How do I remove wallpaper from plaster walls?

Robin
by Robin
Wallpaper has been on plaster walls in kitchen for around 20 years

  8 answers
  • Joanne Layton Woods Joanne Layton Woods on Feb 21, 2018

    it comes off the same as with any other wall HOWEVER, you must be careful with scraping the wallpaper off. Any nick in the surface will need smoothing once you are done

  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Feb 21, 2018

    Score w/ a wallpaper scoring tool and I love DIF paper remover. Mix what you'll use in about 15 minutes at a time and put it in a yard pump sprayer. The key is to use HOT water with the DIF. Spritz and leave in place for the instructed time and scrape off with a wide scraper. And repeat a zillion times lol!


    After the paper is off, if you have lots of glue on the walls spritz w/ DIF again and sponge off. Finally, wash down the walls until clean.

  • Phyllis Osborne Phyllis Osborne on Feb 21, 2018

    They do make a wall paper remover that is very easy or you can use warm water in a spritz pottle to gently wet the paper don't saturate be patient let sit at least 5 minutes and remove just be gentle with scrapping.

  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Feb 21, 2018

    https://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/walls/best-way-to-remove-wallpaper-3370217?r=1

  • Rhonda Brooks Rhonda Brooks on Feb 21, 2018

    To be honest I’d be apprehensive about plaster and water based wallpaper remover.

  • Gelaine Fasse Buhk Gelaine Fasse Buhk on Feb 21, 2018

    steam it and scrape.

  • Dustin Dustin on Feb 21, 2018

    If the wallpaper is well-adhered to the walls (or at least mostly), it can be much less hassle to just cover it. It's a little bit of a multi-step process, but the results will be much nicer without having to replaster your walls after struggling to remove paper.


    1. If you have any paper that is peeling, however slightly, glue it down.
    2. Using a clear silicone caulk, run a thin line anywhere the wallpaper meets un-wallpapered walls, ceilings, trim, and for good measure, in the corners between walls. Use a simple tool or your finger to make sure the caulk is smooth and as unobtrusive as can be. This will basically seal down the edges of the paper, and keep them from curling.
    3. Next, examine the seams between the wallpaper sheets. You'll want to get a tube of that spackling compound, and some kind of scraper. Even if you think the gaps between the paper sheets are thin, just run some of the spackle in the gap (filling and covering it). Make sure it's smooth with your scraper (an old credit card, rewards card, or a melamine countertop sample chip all work well). Like the caulk, this will prevent the paper from curling up when it gets wet.
    4. Now, use an oil-based shellac primer and paint over the wallpaper. Your first coat should be thin... the idea is to seal down the wallpaper. Give it time to dry - 4 hours is probably good.
    5. Do a second coat of the primer. Especially if you are covering up dark wallpaper. Effectively, you're creating a new wall surface here! Let this dry, at least 4 hours, but better yet, overnight.
    6. Now, paint with your latex paint!
    • Dustin Dustin on Feb 21, 2018

      Here are some before/after photos using this process:



  • Robin Robin on Feb 23, 2018

    Thank you all for your help/answers