The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Do it Yourself Discussion! => Topic started by: puglogic on December 02, 2015, 09:44:45 AM
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We live in a house where the former owner was a chronic do-it-yourself designer, and, ahem, she didn't have the best taste in the world. Some of the colors and patterns will give you a migraine.
We'd like to remove the garish southwest-pattern wallpaper from all of the wood valances in the house - about six of them. But I'd like to preserve the wood if possible, so I'm wondering if anyone has ever done a wallpaper-removal project that didn't involve scraping and scratching the heck out of what's underneath? I think this project is too small to warrant buying a steamer, and I'm wondering about whether a wallpaper scoring tool will ruin the wood?
Anyway, DIYers, any thoughts welcome. Thanks.
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A spray bottle of fabric softener mixed with hot water? I think the Young House Love blog tried this with some success.
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The "paper tiger" wallpaper poking tools will likely leave marks in the wood or wood finish. But, any finish under the wallpaper is likely to be ruined by the paper glue already. I'd do a test area. Using hot water, as little as will work. Plastic putty knives are nice tools for this kind of thing.
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...Sand the paper away?
You probably don't want to do that either. Zinsser DIF spray is worth a try, depending on the wallpaper it might just come off with your hands at that point.
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Put them in the shower with really hot water for a while. The paper should peal right off.
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After removing a metric shit ton of wall paper from a couple different homes I've lived in, I have made it my personal creed to never install wall paper.
Sometimes it comes off easy, sometimes it's a real pain.
You can rent a wallpaper steaming tool to loosen it up, but no matter what your method, there is still a lot of putty knife work. After the wall paper is removed there is always remnants of the glue to remove also, prior to the next finish being applied.
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The wallpaper removal tool that scores the wallpaper, left a bunch of scratches and scores in the plaster underneath my wallpaper. I would almost guarantee that it will leave noticeable marks in wood as well. That being said, I dont think they will be beyond what you could lightly sand out if that is an option.
If only you were closer, I have about three wallpaper steamers that I hope to never use again. (My house had like 3 layers of wallpaper on each wall)
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I have used a clothes iron with a steam function before to loosen up only wallpaper. It doesn't get as hot as a steamer you can rent but it will work with time on smaller applications. Another thing I might try is paint remover, the kind you paint on and let set for a few minutes before wiping off. I use that all the time on removing paint from woodwork with grooves and decorative elements like molding and trim so that I don't damage them by scraping. I have never tried it on wallpaper though.
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If only you were closer, I have about three wallpaper steamers that I hope to never use again. (My house had like 3 layers of wallpaper on each wall)
Some raving lunatic wallpapered the hallway ceilings in my first house. The wallpaper came off easily, but the glue was another story. That was hard work.
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Thanks, everybody! Great ideas here. I'm just lucky it's a few smallish things, and not entire walls (or god forbid ceilings - shudder)