Damp proof paint - is it possible to remove it?

Justamum

A few years ago we had a decorator in to paint our lounge.  When we moved in we had what we thought was a bit of a damp problem in a couple of places on a wall (the old paper looked damp but the wall underdeath was very sound), so he painted a damp proof paint over a large area before wallpapering.  Unfortunately it didn't stop the problem, and having since done some research I've realised that it's condensation and not penetrating damp.  I'm removing the paper and I want to just paint the walls.  Unfortunately where the damp proofing was painted on has ruined the wall.  In some parts of it the plaster is coming off along with the paper, but there is a large area I can't remove and it looks bubbly so won't be nice when it's painted.  My explanation is a bit rambly I know, sorry!

Is there any way I can remove the rest of it before painting?  If I can't I'm sure that the problem under the damp proofing will just get worse and more plaster will break away, but I'm hoping there's a way of removing it without destroying the plaster and having to get a plasterer in.

grumbler

Justamum said:

 My explanation is a bit rambly I know,

Absolutely.

How about posting a photo?

mi-key

If it is that sort of rubbery paint, it is a total pain to remove ! You may end up having to remove the plaster it is stuck to, then replaster that area. 

Justamum

Thanks for the reply.  Sorry I haven't replied earlier but I didn't get a notification!  I thought it might end up being a big job.  Never again will I have that damp proof paint on the walls.

I can't post a photo unfortunately. 

What I'm thinking of doing is trying to gently rub it down with some sandpaper and see how that goes.

FreeBear

Justamum said: What I'm thinking of doing is trying to gently rub it down with some sandpaper and see how that goes.

You may have better luck using a 75mm/3" wallpaper scraper. You might gouge the plaster in the process, but a bag of EasyFill will cover much of the damage fairly easily.