I have removed wallpaper in my bathroom. The sheetrock walls were damaged with gouges, backing paper tears, fuzzy backing paper surfaces, etc. How can I repair this? Do I need to put a skim coat on it? Should I seal it before the skim coat with Kilz or Guardz? Any ideas or techniques are appreciated.
Derby from NC
We had the same problem. We tried to repair with caulk of some kind but couldn't get it smooth. We couldn't afford to re-sheet rock the walls so I just sponge painted them and they look wonderful! Can't tell they are uneven. (02/06/2005)
By Sonya Yoder
I have used textured wall techniques to cover errors like this... two that worked well were : tissue paper faux finish - use tissue paper to build texture on the wall and then paint with mildew resistant paint and rough plaster wall - which is troweling on plaster roughly to create a "bad plaster effect" then painting again with mildew resistant paint. I did this in the bathroom and the hall of my house both of which have damaged horsehair plaster walls and it worked like a dream. (02/06/2005)
By Vcor
I had the same problem. This advice was from my Dad. Get ALL of the wallpaper off of the wall, including the backing AND any residual glue (shows up as shiny patches on the wall) or the paint will not stick, will crack, etc. Make sure what you are removing is actually wallpaper and not part of the drywall. I sprayed warm water (not a lot) on the backing that was left on the wall, let it sit there a few minutes, and then removed it by scraping lightly with a scraper or putty knife. It should come right off. A damp sponge is helpful to remove leftover glue. Then use spackling compound and smooth it in the holes/uneven patches with your scraper or putty knife. I used the kind that doesn't require sanding and dries quickly. Paint after that and you should have a relatively smooth surface. All of these items only cost me a few dollars at a local home improvement store and the staff was very helpful in guiding me to the correct products and making suggestions. I was told to use a primer coat over the patched areas, but didn't. Some areas don't look perfectly even, but it's better than before. (02/06/2005)
By guest
By VIN
I had the same problem. I tried mixing a color stain coating (Kilz) mixed with shreetrock compound.. I had used the compound on some of the spots beforehand, but they did not cover. I have many bumps. I am going to try mixing sheetrock compound with water and put a thick coat over the areas and sand well. What do you think.
By Kathy
We're in the process of doing this to our entire house. Have two rooms finished. You do NOT want to remove the paper down the to the "chalky surface" that is the drywall, stop one layer above that. When you have removed as much of the paper and as you can manually, I recommend sanding the rest of the glue off the wall. I used a drywall sander ($40 rental 8 inch circular sander hooked - 150 GRIT- up to a shop-vac - NO DUST). Once smooth I primed the walls with latex primer to smooth out any grain that was showing, then with oil based primer to seal it (Zinser). Then the skim coating process begins. It depends how smooth you want it to be, I working diligently doing a full skim coat and the walls are near perfect. First coat to fill large gaps, second coat to smooth walls, third coat as finish coat and final quick sand with 220-grit. But I am mildly obsessive-compulsive which helps here. GoodLuck (08/09/2005)
By Guest
I had the same problem. My house is a little over 30 yrs old. The wall paper I had to remove was in the kitchen, foyer and bathrooms. In each room, the wallpaper was put on with a very thick glue directly to the sheetrock. I got most of the layers off with a steamer, spray mister filled with hot water & degreaser and a scraper. I ended up tearing and gouging about 50% of the wallboard paper surfaces. I used about three coats of joint compound to fill in all the tears and gouges. I sanded the entire surfaces with 180 grit paper and washed them. I am now about to apply Kilz latex primer and will see what areas I need to re-mud and sand again. Lots of tedious work, but I know I wont have to worry about these walls again for a very long time. (10/04/2005)
By CLS (guest)
I used a combination of Fabric Softener and water, and the paper came off quickly. Made the room/house smell good. Before repairing any imperfections in the back paper of the drywall, wash down walls with a combination of Spic/Span Liquid. Towel dry. (01/06/2007)
By Lynn
We have just removed wallpaper and will use the advise here to finish the walls. Not sure which technique we will use... but this sight is proving to be a great tool! We will let you know how it comes out. (02/11/2007)
By Lisa
Lisa check it out. Last year I repainted a room in my house that had a couple of walls that were a mess. I got all my info on the net on a site similar to this one, but I can't remember and didn't book mark it...however, I can tell you what I did and show you before and after pics.
I used a combination of skim coat, primer, and Gardz. Here are some links to a before and after picture of the worst wall. I never did a job like this but I think it came out OK for a first timer. I am also including a link to some info about Gardz which is a sealer.
There's before and afters of the same wall:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/sporty04/frontwall_before.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/sporty04/IMG_2148Small.jpg
here's a link to some great how to info on Gardz:
http://sweets.construction.com/mfg/26254/P24139.htm
Hope this helps!
(02/11/2007)
By Michele
I also had this mess to deal with. I ended up peeling the first layer of drywall off - to the brown paper, sanding off the fuzzies, sealing with primer, patching gouges/uneven spots and then hanging paintable wallpaper. The walls look great and it was very economical. The only cost was for 1 roll of wallpaper, the primer and a sanding block. (07/19/2007)
By anonymous
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
