Hi. We are stripping wallpaper and have discovered what we think is PVA under the wallpaper. It is white and peelable, but not peeling half as much as we'd like! Is there anything we can use apart from soapy water and scrapers to hasten its removal. It must be lung-friendly as my husband is asthmatic. Any help is much appreciated, otherwise it's going to be a very tedious weekend! Thank you.
PVA removal
- Thread starter Lucyfer
- Start date
If it's white then it's unlikely to be PVA, as that dries clear. (That's not to say there isn't PVA involved somewhere though.)
It could well be that there is a layer of vinyl paint that has been used and that is now peeling off with the wallpaper. This kind of thing is common when a mist coat hasn't been correctly applied to bare plaster in the first place. (Despite what some here will have you believe.
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If you could post an image of what you have it would help determine the problem but if you are pulling a layer of paint off there are a few things that can be done. One of which is to spend a lot of time removing all the paint, another is to just remove all the paper and clean the wall as much as possible before applying a sealer, such as Zinsser Gardz, which will then allow you to redecorate on top (although some remedial work such as filing to blend in the paint's edges may be required.) Alternatively, you could remove the paper and use lining paper on the walls to give you a nice flat surface to work with.
It could well be that there is a layer of vinyl paint that has been used and that is now peeling off with the wallpaper. This kind of thing is common when a mist coat hasn't been correctly applied to bare plaster in the first place. (Despite what some here will have you believe.
)If you could post an image of what you have it would help determine the problem but if you are pulling a layer of paint off there are a few things that can be done. One of which is to spend a lot of time removing all the paint, another is to just remove all the paper and clean the wall as much as possible before applying a sealer, such as Zinsser Gardz, which will then allow you to redecorate on top (although some remedial work such as filing to blend in the paint's edges may be required.) Alternatively, you could remove the paper and use lining paper on the walls to give you a nice flat surface to work with.
Thank you, sorry for the delay, my husband dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the pub! It does look like vinyl paint and is such a mess that the whole lot will have to come off. I would rather spend time doing this than do an imperfect job as the surface looks very unstable.
We are tackling the huge living room next so who knows what horrors are lurking under the wallpaper.
We are tackling the huge living room next so who knows what horrors are lurking under the wallpaper.
Uh oh...that greeny-blue layer looks like it could be distemper which, if it is, will be the reason that the paint is peeling. If you want any paint to stick directly to that surface without adhesion issues you are , ideally, going to have to remove all of the distemper. You can do this with good old elbow grease, hot water and a scouring pad and sponge. In some instances you can use a sealer over distemper (Dulux Trade Stabilising Solution was a popular choice but I'm not sure if it's still as good as it used to be), but I personally always preferred to remove distemper so that there were no issues. If you want to wallpaper again, you can just remove all the loose bits, give the walls a light rub down to make them smooth and then size with diluted wallpaper paste before re-papering.
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