Patching and Plastering - Painting over old plaster/wall paper

Hi: We are in the process of getting our house ready for sale. The main part of the house is 1889 with the original lathe, plaster, etc. We put new windows in it which, of course, tore up the plaster around the windows. We are having that repaired. The remainder of the area has had wall paper, paint, who knows what over the years. Some of the wallpaper comes off easily, some won't. The plaster walls are not in great shape as far as being smooth and I'm trying to figure out a way to not disquise the condition, but just not make it so obvious. Is there a way to get the old wall paper off without causing more damage to the walls and once I get the walls as clear as possible, what kind of finish or faux finish can I put on them (including the ceiling) to make them at least look decent. We have explored ripping it all out and putting up sheetrock but time and trouble wise, it's just not worth it if a new buyer is then going to change things around up there. Help....Thanks. Susan.

Welcome to the forums Susan

I'd also be leary of removing all the wallpaper from old plaster. If you remove what is loose and then prime the wall with a solvent based primer you should be able to blend any transistions from paper to plaster with joint compound.

Ideally you would skim coat the entire wall for a nice smooth finish but there are a variety of textures that can be applied to help a not so perfect wall look better.

Thanks. I've gotten the quote from the plaster guy and he's going to start repairing on Thursday. I also went and got high quality primer and tinted it with the color I'm going to paint the walls. The primer is an oil base but the paint is latex. The paint guy said that wouldn't be a problem. He also said that considering what I'm painting over, the oil base might stand up better... I figure I'll just get as much of the lose paper off as possible and the contractor suggested spraying a light coat of water spray to losen what was there but not to saturate the walls. What doesn't come off easily, just paint over. He said the light spray would at least probably get the decorated part of the paper off and the glued part would probably still adhere to the walls. This is reallllyyy old paper. Not the kind we have today. In effect, the glue would hold the walls together if there were cracks underneath. I certainly hope it works like that. I had also thought about a fabric finish on the walls but I don't have a whole lot of time and patience and I think that would have to be pretty precise and I'm not sure the walls are still square. Anyway, if any other suggestions surface, please let me know. Susan.

Sounds like a good plan :D An oil base primer is often used when there might be adhesion problems - also good for hiding stains. Be sure to have plenty of fresh air ventilation when using the primer.

No choice about the fresh air. This old house doesn't have AC either... Virginia has been a little warm lately too!! Thanks for the info.