How to Remove Faux Paint

Faux wall finish

While faux wall finishes can seem like a good idea when selecting a decorating scheme, they can be notoriously challenging to remove. In most cases, you cannot simply remove a faux finish to fully expose the color beneath. Instead, you will have to smooth out the finish and paint over it. This is a time-consuming process--depending on the size of the room, this process can take one weekend or several weekends.

Things You'll Need

• Soft cloth
• Rubbing alcohol
• Metal paint knife
• Palm sander
• Sandpaper
• Hand-held vacuum
• Primer
• Paint rollers
• Paint

Instructions

1. Soak a clean, soft cloth in rubbing alcohol. Rub it over the faux finish in an inconspicuous area to determine the kind of paint that was used to create the finish. This will determine the type of paint you should use when you recover the walls. If the faux finish is water-based, it will dissolve and color the cloth. If it is oil-based, it will not dissolve.

2. Scrape the surface with the metal blade of a wide painting knife to remove high peaks and this faux finish paint.

3. Sand the surface of the wall with a palm sander to remove the faux finish and smooth the wall. Remove dust from the walls with a hand-held vacuum.

4. Paint wall primer over the sanded walls with a paint roller. Allow the primer to dry for 24 hours before applying paint. Paint the walls as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a palm sander with a bag attachment to reduce dust. While a bag attachment will not eliminate dust, it will contain much of it.

• Always wear a respirator and eye protection when scraping and sanding walls to avoid irritating your eyes, throat and lungs.

References

• The Painted Surface: How to paint over a faux finish