Preparing previously wall papered ceilings

GregK

Please could someone advise me. My friend has recently moved into her new house and the lounge ceiling had been papered. This has been removed but a lot of glue remains. What is the easiest way of removing the glue and how should I then prep the ceiling for painting or skimming?

Many thanks all.

nickj_2

if you are painting the ceiling then you need to remove all the paste . you can do this by either using a steamer and reactivating the paste , then go over it with a nylon scourer and then wipe off with a sponge or if you don't have a steamer just use warm water .
if the ceiling has been painted before then it will just require filling if required , a bit of a light sand down and then emulsion , if it is bare plaster it will require a mist coat of mat emulsion thinned with water , round about a 40 /60 mix

ormus

as above. use a steamer if possible.
still a messy job any ways you do it. but the paste has to come off if youre painting it.

jenny-wren

Be cautious when using a steamer to remove wallpaper. Our builder told us that it can make the plaster 'boast' - where the skim coat pulls away from the scratch coat plaster.

I've just stripped our hall, stairs and landing. I used a water sprayer, a decent scraper and lots of elbow grease with a nylon scourer. Made a lot less mess than with a steamer.

nickj_2

jenny-wren wrote: »

Be cautious when using a steamer to remove wallpaper. Our builder told us that it can make the plaster 'boast' - where the skim coat pulls away from the scratch coat plaster.

I've just stripped our hall, stairs and landing. I used a water sprayer, a decent scraper and lots of elbow grease with a nylon scourer. Made a lot less mess than with a steamer.

the op only needs to strip off the paste , but if in future you need to strip paper , get one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-Maxi-Orbital-Wallpaper-Scorer/dp/B0001IWE4G/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1322594228&sr=8-6
whuich perforates the paper and allows steam in get into the back of the paper , also you need to keep the steamer head moving about - keep it no longer than 10 seconds and it won't pop the plaster out

CosmicCathy

Im moving house next week and have wallpaper on the brain! I want to paper the new dining room and have a baroque theme in mind. Does anyone know anything about flock wallpaper?

(I know this is not about pebbledash but I thought there may be a few wallpaper experts on here!)

nickj_2

CosmicCathy wrote: »

Im moving house next week and have wallpaper on the brain! I want to paper the new dining room and have a baroque theme in mind. Does anyone know anything about flock wallpaper?

(I know this is not about pebbledash but I thought there may be a few wallpaper experts on here!)

flock wallpaper is fairly tricky to hang compared to a plain paper -
no paste must get onto the flocked side , and all joints cannot over lap , this means going around corners and doors / windows etc is a nightmare if you have to splice bits in .
if i were you i would do a flat feature wall and then paint the rest

there's a few tips here http://www.interior-design-it-yourself.com/hanging-wallpaper.html#anchor-name6

Kew2u

Papering a ceiling requires a concentrated paste. However, when the paper is removed, there should be little of that left. Using a steamer on a ceiling can be a bit tricky...take care. Without actually seeing the surface, it's difficult to decide the best option. Try removing the problem in a small area. Is that not too bad a job? If so carry on. I have come across ceilings that have needed to be replaced or resurfaced due to the use of 'real glue' being used. I hope you don't have that problem. Please let us know.

dm999

Just done this job myself! -

Soaked the ceiling paper with a sponge and warm water several times and scraped it all off.
Washed the ceiling with clean, warm water to remove ALL of the paste.
When ceiling was dry I gave it a light rub with fine wet and dry to remove any stray bits.
Painted the ceiling with dilute emulsion (it was bare plaster).
Filled and rubbed back where necessary, then brushed over the sanded filler with dilute emulsion to seal.
Applied 3 coats of emulsion.

A lot of effort but I'm very pleased with the results.

One ceiling done, 5 more to go...

CosmicCathy

Thanks NickJ :-) Sounds quite tricky but I think it will be worth it!