Wallpaper removed - preparation of wall prior to painting

Afternoon all,

Wallpapered wall, with wallpaper (in process of being) removed.

Thankfully the plaster underneath it is pretty much pristine, aside form a few screw holes which will be filled. It looks like it's been painted befor e it was wallpapered, and there are a few patches where the paint has come off showing the bare plaster which I will caulk.

I'm thinking some form of undercoat x2 then just crack on with painting as normal?

I've never removed wallpaper before so unsure what the done thing is.

Thanks to all in advance.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Parker
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Give it a good wash down with sugar soap to get rid of remnants of past.

Mind that your caulk might be noticeably flatter than the surrounding painted surface, you might need to build up a bit of texture e.g. with a mini-roller

Reply to
Andy Burns

a few screw holes which will be filled. It looks like it's been painted bef ore it was wallpapered, and there are a few patches where the paint has com e off showing the bare plaster which I will caulk.

Just wipe the paste off & paint it. No need for undercoat.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

+1. Certainly no caulk. Fill screw holes with the lightweight filler (easy to rub down).

Is the plaster pink, grey, or white? Is it on plasterboard, or lath and plaster. What age of property?

What I would call modern gypsum plaster (pink) should be easy. It can be trickier with Victorian plaster (on laths) which tends to have a white skim coat on top of a grey crumbly undercoat. The skim coat tends to flake off, then you need to bond the undercoat with PVA and replace the skim coat either with filler (for small areas) or multi-finish plaster for larger ones.

Assuming you are using emulsion, prepare to do two or three coats. Silk finish shows up all irregularities, matt is better. If the plaster is a bit dodgy (particularly Victorian or older) I recommend using heavy duty lining paper before painting. No need in a modern house though. (Less than 60 years old).

Reply to
newshound

In article , Jon Parker writes

I've always scored it then used a steamer. Once the steam gets to work it peels off easily. Wood-chip can be a PITT.

Reply to
bert

In article , newshound writes

I have a slightly different question. I am not wishing to remove an area of lining paper but here are some strips where there is bare plaster. (Previously battens on the wall which have now been removed) What is the best product to level up these gaps to the paper?

Reply to
bert

Single coat of undercoat ought to do it.

Expect to find plenty of annoying defects to fix once you have it all the same colour (at least in an older property with Victorian plaster). You can go on forever making improvements so decide on a smooth enough!

Although there is strictly no need for it there may be some advantage to having everything a nice shade of white if different areas of the walls are painted and bare to begin with. White emulsion being cheaper.

You can also see physical defects in the wall much more easily once it is all the same colour and may choose to tidy things up a bit. Getting a decently flat looking wall for painting after stripping wallpaper can be difficult - even more so if you want an eggshell finish.

Otherwise you can find that previous dense colour shows through. Some of my original kitchen walls were racing green except where the range had been. Using the finish paint as first coat would have been a waste.

Reply to
Martin Brown

Lightweight filler again.

Reply to
newshound

Don't even need to score with most wallpapers, even if painted.

Reply to
newshound

+1

For small areas on an already painted wall I add a small amount of the same paint to the filler powder which makes it slightly better behaved when very thin when you have to feather it into existing levels.

Reply to
Martin Brown

I find the pre-mixed plasterboard joint filler works well as a very fine filler, during sanding you can feather the edge down to less than the thickness of a coat of paint, provided you use 320 or 400 grit sandpaper.

Reply to
Andy Burns

a few screw holes which will be filled. It looks like it's been painted bef ore it was wallpapered, and there are a few patches where the paint has com e off showing the bare plaster which I will caulk.

Size is what you need.

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Reply to
harry

Yup. Now when I repaint I don't do a full coat initially, just go over the more off-colour areas first. It saves time & paint for the same result.

what's cheaper than emulsion? Nothing I know of that's really satisfactory under emulsion.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

which will be filled. It looks like it's been painted before it was wallpapered, and there are a few patches where the paint has come off showing the bare plaster which I will caulk.

Use fine wet and dry to carefully feather the edges of the paint where you have gone down to bare plaster, because you will see the defect with strong cross lighting like early or late sunlight.

Reply to
Andrew

A big tub of magnolia or some other end-of-season bargain paint, which is a better base colour than the one you're trying to cover up, and cheaper than your chosen "top coat" emulsion ...

Reply to
Andy Burns

Thanks for the replies everyone. The room is nearly finished including this wall. I did read your replies although I haven't replied. We are pleased with results and I thank you all for your advice :-)

Jon

Reply to
Jon Parker

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