Wallpaper Stripping

[DavidM]

I have a load of wall and ceiling paper to strip off, most of which has had a few coats of paint over the years and including some woodchip.

Does anyone have experience of the Zinsser Paper Tiger perforator and Zinsser DIF GEL paper remover and would you recommend them, or do you know a better alternative?

been recommended but is quite a bit more expensive than the Zinsser perforator.

I'm reluctant to use a steam stripper cos the plaster is quite old and could easily blow.

Many thanks, David.

[EricP]

The tiger is very good but needs a heavy pressure to perforate consistently and can give wrist ache after a short time.

As to the gel, wallpaper paste does the job as well and at a fraction of the cost. A spray with soapy water is even cheaper.

[Andrew Gabriel]

It was quite likely papered because the plaster was not in a good enough state to be exposed.

I would suggest you try first with a steam stripper. Don't use any type of paper cutter to start with -- it will stop you from being able to pull off whole sheets, which is much easier than getting off loads of tiny bits. Go over the area slowly with the steam plate, but don't try removing any paper at this stage. Leave it a good hour for the moisture to soak through to the back. Then go over it again. The steam will now cause the moisture behind the paper to boil, and blow the paper off the wall. You will likely get most of the sheets off in one piece.

[Stuart Noble]

If you start at the top, the water gets behind the paper and you may not need to score it at all. Hard work to begin with but gets easier as you get lower down.

[DIY]

I haven't used any Zinsser products so can't comment, but I have used a steam stripper many times and have not had any damaged plaster. If the plaster is that fragile that proper use of a steam stripper damages it then I wonder if the plaster needs repair.

[Andy Dingley]

A single head perforator is excellent. Nor does it stop you ripping big sheets off, unlike the older roller perforators. OTOH, a triple head perforator is extremely tiring to use if there's any reaching to do at all.

A steam stripper doesn't need it and is vastly superior to this sort of soaking aid. All steam strippers are much the same, being a simple restriction of thermodynamics and a 13A plug. Don't spend more than

20-something quid (Earlex are good)

Silicone oven gloves are great for protecting your hands from steam.

[Lobster]

I agree - a perforator is key: used with the right pressure it breaks up the surface to allow water to penetrate beneath, but without damaging the plaster below. Never tried a triple head jobbie.

I bought several bottles of Dif several years ago when I had a whole house to strip, following recommendations in uk.d-i-y (you might want to search the archives yourself) but to be honest I found it a total waste of time and money. Steam is the way forward IMHO!

David

[geoffr]

I've stripped several rooms of wallpaper in my 1895 house with a basic

2000w steam stripper from Argos. The majority of the plaster is original and I had no problems with it blowing. The only plaster that did blow in places was more recent plaster which I think dates from the late 50s or early 60s.

The original plaster is in remarkably good condition with only the odd imperfection and filled in crack. The most noticable marks are where the original dado rails were removed and the holes badly filled.