# Wallpaper - very old



## gorphus (Sep 29, 2014)

Hi,
We are removing wallpaper from our dining room. The first layer came off nicely with some Dif and paper tiger - big sheets peeled off for the most part. Underneath was a second layer which was quite a bit older and less fun (much scraping, scoring, soaking, etc.). There appears to be a 3rd layer, but it is really thin. When I try to remove that 3rd layer, it exposes the cardboard layer of the dry wall almost immediately. It's almost as though the drywall itself had a layer of artwork that looks like wallpaper. It never comes off in even small sections like you would expect a sheet of paper to.

The layer I'm talking about could be from as far back as 1950 and I live in California. Anyone else had an experience like this?

I'm hoping it can come off with a mix of Dif, vinegar, baking soda and hot water without too much damage to the drywall. We'll then skim coat the dry wall, sand, prime, and paint.


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## nealtw (Sep 29, 2014)

If you have cardboard in there, it is not drywall. It might be the stuff they used to put in campers and trailers. Pressed board of some sort with the paper on it.
I would cut a hole in the wall. If it's dywall the hole is patchable and if it anything else, well I would remove it and start fresh.


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## Redfield_Cabin (Sep 29, 2014)

I borrowed a steamer to remove our wallpaper from the 70's. We tried the dif and peel method, it took 3 people, 2 days to clean up the dining room. I did 2 bedrooms single handedly in less than 3 hours with the steamer. Good luck, pretty sure Home Depot rents them


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## gorphus (Sep 30, 2014)

After the last layer is removed, there is this faux wood layer that scrapes off if too much pressure is applied to remove the paper (of course we try not to apply too much pressure ).

If we sand that stuff down, the next layer is this matte brown color like cardboard. If you keep sanding that down, you punch through to an underlayer that looks like gypsum.

Any of this make sense?

We might try the steamer tonight. Fortunately, just one room to do.

Will a skim coat work on this stuff before priming or just go straight to priming?

Thanks for the responses, nealtw and Redfield.


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## bud16415 (Sep 30, 2014)

That stuff was pretty common in the 50&#8217;s and 60&#8217;s it&#8217;s a drywall that was hung to look like paneling with that fake grain. When you get to some point you have to stop or rip it all down and put up new drywall. If it were mine and  it was somewhat flat and not loose I would stop and paint it with kilz primer and then any cracks etc I would tape with mesh tape and then start in with skim coating and sanding. When I got it to where I was happy I would give it another coat of the kilz and then touch up any spots with drywall mud again and prime those spots and then paint.


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## gorphus (Oct 30, 2014)

I finally got all the wallpaper off. There was some damage to the drywall, so I put a skim coat all the way around. That stuff is a pain to get right.  Took 4 gallons of the stuff and a few evenings work to get it close to good, then some sanding. We're almost ready to prime before painting, so we started to pull of the painters tape protecting the trim and the wainscoting - it had gotten drips of joint compound on it and had sanding residue. To avoid stirring up dust and getting that mixed into the paint, we decided to pull it off. Anyway, there are a few stretches where there is a gap between the joint compound and the trim - see attached photo. Is the best way to fix that to press joint compound into the gap? Or is there a different trick? It probably would look ok with paint, but I've already put in the time, so might as well do it right. Thanks.


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## beachguy005 (Oct 30, 2014)

Just get a tube of latex painters caulk.  Cut the nozzle with a small opening, run a bead along the seam, wipe it smooth with a damp finger and rag.  Be sure to clean off any excess.  Let it dry then paint.  
Don't use joint compound as it will eventually just crack.


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## michaeladam (Dec 15, 2014)

very nice idea of changing old wallpaper.


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