• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
DIY Doctor

Main navigation

      • All Projects
      • Brick, Block, Masonry and Concrete
      • Damp, Condensation, Rot and Woodworm
      • Doors, Windows and Conservatories
      • Electrical
      • Fencing, Decking, Paving and Patios
      • Floors, Walls, Ceilings and Lofts
      • Garages, Sheds and Outbuildings
      • Gardening and Landscaping
      • General Building, Self Build and Renovation
      • General Repairs and Cleaning
      • Green Living and Eco DIY
      • Ground, Foundations and Drainage
      • Heating, Central Heating and Boilers
      • Joinery and Carpentry
      • Materials, Fixings and Fixing
      • Painting, Decorating and Finishing
      • Planning Regs, Project Management and Safety
      • Plastering, Plasterboard and Rendering
      • Plumbing
      • Roofing and Gutters
      • Tiling and Tiles
      • Tools, Appliances and Access
      • DIY Tips
      • Find a Tradesman
      • Contract Download
      • Working With Tradesmen - Ultimate Guide
      • Home Improver Protection
      • Price Doctor
      • About DIY Doctor
      • What we do
      • Trade Shows and Exhibitions
      • Master Classes
      • Book Store
      • Contact Us
      • Feedback
      • DIY Competitions

Home > DIY How To Projects and Tutorial Guides > How to Remove Distemper Paint

How to Remove Distemper Paint

Treating distemper paint is possible. See how to identify the distemper on walls and ceilings and either remove or seal it. Find out how to remove distemper before painting and decorating, or if preferred you can seal the distemper and paint over it.

Don't want to do this job yourself? Let us help you find a tradesman local to you

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer
Project Page Menu
  • How to Tutorial
  • Video
  • Find Tradesmen
  • Help

Distemper and Solving Problems

Distemper is an old type of simple paint which consists of whiting and glue. Distemper was used as a wall covering because when it dried, it tightened or shrunk when it cooled down. This gave it the ability to also fill minor cracks and holes while giving a clean surface covering.

  • Whiting: Powdered and washed white chalk or lime.
  • Glue: normally made from rabbit skin.

Generally found in older properties and used commonly up to the 20th century before more commercial easy to produce paints such as vinyl and acrylic arrived.

Distemper is easily identified. It is soft and dusty to touch and will come off the surface of walls onto your hands. The down side to this surface coating is that nothing will stick to it which is a major problem when you want to redecorate with either wallpaper or paint.

There are many granny tales around for dealing with this wall and ceiling coating but to be honest full removal is best.

There are several ways this can be done. Either by scrubbing with hot water or wallpaper steamers can also be good for removing distemper. The best way however, to is to soften it and scrape it off.

This can be done by coating it with wallpaper paste until it can soak up no more.

Paint on the paste for 30 minutes until the last coat you put on stays wet for ten minutes. Leave it for those ten minutes and add some more. Leave for a further ten minutes then start to scrape off with a normal paint scraper.

Sealing is also an option for distemper but the surface must be completely washed down with hot water to remove all of the dusty, loose particles.

You can then use PVA or Artex sealer and there are also other proprietary sealers on the market.

The reality though is that there is so much work getting the distemper ready to be sealed that you may just as well work a little harder and remove it totally.

All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards, founder of DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology.

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer

Video

Back to the Top

Apologies, but we don't seem to have a video for this project yet, but we will do our best to get one up soon

Find a Reliable Local Tradesman

Back to the Top
Don't fancy doing this project yourself? We work with the industries best to ensure that we recommend only reliable and trustworthy tradesmen.
Let DIY Doctor help you find a tradesman

Find a tradesman now!


More Help

Back to the Top
Related Projects That May Help You:
  • How to Stop Damp and Damp Patches on Your Internal Walls
  • How to Strip and Remove Wallpaper
  • Stripping Paint From Wood, Metal and Other Materials
  • How to Clean Paint Brushes
  • Types of Decorative Mouldings Guide
Give us Some Feedback!

We love feedback on our DIY tutorials it helps us to make them the best they possibly can be so if you have any comments you would like to share with us, click the button below and let us know.

Primary Sidebar

Master Basic DIY - By DIY Doctor

Our Book - Master Basic DIY

Grab your copy now for all the DIY help you need right at your finger tips!

Buy it Here!

Signup for our Newsletter

Keep up to date with our DIY projects, tips and latest deals

Sign Me Up!

Our Sponsors

Find out about advertising on DIY Doctor

Advertisments

Other Similar Projects
  • Cleaning Paint Brushes Used With Distemper Proplem Solving
  • Distemper Poblem Solving With Architectural Mouldings
  • Distemper Problem Solving With Damp Internal Walls
  • Distemper Problem Solving When Paint Stripping
  • Stripping Wallpaper - Tips On Wallpaper Stripping Using A Scraper And Wallpaper Steamer

Footer

DIY Doctor

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Media/Press
  • Community Work
  • DIY Projects
  • DIY Tips
  • DIY Suppliers
  • UK DIY Forum
  • DIY Webinars

Other Stuff

  • Advertise
  • Competitions
  • T and Cs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • NHIC
  • Sitemap

DIY Doctor Social Channels

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on YouTube
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Tumblr

DIY Doctor are members of:

DIY Doctor Ltd, The Workshop, Newbury Works, Somerset, BA3 5RX

© DIY Doctor Ltd 2023 All Rights Reserved

Company Number: 05863375 | VAT Number: 811134774