How do you get a wall paper border off of sheet rock walls?

Question

I have sheet rock walls but there is paint on them, I wanted to take off my ugly wall paper border and was wondering how you would take it off? Thanks :]

Answer 1

All good suggestions. However, if you are going to change the border (you said it was ugly) get a border that you like with the same width as the original one and just put it on over the old one. Saves a lot of work  and will look great.

Answer 2

Soak the paper with with warm water and a little dishwashing liquid or use a commercial stripping liquid.

Answer 3

The border is actually 2 layers... the top layer that you see and the backing with the glue. Pull off as much of the top layer as you can. Water is rarely helpful with this step. The backing will still be on the wall.... using a spray bottle, saturate the backing in a small (1 -2 ft) section. Allow to sit for a few minutes until glue is dissolved then hand peel or scrape off with a flat scraper ( I use a putty knife). Be careful as wallboard will be soft. Wash the cleared area well with a damp sponge.

I've used scoring tools before and do not like this method as it cuts the backing into small pieces that are tedious to remove.

Answer 4

Use water from a spray bottle & saturate the border.  Then use a scraper (used to apply mud to drywall) and gently go under the border.  The water should soften up the glue underneath.

Hope this was helpful.  I know it worked for me.

Cheers!

Answer 5

hot water

Answer 6

get a bottle of wallpaper striper from walmart. i dont remember the brand name but its cheap, its blue, and its in a spray bottle. SATURATE the paper and let it sit for about an hour. the paper will peel off with no problem.

Answer 7

- If you add a little bit of washing up detergent to your warm water, it helps dissolve the glue quicker.

- Don't rush trying to peel/scrape it off, when the wall paper is wet thru it will come off really easy.

- You can buy a wall paper scourer / or pin roller, and LIGHTLY go over the paper, this speeds up the water absorption (heaps). You just need a tiny nick in the paper for the water to get thru to the glue.

- When I did it I used a sponge to "work" the water into the paper.

Answer 8

you can get a steamer or try saturating with warm water from a spray bottle