Removing Wall Paint

ThomasH

Hi,

I'm struggling to remove old paint, probably 5/6 layers from our kitchen walls.

Issue is the paint is tough enough to strip but not solid enough to plaster (skim) over it. The plasterer told me I need to strip it off first.

Bought a scrapper from B&Q with a long handle but maybe I'm just using the wrong tool?

Tried paint removal and a sander but nothing.

Any ideas? and thanks.

mad m

Have you tried a wall paper steamer? This can sometimes make paint soft and more easy to strip especially if its vinyl silk....

Smiley101

Maybe a heat gun and scrapper might help. Lidl or Aldi were selling heat guns recently

GreeBo

I would rough it up with sandpaper/belt sander, then bond it with some PVA and it should be fine to plaster over.

Has the plasterer given a reason why he cant/wont plaser over it?

patrickolee

The heatgun works a treat on Wood, never tried it on plaster though. I also tried the chemical strippers, but they didn't really work as well as the heatgun. Could try it on a small patch first, i can give you a lend of a black and decker one if you want... but they aren't that expensive anyway.

mad m

You will be there all day and then some with a heat gun....Get a kango!

Wertz

GreeBo wrote:

I would rough it up with sandpaper/belt sander, then bond it with some PVA and it should be fine to plaster over.

Has the plasterer given a reason why he cant/wont plaser over it?

Yup that's about as far as you should have to go....the plasterer in question sounds to me like he just couldn't be arsed taking it on and could make better bucks someplace else.

I don't think I've ever had to strip paint from a plastered wall in all my days...if it's not coming away in flakes or peeling off, then a coat of polybond should provide ample grip for skim.
Don't use ntromors or other chemicals IMO....the acids are likely to leech into the original plaster and provide LOTS of problmes for the new paintwork...

ThomasH

Thanks for all the replies and help.

The reason why the plasterer asked me to do it, actually I've started doing it and then he said to finish it first is because the paint comes off in small flakes. Issue is it's taking me along time to cover a big area.

No, I do trust him, was recommended through a friend and I've seen some of his work. He said if he skims over the loose flakes the walls might show little cracks later on.

dools

Our plasterer painted our walls with Thistlebond to give a grip for new plaster on old walls. Most of the walls were painted with vinyl-type paint that kind of chipped off. The Thistlebond is either bright green or pink that looks like paint with sand mixed in. It dried overnight and gave a sandy-rough texture to the walls which was a good grip for the new plaster. The plaster went on great.

The Thistlebond comes in big tubs for €50 each and you just slap it on with a roller or paintbrush. However, wherever it splashes it sticks. We had to scrape stray bits off windows, woodwork, etc. Ask the plasterer if he has heard of it. Deffo recommend it...

http://www.british-gypsum.bpb.com/products/thistle_plaster_products/thistle_plaster_bonding_agents/thistlebond-it.aspx

Dools

P_J

i used a black and decker small steamer to remove paint from my kitchen walls and it worked a treat. i think they cost around e30 and are better in my opinion than renting the large industrial ones, which tend to be difficult to refill and weigh a tonne.