best way to get paint off a wall?

gazz7878

dont suppose anyone could let me know the best way to get paint off a plastered wall?

one of the bedrooms in my house has silk paint on which peels off like wallpaper (im trying to strip the whole lot)
but parts of it wont strip by hand...just wondering if anyone had any tips on removing it as all the things that i've seen in the shops are for stripping paint from wood...

cheers!

lind00

I am a decorator by trade.And my advice to you is to use a wet and dry paper to remove most of the paint.This involves wetting the paper and applying a circular action to the paint that has peeled(it rubs into the paint itself and degrades the film. Then use a P.V.A adhesive to seal the wall.Fill any holes you may have either using a filler.Ideally a make called Tetron(you can also buy a filler called easyfill which is sold in a variety of diy stores which comes in 1kg bags i think(good for large areas )rub down the filler then seal the walls up again with the P.V.A adhesive.You can then either paint the walls or for a better finish for the walls you could paper the walls with Lining paper and then paint.(Horizontal or vertical if you are applying paint or horizontal if you decide to paper the walls at a later date.Hope this helps.Probably to much info.

Peartree

I doubt this will better the advice of a professional (and I'll be hoping that Lind00 will help me out when I have my next decorating finish problem and post for help - which is not an idle threat!) but I'll stick my oar in anyway!

By necessity, I have had to do a huge amount of renovating and decorating in four houses and counting. Some years ago, a professional decorator recommended Johnstones Paints to me and I've used them ever since. They have trade centres in most towns and do a big range of specialist finishes to cover up all sorts of problems.

I've contacted their technical services department at head office a couple of times now when I've wanted to cover over an old finish and got really good advice. Last year they saved me a fortune and hours of work on what everyone told me I'd have to do to smarten up an old wooden outbuilding - and the new paint job has done just fine after a winter and a half of driving rain and wind.

I'm sorry I don't have the number but I'm sure you'll find it on the web.

Peartree

lind00

Another recommendation is to strip the paint back with a hot air gun,also using a proper wallpaper scraper.This can be bought in b and q and looks like a long handled scraper with a blade at the end which can be replaced when it becomes blunt.This scraper will get right underneath the surface.This type of scraper could be used on its own to do the stripping of your paint and you may not need to purchase a hot air gun.These are also good to use(as well as stripping wallpaper)to get tile adhesive and such off walls(soak the adhesive first with hot soapy water and leave for a while before stripping)

navig8r

I have just done 3 rooms in my daughter flat...stripped every last spot of paint off!! I tried all sorts of methods but the one that was most successfull was a steam generator,not a wallpaper one but the type with a small nozzel for degreasing a cooker and a hammilton scraper from B&Q..like the one mentioned above ..not too wide though or the corner will dig in..4" at the most.I held the scapper at an angle and played the steam between the wall and the scraper.this heated the scraper and which seemed to soften the emulsion enough to make it loose its grip..By the second room I had perfected my technique and I got quite speedy at it.. you have to keep the blade sharp and to save replacing the blade I kept sharpening it by rubbing it on wet and dry paper on a sheet of glass..

Dave

flang

I found a water paper steamer useful, it really depends what type of paint it is though and how many coats!!