Advice on painting wall after removing wallpaper

[Osxman]

Hi,

I have removed all wallpaper from our lounge with a steamer. I was quite surprised to see that there are very little marks, so would like to paint it magnolia. What prep work do I need to do before painting.

I have never painted a wall before so any tips would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

 

[libby lou lou]

Be very surprised if you find no markings unless it's new plaster, put a watered down coat on first then any marks will show up better.

 

[Osxman]

Sorry, I meant holes and big gashes. It was that horrible wallpaper up before with a thousand coats of paint on. I looked like the plasterboard was once painted with magnolia paint as there are quite a lot of patchy paint left. I guess I have to remove this first? I have done wall which has taken the best part of half a day, painfully slow!

Once I have removed all old paint and given a fine sanding, can I start painting or is there another step?

Thanks

 

[rjm2k]

Just done the same, I stripped the paper, used a wire shank to clean all the gung left off and sand slightly then clean down with a wet sponge. The I filled any holes with filler and sanded, then I used 2 coats of basecoat to cover and finally colour coat.

 

[Osxman]

Hi,

Is a wire shank similar to a wallpaper scraper? I am using a scraper and about to start wall 2 of 4 today. Very slow procedure but I can light at the end of the tunnel.
When you sanded your walls did you use an electrical device or just sand paper?

Cheers

 

[rjm2k]

No, a wire shank is a lump of wire wool, places like wilkinsons sell them, you can use them after you have stripped the paper off, they sand slightly and also help remove gunk - I wet the shank but that means they are useable only once as they rust afterwards. Then sponge off the stuff the shank loosened but left behind (including small wire splinters).

To actually strip I used a steamer and 150mm stripper blade, not the little DIY jobs you get. I pretty much used the blade to take the textured surface off dry then steamed the backing paper left behind which should peal off pretty easily after steaming. But methods varied depending on the paper in question.

 

[jono1970]

No, a wire shank is a lump of wire wool, places like wilkinsons sell them, you can use them after you have stripped the paper off, they sand slightly and also help remove gunk - I wet the shank but that means they are useable only once as they rust afterwards. Then sponge off the stuff the shank loosened but left behind (including small wire splinters).

To actually strip I used a steamer and 150mm stripper blade, not the little DIY jobs you get. I pretty much used the blade to take the textured surface off dry then steamed the backing paper left behind which should peal off pretty easily after steaming. But methods varied depending on the paper in question.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Robbie uk]

Once stripped the wall needs to be washed off with saopy water and rinsed to get any paste residue off, this will lead to paint flaking if there is any left on the wall. The wall needs a sand off and then apply a mist coat, thinned down emulsion, better being matt, to the wall. This will bind the surface together better and highlight any defects that need filling. Its suprising what shows up when the mist coat goes on. Once dry, rub down and apply another coat of white matt to the wall. Let that dry then a gentle sand off and apply whatever colour, finish you want.

 

[libby lou lou]

Sorry, I meant holes and big gashes. It was that horrible wallpaper up before with a thousand coats of paint on. I looked like the plasterboard was once painted with magnolia paint as there are quite a lot of patchy paint left. I guess I have to remove this first? I have done wall which has taken the best part of half a day, painfully slow!

Once I have removed all old paint and given a fine sanding, can I start painting or is there another step?

Thanks

Be aware that old paint(gloss) will contain lead, take care whilst sanding.