I have most of two layers of old wallpaper off the wall. Can I just prime and then texture over what is left?

Question

Getting the rest off the wall is extremely labor intensive and I don't have the time or the strength to do it. What I have gotten off is down to the drywall and gouging the drywall mud off as well as digging into the drywall itself. The only coat of paint is coming off with the undercoat of glue.

Answer 1

I would definitely NOT recommend priming over the paper.  Your texture and paint will not be adhered to the wall but to the remaining paper and this could create major issues with peeling etc., down the road.

Go to your local home improvement store or paint store and they will have a multitude of products that you can apply to your remaining paper to aid you in its removal.

You shouldn't have to damage your walls to remove this paper.  Be sure when it is all gone, that you prep your walls before applying any paint - the paint will magnify any imperfections and it will look awful.

Good luck.

Answer 2

We had wallpaper that was in the dining room for 20 years and that stuff was a pain in the *** to get off, but we did it without damaging the walls.

Rent a steamer. Lowes, Home Depot, ect, they should have one. The hot water will go through the paper and release the glue and the stuff will come right off (if you pull gently).

Some spots might take a few more minutes with the steamer than others, but this really worked for me!

Good luck!

Answer 3

no! to make your task easy peel off the top paper and then fill a bottle with hot water and spray the wall at least 2 feet at the time this will help you remove the part of the paper that contains the glue , use a scraper to do this , then you must wash your walls down with TSP and rinse with clear cold water , then make any repair that needs to be done to the wall by using some Polyfill ,prime and paint, if you choose to paint over the paper the paint will soften the paper and cause it to bubble up making your task work work intense.  

Answer 4

Score the surface with a paper tiger, then  try saturating newspaper in hot water and pressing it against the wall paper.  It will saturate the glue and it will be much easier to remove.  Work in areas that you can complete within 15 minutes so the wall board doesn't get saturated.