Has anyone tried X Tex artex remover?

vivatifosi · 15 August 2007 at 12:07PM

The previous owners of my house left me with Artexed walls. I don't think that it contains asbestos as the house is quite new, but would like to have a go at removing it. I've seen a product called X Tex which claims to remove Artex and wondered if anyone else has used it and if so what they think.

I've used its sister paint-stripping product and have been happy with it, and would like to try this as it has minimal VOCs - good for a house with asthmatics in.

So if you've tried it what did you think? Did it give a good finish? How did you dispose of the waste?

Thanks!

skid112 · 15 August 2007 at 12:11PM

have a friend who has tried it his quote 'please do not touch it get a plasterer in'

frankie · 15 August 2007 at 5:45PM

I too moved into a house that was artexed to death. Tried all sorts of stuff, but not the one you mentioned.

In the end got a plasterer in to skim coat the lot, worth every penny IMHO.

RyansMummy_2 · 16 August 2007 at 2:15AM

Our whole house was covered with lovely artex. We bought X-tex after reading about it online. It is great stuff, if you can be bothered to do the work. It will take a day to scrape off a room of approximately 9ft x 8ft. There is a lot of mess involved and you need a lot of patience.

We orignally bought the small pot which only did the hallway and then resorted to buying the big one which managed 2 rooms and one wall. However, we did have really nasty bad homemade artex which also had layers and layers of paint on, so we needed a lot of x tex slapped on. Be warned that when you do scrape it off the walls cover your flooring well. X tex will strip the varnish off floorboards. If you have carpets, cover all areas as you will surely transfer x tex/plaster mix from the soles of your shoes/feet.

We used it primarily because we couldn't/can't afford skimming and also because I was pregnant at the time.

HTH x

RyansMummy_2 · 16 August 2007 at 2:18AM

Oh, I forgot to add that you should get it checked for definate if it does or doesn't contain asbestos. You should be able to get it done via the Council. You cannot use x tex if there is asbestos in your artex.

vivatifosi · 16 August 2007 at 8:52AM

Thanks so much everyone for answering. A couple more questions if I may:

frankie: did they have to sand the surface down first? The artex is very uneven and I'm concerned about retaining the definition from the skirting board and the hall getting narrower.

Ryan's Mummy: great to have user testimony - thanks - were you able to paint the walls straight after or did they need additional prep (in short, does it take the plaster off as well).

Thanks again!

RyansMummy_2 · 16 August 2007 at 9:49AM

Yes you can paint directly onto the walls after, the plaster does not come off. However, you may find that the artex was there for a reason. We had a lot of refilling to do and now realise that the last owner put the artex on to hide these holes.

After scraping off the artex, you will need to wash and scrub the walls as any x tex left on it will crack any paint on top.

On the skimming note, my husband decided to try some skimming on a small wall. We chipped off the big bits that stuck out and then he slapped on the ready made plaster, which we got from Homebase. I think its about a tenner for a large tub. Its turned out pretty good.

The cheaper option is obviously X tex, but it requires a lot of hard work and cleaning afterwards. The alternatives would be to get a plasterer in and skim it all, which would end up being very expensive for the whole property but would give a smooth and professional finish; or to skim it yourself, which requires some practice, hard work chipping the big bits of artex off, and costs a bit more than x tex.

vivatifosi · 16 August 2007 at 11:56AM

Very many thanks RyansMummy. You can't believe what a relief it is to find someone who has used this. My house is almost new. Why any first time occupant would artex their walls is beyond me, as its been out of fashion for longer than the house has stood, so hopefully they will be pristine below the surface.

However, when I took the sign off for the loo there was a hole punched through by a fist, so let's hope they didn't take to the walls as well!

frankie · 16 August 2007 at 5:44PM

vivatiflosi

Hi, In my situation I had ripped out the old skirting boards and architrave already so that part wasn't a problem.

The wall artex didn't have much in the way of 'sharp' edging, it was more of a bark effect. The plasterer rubbed down, sealed/primed and then skimmed. Incidentally this was done about 10 years ago and no ill effects have materialised from his work to date.

I haven't dared to start thinking about the ceilings!

The previous owner was an artexer by trade, every room was covered, including the garage ceiling!! I think he used the house as his test base!

Good luck.

girlsmum · 16 August 2007 at 11:42PM

we managed to get it of with a steam wallpaper stripper, it was a messy job but it worked, we still had to sand and fill a bit afterwards,
we did not want to plaster as there was a thick layer of artex a few layers of paint and we have lovely old picture rails and skirtings which would have disapeared if we skimmed it.

vivatifosi · 17 August 2007 at 8:39AM

Thanks again everyone,

frankie, hearing you bought your house from an artexer makes me feel much better about my crazy walls, thick bad taste wallpaper and orange, purple and red skirtings. When I first bought this chavtastic property I though it was a bit of a bargain, but a year of sanding, more sanding, painting, swearing, more sanding and more painting later I don't seem to have got very far in restoring it to its former glory. I moved in a year ago exactly and it still feels like a building site. No doubt it will go up in value when I've finished, just in time for house prices to fall again, lol!

And thanks too to girlsmum. I have a steam wallpaper stripper, so will try both options and see what works best. Being only just out of NHBC warranty, my house is a bit bereft of those lovely features you had, the only features we have are skirting boards, but it would still be nice to see them. And in my little box house I need every inch of space I can get.

Has anyone tried X Tex artex remover?

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