How do I get the glued on tissue faux paint project off the wall?

Hi Jan.

Wow...that sure is a 'love it or hate it' wall covering. (yikes!)

If I were faced with your challenge, I would put some water in a spray bottle (so you can work in sections) and really soak the paper and leave it wet for about 10 minutes. Then, take a paint scraper and scrape the paper off the wall. If it doesn't come off, try wetting it down again and leaving for another 10 minutes and then scrape. Be careful when scraping...it's easy to gouge the wall...then you'll have to fix the gouges. (ask me how I know...ha-ha)

If you have a steamer machine, even better...use that instead of the water bottle method...just steam the area (working a section at a time) and scrape the paper off.

Good Luck!

You may have to try an electric sander which you might be able to rent in your area. They have a dust holder to pick up any dust that will accumulate while sanding. It is generally used for drywall.

Hi Jan,

I agree with Hope, but do think the steamer would help more than just water. The extra heat would help soften the glue that is holding the tissue. I've also read that some people put liquid fabric softener in the water so I wonder if baking soda or vinegar might do the same thing? Can you tell if there is a sealer over the tissue? If there is, you might need to use a paint remover to soften that up so you can remove it first. One more idea might be to contact the realtor who listed the home. They might be able to find out exactly what was used to create that wall. Knowing the type of glue would be a big help. Wishing you the best.

Thank you everyone! I will try the steamer method. It appears that there might be a sealer, it is very shiny. So, I might try some sort of remover on it. Although, I'm thinking it might be easier just to shiplap or bead board the entire room LOL!!!

Oh Boy....You should just skim coat over it. You have no idea what they have used to glue it on with, if they glazed/painted over that & then used a sealer. Unlike wallpaper, which uses a water-soluble adhesive, the acrylic medium securing a tissue paper faux finish is permanent. The removal of this surface requires a lot of elbow grease and creates a significant amount of dust. Investing in an electric sander will make the job go a lot faster.here's what one pro said about removal..."One question I always get asked is about “removing the tissue paper later on down the road”. My cute answer is that I say “just move”. But the real answer is that the paper COLOR can be changed anytime. Just roll a different color of paint right over the tissue paper faux finish.You could also texture over it or scrape Lusterstone over it.

But if you want the tissue paper faux finish completely gone, you’ll need to find someone to skim coat over it. Or, I have been told you could “SIZE” your walls like you do under wallpaper(treatment before aplying paper for easy removal) and that it should strip off nicely. I’ve never done it though. If ever I want it gone, I will move. Hahaha"…HOW to Skim coat videos https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DIY+how+to+skim+coat+walls this will be easiest lowest cost and time.Bob Villa on tissue paperd walls.......A glazed wall would not normally have enough texture so that it would show through another coat of paint. Glaze is merely an clear acrylic resin or oil based product. The acrylic glazing material would probably not sand well anyhow. An oil based glaze should readily sand and dust up.

Have you tried primeing and painting a section of this glaze? I would be surprised if the glazing showed through. One way or the other, you will want to prime the glaze to blank out the old color, and more importantly, to assure that the new paint sticks to the slick glzed surface. A good acrylic primer such as Glidden's "Gripper" or Behrs No.75 Undercoater will do this.

You might also consider deliberately using a slightly longer knapp roller cover to intentionally leave slightly more roller texture than normal.

If these ideas don't give satisfaction, you are back to sanding the glaze. I doubt that this will give good results all by itself. The other option is to go over the walls with a skim coat of drywall topping compound and then sanding and primeing. Good Luck Gotta love all the trends in DIY decorating,OK so I'm sarcastic :)

i have done this technique and it was done using wallpaper glue so the steamer should be the way to go

Maybe try using the wallpaper removal scoring tool to get underneath the surface?

Nice I would leave it on!