Asked on Dec 31, 2018

How do I remove glued-on wall boards?

Veronica
by Veronica

Older home with those decorative wall boards in my bathrooms. Want to remove them without destroying the walls they are glued to (I think liquid nails was used) . Any advice?

Disgusting seams show no matter what I've one.

  8 answers
  • William William on Dec 31, 2018

    Bath panels. You will need to pry and pull them off. May need a putty knife. Use a putty knife under a seam and start prying off. There will be some damge that will need to be patched. No other way.

  • Mom2K9 Mom2K9 on Dec 31, 2018

    If you want to paint them (if they are in good condition) you may not need to remove them. Check out Pintrest for great ideas.

  • John Biermacher John Biermacher on Jan 01, 2019

    Good luck, but based on my experience this won't be an easy project.


    Liquid nails doesn't like heat so prying while heating the panel with a heat gun should get the panel off the wall. Put a fan in the window to assure you have goos ventilation.


    Getting the panels removed will result in:

    1) the adhesive sticking to the panel and pulling part of the wall away. Hopefully minimal with some patching require. If there is extensive damage you may need to recover the walls with thin drywall, paneling, stucco, burlap, etc. (Note: lots of issues with burlap!)

    2) If the adhesive sticks to the wall a heat gun will soften it and can be scraped with a putty knife. Very tedious process and still difficult to get a smooth surface.


    If you can get away with it, painting the panels might be the easiest solution and a good quality paint store should be able to suggest the best type of paint. .


    Covering it with beadboard, brick paneling, board and batten is possible but could open up a big can of worms about how to trim out the countertop/cabinets and door/window openings.


    Wish I had an easy solution, but best I can do is warn you that this type of projects has the potential to be a ton of work.

  • Deb K Deb K on Jan 01, 2019

    Hello, I would advise sanding and paint them if they are in good enough shape, removing them is the last thing you want to deal with, there's getting the glue off and trying to sand etc.


    Pick the paint option, do a solid color that you love, and one that is timeless is gray.

  • Joy30150932 Joy30150932 on Jan 01, 2019

    I would cover them up with something else rather than try to remove them. There will be a dandy mess underneath which you will have to smooth out if you want to paint. A LOT of work.

  • Fbgirl1961 Fbgirl1961 on Jan 01, 2019

    I used a metal putty knife and a hammer to pound it through the glue. My issue was removing trim wood glued to a door. There was no damage, just some dried glue I'll need to sand off. Granted my base material was a wood door and not dry wall.....

  • Mitch E. Mitch E. on Jan 01, 2019

    Use flat pry bars and a hammer.Take it down to the sheetrock.Or if your doing a full on restoration.Down to the studs.

  • JAMES A ROLLI JAMES A ROLLI on Jan 01, 2019

    WD 40OR GOOF OFF EITHER ONE WILL WORK BUY IT AT HOME DEPOT WALMART GOOD LUCK WITH IT LET ME KNOW IF IT WORKS jamsarolli1@optoline.net THANKS JAMES