Wallpaper and Wallcoverings - Another question about the strange stuff on the wall

Okay, I do not think the stuff on under the wallpaper is another layer of paper. I've removed some more of the wallpaper and have found out that what ever is under the wallpaper is not really white. There seems to be a very light/thin coat of what is rather like white plaster. Under the white plastery stuff is a layer of blue/green/grey material -- it kinda reminds me of unfired clay. When it comes off the wall, it cracks and chips. It also can be sanded.

Any ideas of what it is? Does it need to be removed? If so, how?

One other note, the wall surface is a very smooth concrete board (I think).

Thanks
L

L, if you have a Google account, upload a picture to Picasa and post the link here...if not, use photobucket. Be easier to see what you see instead of trying to guess by a description:)

Connie

How old is your house?
Do you have plaster over blueboard?
Blue board is drywall made specfically to be covered with a plaster veneer.

I will try to go and take some pictures of the stuff and post them.

The house was built in the 1960's and the areas where the outlets, holes, ectra are grey -- it looks like cement or concrete. I do not know that I would recognize blue board if I saw it. I'll take some more pictures of that area too.

Thanks
L

Please do post quality pictures. Also what area is this house built?

Hi,

Here is the site with the pictures -- http://www.dropshots.com/bertramsluys .

I have tried to put explainations with each picture, but if it is not clear, please ask and I will try to explain more.

I also put a picture of another area of the house which has this nasty, rubbery glue that we are removing. So far the best stuff (beats the chemical stripper, vinegar/hot water, amonia and the Trisodium stuff) to remove this glue is Murphy's Oil Soap. Any other suggestions would be welcome too.

Oh, yes, we are located in West Central Michigan (think just below the pinky part of the mitten).

Thanks
L

From the pictures L, it looks like you have plaster walls. You may have all the original coats of paint pulling off the first layer. The next layer is 1/8 inch more or less of smooth plaster. the gray stuff under that is the rough first coat of plaster that is 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch more or less. Under that should be drywall lathe (this year of building I believe).

I am a big fan of DIF wall paper stripper. Is this one of the chemicals you are trying? This stuff will take up to 45 minutes before the benefits are seen. Outside grill scrubbers (thick green pads) are ideal for tough glue.

Okay, I have plaster walls. That is good to know.

How do we know if it is paint or not? There is a score line in the doorway of the closet (The closet is painted). Could that be from cutting off the wallpaper? Would the funky white layer be some kind of wallpaper primer?

If it is paint, can I just remove the wallpaper and glue, clean, patch, sand and prime? Or is there something else I would need to do?

Would the DIF totally disolve the glue or would I still have to scrub and scrape? I am using Wallwik and it has worked great on everything but this glue. The Murphy's Oil Soap softens the glue in about 5 minutes under a small piece of the Wallwik sheets. It is then fairly easy to scrape off. I will have to go and get heavy duty scrubbers. I have been using the kitchen variety.

Thanks
L

DIF will make things easier relatively speaking. Scraping and scrubbing still will be there but even tougher without DIF. Yes just scrape what is loose and patch with Joint Compound sanding in between coats. Some bad spots will require three coats.

If after the removal you have slick white surface this will be the plaster or painted/primed surface. If you are down the the very rough gray stuff, this is the first plaster coat. What ever you have.....make sure all loose "stuff" is scraped off. Sanding before the Joint Compound is a good idea to make this all go well.

Make sure you prime all of the walls and two finish coats of paint for that pro finish. :)