Walls and Ceilings - How do I remove wallpaper glue from bare drywall

:confused: I removed the vinyl wallpaper from our kitchen walls and discovered bare drywall underneath. I want to faux paint the walls but I need to remove the glue first.

What is the best way to do this?

Honestly if it is on real good and it probably is you can't really. Unless your running a real strong texture or repapering you will never hide it or get it off all the way. I'm afraid the only solution may be to tear off the existing drywall and replace it. I know a lot of work but I can't think of how you would reclaim a smooth surface otherwise.

If they applied the wallpaper directly to the drywall without priming the wall first, it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to remove the glue without destroying the drywall. If they primed or painted the wall prior to applying the wallpaper, you should be able to use some wallpaper stripper to loosen the glue and wash it off with soap and water. I removed several rooms of wallpaper this way. The top layer peeled off easily, and I removed the glue with wallpaper stripper (i.e. DIF). You still may need to do some small patching with some drywall mud, but it should be possible to get a smooth surface, just depends on your specific situation though. I would at least attempt removing the glue before replacing all the drywall.

See another one of those things I wish I could see. I could tell at not much more than a glance and trying a small area to see if that were possible. I hope an easier solution works out for you

:o Thank you for all your prompt responses.

Unfortunately the drywall was not primed or painted before the wallpaper was installed.

I figured it would be worth a shot to try and remove it. First I tried soapy water and a sponge on a section about 1' sq. and used a plastic putty knife to scrape down the section I was working on. I actually got a lot off that way.

Then I wondered if I could use something stronger so I tried Greased Lightning and again used the putty knife.

I can tell that there is still glue on the wall but it really does not seem too bad. I will need to wait for the wall to completely dry to find out if it gets rough again.

If that method works, it will be a bit of a job but being a kitchen there are a lot of small sections and not a lot of large areas of wall due to lower and upper cabinets. And if the area behind the stove and refrigerator don't come out quite as well...no one will see them.

If all else fails I will just re-wallpaper with that heavy paper they have out now that is designed to cover paneling and flaws and can be painted and do it that way.

sounds like a good plan. good luck :)

I spent the afternoon ripping mine from the drywall and I was lucky enough that mine was on the back porch where I do laundry. I think the humidity of the small space has been steaming it over the years. It's been coming off fairly painlessly and in large pieces. The people that owned this house before were merciless for doing things like this! Fortunately, it's not irreparable.

I would recommend steam ... perhaps a clothing steamer.

I have yet to wash the walls with soap and water and finish about 3 small areas that were stubborn, but I'll try to let you all know how it does.

Oh... and they also installed the trim boards right over paper so those will have to come off:wall: Hopefully this will easily fixed.