White stuff behind wallpaper

[ShaunThePrawn]

Just bought a house, have stripped a LOT of wallpaper, most of which has all this white stuff behind. Is this dried up paste? It's kind of powdery, you can sand it off but there's a whole house to do so I'm wondering if I can paint over it. If not is there a better/quicker way to remove it than sanding all of my walls to oblivion.

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[footprints]

It could be the dreaded distemper, an early wall paint pre-emulsion, basically chalk bound with a glue size.
Depends how long the paper has been up and age of the house distemper was used into the 50's, when emulsion replaced it.

It needs washing off with something like sugar soap (will come off as a slimy mess) and rinsing thoroughly if it is.

There are binders that can be applied to soak in and seal it like Zinsser.

http://www.zinsseruk.com/how-to-guide/how-to-paint-limewash-distemper-walls/

 

[Bosswhite]

At least Distemper walls and ceilings are getting few and far between these days,

Wash off as best you can its going to be a mucky job, I always applied Stabilising Solution afterwards ( Goes further) , then the normal decorating procedure.

 

[Ben565]

Distemper is vapor permeable, it may well be there for a reason.

Might be worth a read here

http://climatechangeblog.historic-scotland.gov.uk/2013/09/traditional-buildings-are-cool/

and here

http://www.heritage-house.org/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html

A "traditional" building is one of a solid walled construction, so if you have no cavity in your new house then those articles may well apply.

Instead of distemper you can also use other porous paints such as Earthborn. If you want to use wallpaper then I believe Earthborn also use a natural paste, paper it with a nonwoven wallpaper which you can then paint with a breathable paint or leave as is.

 

[Robbie uk]

Looking at the picture, the plaster looks pink, the paint could be what's left of a cheap contract matt from previous decoration.