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strange electric blue powder and other questions

  • 09-06-2010 7:48pm
    #1
    lispyelf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭


    Hi
    Attempting some diy on my mum's house. The house is a 2 bed terraced well over 100yrs old and I think I've looked at the history of wallpaper over the past few days!
    Just stripped 7 layers of wallpaper from the bedroom and discovered some odd electric blue powder which seems to be coming from behind the original plaster, only noticeable at the corners.
    Any idea what this stuff is?
    The original wall is coloured with some green substance, not paint, and streaks of white. Any ideas?

    I'd like to paint over but not sure what to use or does this surface need pretreatment?

    All advice gratefully received.


Comments

  • #2
    Martron
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,930 ✭✭✭Martron


    electric blue?

    under that wallpaper? i know that back in the day green and blue coloured wallpaper was coloured with arsnic based ink ( well arsnic was present in the ink) also nothing man made would be that clour in a powder form under neath all that wallpaper.........

    so could you be lookin at a form of mould?


  • #3
    lispyelf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lispyelf


    Hi
    I know it sounds really odd, and it looks it too. It's quite a dense powdery substance crumbling out of the cracks where the walls meet and the plaster is cracked. I havn't seen it from any other cracks elsewhere in the room just in one corner so far. There is rather a lot of it tho'.
    I don't think it is anything to do with wallpaper dye as it coming from behind the plaster. It really is a rather good strong blue, just like the one on the Lidl carrier bags:)
    It doesn't look like any mould I've ever seen. Whatever it is it's been covered up since at least 1930's


  • #4
    Jimmy Garlic
    Registered Users Posts: 4,349 ✭✭✭Jimmy Garlic


    lispyelf wrote: »
    Hi
    I know it sounds really odd, and it looks it too. It's quite a dense powdery substance crumbling out of the cracks where the walls meet and the plaster is cracked. I havn't seen it from any other cracks elsewhere in the room just in one corner so far. There is rather a lot of it tho'.
    I don't think it is anything to do with wallpaper dye as it coming from behind the plaster. It really is a rather good strong blue, just like the one on the Lidl carrier bags:)
    It doesn't look like any mould I've ever seen. Whatever it is it's been covered up since at least 1930's

    Did the house ever have gas lighting?. The blue powder could be corrosion from a disused copper gas or water pipe.


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