixed with PVA and water (1:1) and paint this onto the wall, and leave to dry. Tile over, or skim or do whatever you like.