How to Strip Wallpaper From Plaster

If you encounter old wallpaper under paint as you remodel your house, don't despair. You can strip the old wallpaper without doing too much damage to the plaster. It's a labor-intensive task, but you can remove the old wallpaper. The result is so much better than leaving the old wallpaper on the wall and painting over it.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Old newspapers or drop cloths
• Scoring tool
• Long-handled mop
• Water
• Bucket
• Stepladder
• Wide putty knife
• Wallpaper paste solvent
• Sponge

1. Move the furniture away from the wall. Set old newspapers or drop cloths up against the trim to catch any drips and falling wallpaper.

2. Run some warm water into the bucket. Place the mop into the water to soften up the mop's sponge.

3. Wring out some of the moisture from the mop. Run the damp mop along the wall over two strips of wallpaper. Let the paper soak for a while. The dampness doesn't hurt plaster like it might drywall.

4. Use the putty knife to strip the wallpaper away from the plaster. Climb on the stepladder to reach higher places in the room. If the wallpaper strips easily, continue this process for the entire room. If not, proceed to the next step.

5. Score the wallpaper with the scoring tool. The more cuts you make with the tool, the easier it is for water to get behind the paper to dissolve the paste. Run the mop over the scored paper. Let the water soak into the paper for a while and then scrape with the putty knife.

6. Add a wallpaper paste solvent to the water if necessary. Repeat the above steps to see if that helps to strip the wallpaper from the plaster.

7. Run clean water into the bucket when all the wallpaper is gone. Clean the walls with a damp sponge to get any remnants of wallpaper paste. Let the walls dry before patching any holes and painting them.