I have been stripping all the (varied, thick, patterned/woodchip) wallpaper off my walls (1930's house) and underneath I find:
- mostly, yellowish-brown surface, with brush strokes, seems to be a thin layer on top of plaster. Am I right that this is old PVA, or is it the surface of the plaster?
- In some places it has thin (water-based?) paint on top, some has come off with the paper
- In some places the top yellowish-brown stuff is flaking off leaving powdery-ish skin-colored surface (the plaster I assume!)
- In some places it has thicker paint on top which is not looking like it wants to come off...
The question is what do I do to get all this ready for painting (I assume I am going to have to put up lining paper)? Should I just sand it all in together as smooth as possible, or do I need to fill the patches without the yellowish-brown layer (and with what) or...?
Help! It never looked like this in the DIY books...
Hi,
The thin layer of powdery substance is probably old lime which they used to paint with back then,Health and safety would have a field day if they used it now!
I would suggest you strip of to the point where it is very stubborn to come of,then let it thoroughly dry out,rub the entire surface down, then cover with a P.V.A. bonding,then fill all holes and blemishes with a powdered filler,rub down again,and put on maybe 1000 grade lining paper.
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