New Way to Strip It Away

By: Merle Henkenius (Page 2 of 3)

Photos by: Merle Henkenius

PROTECT the baseboard with self-stick masking paper after spreading a plastic drop cloth onto the floor.

ROLL THE scoring tool across the wall, cutting thousands of tiny perforations into the wallcovering but not the wall.

POUR THE THICK stripping gel into a metal paint tray. One gallon of the nontoxic gel strips about 200 sq. ft. of wall space.

USE A TAPERED SASH brush to apply the gel stripper along the edges of the moldings, ceiling and inside corners.

APPLY A THICK COATING of the stripper to the scored wallpaper using a standard paint roller fitted with a 3/8-in.-thick cover.

SLIDE THE SCRAPER along the wall to remove the loosened paper after waiting about 30 minutes for the stripper to work.

ROLL ON MORE STRIPPER after running the scoring tool over any stubborn pieces of wallpaper that still remain.

USE A DRYWALL KNIFE to gently scrape away all the softened backing paper and residual stripper and old paste.

SCRUB THE STRIPPED wall with a clean sponge. Wring out the sponge frequently in a bucket of warm, soapy water.

Photos by : Merle Henkenius

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STRIPPING STEPS
The first step is to cover the floor with a plastic drop cloth. Also protect the baseboard, window and door casings and other moldings with self-adhering masking paper (photo 1).

Peel off any loose wallpaper by hand, then run the scoring tool over the entire wall (photo 2). Make sure there are perforations at least every couple of inches. Pour the stripping gel into a clean metal paint tray (photo 3) and use a 1 1/2-in.-wide sash brush to apply it along the moldings and ceiling (photo 4). Then spread a generous coating of gel to the rest of the wall using a paint roller with a 3/8-in.-thick nap cover (photo 5).

Wait 20 to 30 minutes for the stripper to penetrate and soften the adhesive; the paper will start to blister when the stripper has done its job. Then use the scraper to strip the loosened paper from the wall (photo 6). After removing all the paper you can with the scraper, run the scoring tool over any remaining sections of paper and roll on a second coat of gel (photo 7). Wait 20 minutes and scrape away the remnants.

Use a 6-in. drywall knife to scrape off all the gooey residue of softened adhesive and stripper (photo 8). Wash the walls clean with a sponge soaked in warm, soapy water (photo 9). Finish up by carefully peeling off all the masking paper and rolling up the drop cloth; both can be safely discarded with the household trash.