Newcomer- Prepping Plaster Walls for Painting! HELP!!

[tubtub]

We have a 1941 era home with plaster walls that have been wallpapered and painted several times. We are preparing to paint the walls and need suggestions on how to proceed.

1) The wallpaper will be difficult if not impossible to remove due to the multiple layers of paint and wallpaper.
2) There are several cracks, bumps, and inperfections in the wall that need to be repaired.
3) There are a few areas where the wallpaper seams are visable (but not exposed) and areas where the wallpaper is bubbling away from the wall.

We plan to prime the walls with an alkalyd based primer but are unsure how to best approach fixing the imperfections in the wall. Any suggestions?

thanks!
RG and JW

[kactuskid]

A new coat of paint is only as good as the surface beneath it. If you have multiple layers of painted wallpaper then I'd really consider removing the plaster walls all together and install new drywall. Or you could cover the walls up with 1/4" drywall. This would require removing the baseboards first and also installing extensions on all receptacle and switch box's afterwards.

[tubtub]

Upon inspection of the plaster itself, it appears to be rock solid and smooth underneath, with the exception of some cracks (which appear to be quite old- probably due to earthquake or settling).

The imperfections appear to be coming from walpaper seams from an original layer of wallpaper applied directly to the plaster walls. Then about 7-8 coats of paint, with a possible skim coat somewhere in between. Since the imperfections appear to be caused by several crapy paint jobs, and from the initial layer of wallpaper, is it possible to:

-remove and chip away all bubbles in the paint/ wallpaper,
-use a puddy knife to chip away and smooth out all bumps and protruding areas, and
-use a plaster filler to "fill in" all depressions or dents in the wall?

I was thinking of spot priming the surface once i knocked away and smoothed out some of the inperfections before applying the new plaster to the chipped areas.

any dangers to doing this?

thanks!
RG and JW

[pushkins]

As was previously mentioned in a post, the finish job will only be as good as the base below it, so you must make sure your prep is going to be as good as you want the finish to be.

Yes you can remove the bubbles of air make sure you use a sharp blade and cut away the bubbled wallpaper/paint/anything else mixed in.
Using a drywall compound fill the areas concerned do not try to fill them in one go, it will take several coats, make sure it is dry in between coats.

Once you have achieved the desired finish (after sanding) apply a coat of Zinsser oil based paint to the entire area to be painted, (available at Home Depot, Lowes or any better hardware store) it will seal the wall from any previous paints/stains, make the top coat far more uniform and form a vapor barrier to avoid any moisture problems that are inherent to old plaster walls.
Note: An oil based sealer is the best option for pre painting walls for stains etc...as well as any wet area room like bathrooms, it eliminates the transfer of moisture from steam etc...


As kactuskid mentioned, ideally it's best to remove all the old plaster (one big messy job) and install drywall, it will make the finished job much better, but if costs, knowhow, or shear "I don't wanna screw with it that much" is a factor then the above is your best option.

Good Luck.