Painting - Wallpaper and Paint Removal

I've noticed that the paint in my room (on one wall) has been cracking chipping off. There are also signs that the paint was applied over previously applied wallpaper. I would simply like to know what the people on this forum recommend for a situation like this.

I already have a paper tiger, scraper, and some wallpaper removal liquid. I am considering picking up some paint remover as well. I have also included some pictures to show the extent of the damage. Thanks for you help in advance.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/edavis/HPIM1047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/edavis/HPIM1046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/edavis/HPIM1045.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/edavis/HPIM1043.jpg

If you can remove the wallpaper, that would be best
It's not always possible, it's hard to tell until you get into it
Don't use paint remover, though

If the wallpaper was skimmed with joint compound over the seems, it may not be advisable to remove it
If the wallpaper was originally directly to the wall (no primer/sizing), it may not advisable to remove it

Test a few areas to try and remove it, see what's up with it

If it comes off, great...please continue
If it won't come off, or pulls chunks along with it, we'll adjust the plan accordingly

Thanks for the info Slick. Sorry about the doublepost, it asked me to sign in twice so I thought my post wasn't sent to the board. The problem is that after using a paper tiger, I have yet to even scratch the wallpaper. I can see the lines on the wall in which the wallpaper was applied, but there's possibly a couple layers of paint over it. I'm probably going to go with one of two solutions; remove the wallpaper (messy or clean), or just paint over the damn thing (after removing the cracking paint) and we'll get a professional to redo it later on down the line (along with most of the house). I'm just a little upset because this procedure is taking place in my room, so I have little flexbility in the meantime. Thanks again.

My wife and I had a similar situation in our old house. In the kitchen, we had a top layer of paper, and then underneath, a second layer, and then underneath that, a painted-over layer.

The top two layers came off just fine, but nothing would touch the painted over layer. Any removal efforts damaged the drywall facing. I don't know if that was because of the paint, or if the paper was put directly over drywall without proper prep.

In any case, we stripped what paper we could, and then our handyman skimmed the rest with compound, primed, and painted. He is a real whiz at skimming, so you could not tell it had been done.

You can "push" on the paper tiger some without severe damage. The trick is to penetrate the paper, while not killing the drywall underneath.

Personally, I don't think you are going to be able to get that paper off. If it was removable, it likely would have been done before that first paint job.

I think your biggest problem is going to be that peeling paint... If it is not adhereing properly, anything you try and put on top of it is going to have problems. I think there is a type of wallpaper that is made to act solely as a surface for painting... putting some of that on top of the existing painted paper may be your best bet, and then of course priming and painting it.

SirWired

Ah...I see
With a couple coats on there, it will be difficult to remove (sometimes just one coat actually helps)
As we don't know if the wallcovering can even be removed (maybe not, that might be why it was painted over the first time-maybe it was applied directly over raw sheetrock way back when), and given what you've found so far, I would suggest going over it at this point

Scrape off all the loose stuff you possibly can, then sand the areas smooth
If you have large 'ledges' between older and newer layers, just scuff them up

After you have all the loose stuff off, and have scuff sanded the walls, (and smooth sanded what you could), wipe clean the walls (a dry-type swiffer works great), and apply a slow drying oil-based primer
(I prefer Ben Moore's Fresh Start Alkyd (oil), but I'm sure the appropriate Sherwin Williams product will do fine)

After it's dry, skim coat the problem areas with lightweight joint compound and those wide taping (or putty) knives
The goal is to smooth out the 'ledges', and fill in the wallpaper 'lines'

You shouldn't need a lot, you won't be going for a high build up
You are just trying to 'smooth out' the walls
With some sanding to feather the repairs, you should have a good surface to work with
It may take two coats of mud (joint compound) if repairs are deep, or don't come out smooth the first time

After sanding and cleaning the dust off, the repair areas will need some primer
Regular latex primer will be fine for this step
If there are a lot of repair areas, it may be better/easier to primer the whole wall (not a bad idea in any case)

You then should be ready for two coats of premium latex paint