removing wall paper glue

[afedeles]

My boyfriend and i just bought a house and are doing repairs to it. In our kitchen the previous owner wallpapered over some of our cabinets, and we got the wallpaper off with fabric softner and water, but CANNOT get the glue off. We have tried almost everything. If anyone would have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate them. Thanks all. Alex

[skeezix]

You might need to use a chemical stripper like acetone or paint stripper. I would ask someone in a paint store or paint dept. what they recommend. The problem with strippers, is you need to wear a respirator, and ventilate well. Respirators cost about $30-40. But it may be the only way if the stuff is gooey. If it's hard, you can probably just sand it off and repaint.

[housefixin]

Hi.
Our 100 yr old "new" house in CO has layers and layers of wallpaper. Some of the cardboard like wall paper have separated from the plaster and lath walls. Some parts are wrinkled and torn, another part has buckled loose.
My husband says we should not try to remove the wallpaper because it is a very large living/diningroom and will be a lot of work. It has rounded doorways.
Two people have said to reglue the wall paper back and add another layer of wallpaper to hide it.
We're almost coming to blows over this (exaggeration).
HELP!

[pushkins]

I'm not sure your husband is going to like the news but the only thing that is going to work long term is to remove the existing wallpaper and either re wallpaper of refinish the walls in some way.
Once the paper starts to come away from the wall there is little you can do to save it. Most fixes are "quick fixes" and last short term.
Your home is 100 years old so the walls are old plaster, removing the wallpaper will most likely do some damage to the walls (depending on how well the home as been kept over the last 100 years)
Many times what is actually happening is that the plaster is separating from the lathe and causing the wall paper to bulge outward. It's not uncommon in this age of home.
Sorry to your hubby there might be a few weekends of work ahead of him.

[corey3027]

Or try trisodiumphosphate (called TSP in stores) found at many paint stores.

[HayZee518]

for walls with multiple layers of wall paper the only way is to strip it off with an angled razor knife. this knife has a four inch razor mounted in a two hand holder. start at an edge and stroke it forward removing the wall paper in strips. once you are finished, any blemishes need to be filled in with water and plaster of paris and sanded smooth. efflouresence shows itself as pink splotches on the wall - this must be neutralized with a tsp wall wash.