After wall paper removel

[Sean Troy]

Has anyone ever used a ROS to finish smoothing a wall after removing wall paper?

[Matt Ocel]

Before you do that, spray on some DIFF, then use a 3M scrub pad and a sponge.

Keep the ROS on the shelf.

If you get tears in the drywall theres a product (can't remember name, think its made by the same people that make KILS) you brush on like a primer to keep drywall from blistering.

I just peeled paper off 4 rooms last week and it worked pretty good.

[Mitchell Andrus]

My wife has taken on a re-do project of her office right now. I'm resisting the urge to jump in and 'help'.... she needs a victory now and then.

The paint/80 yo plaster/gunk behind the paper is so bad, it's got ot come off in order to paint again. Old textured paint was smoothed off a bit prior to papering 30 years ago, but now the rest of the paint has got to go. A ROS is the only way to get it off without damaging the original plaster sealer coat with water/chemicals. A lot of the surface needs to be plastered and sanded anyway, so sanding now doesn't do any real damage to the surface.

If the walls were sheetrock, it'd be a whole different situation.

[Ben Grunow]

I would not sand drywall as I think it could make the paper "furry" and really mess with the appearance of the finish paint. Good wallpaper remover should leave the wall really clean.

Try a PM to Jason Roehl (I think he is a painter).

[Randal Cobb]

I just did this in one of my children's rooms... After getting all the paper off, I made a wash of 50% white vinegar and 50% water. Sponge it on sparingly and in about 20-30 seconds, any dried up glue that is left will wipe right off. Let the walls dry thoroughly (I left them for a weekend) then fill any nicks or tears in the wallboard using a little spackle and in about 30 minutes, sand and you're ready to prime and paint.

[Mike SoRelle]

To add to what's already been said, if the paper glued INTO the paper covering of the sheetrock (which mostly happens after someone strips off paper with a paper tiger or other cutting type remover, then hung more paper with real paste) you might have no choice but to skim-coat the wall with some joint compount (I'd suggest using setting joint compound)

That's your avenue of last resort and as much of a PITA as it might be, it does work wonders.

[Harley Reasons]

We recently removed the wall paper from our kitchen walls. After getting the paper down, my wife used a vinegar/water solution and got all of the glue off. However, the wall had a rough texture to it. I used my ROS with a vacuum attachment hooked to my shopvac to remove and smooth the walls. I used 220 grit paper and was careful to keep the ROS flat to the wall and not let it get up on the edge of the pad. This worked extremely well and the wall came out flat as glass.

[Sean Troy]

I'll try the 50/50 vinagar solution and I know I'll be skim coating.

[Jason Roehl]

If you happen to get into the top layer of drywall paper when removing wallpaper, you need to spot-prime the torn paper with Gardz (after a light sanding), then you can skim-coat. Otherwise, the drywall paper will just bubble underneat the joint compound. BTDT, many times...

[Josiah Bartlett]

Please be careful about lead based paint if you are removing paper from an old plaster wall. Once it gets into the air from sanding the entire house is contaminated with lead dust.

[Sean Troy]

If you happen to get into the top layer of drywall paper when removing wallpaper, you need to spot-prime the torn paper with Gardz (after a light sanding), then you can skim-coat. Otherwise, the drywall paper will just bubble underneat the joint compound. BTDT, many times...
Thanks, I'll need to get some.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Has anyone ever used a ROS to finish smoothing a wall after removing wall paper?
Yes.
It's hard on the sander & try as you might to keep it flat you'll end up with gouges.

This did/does a lot better job than the ROS (WalMart - ~ $15 to $17). I use the screen type paper that is used to smooth drywall mud: