Skim coat over wallpaper residue?

Hello, all!

This is my first post, first house, and early into my foray of DIY. I've got a heinous wallpaper in my kitchen. It's only from the chair rail up. At first I thought that everything was going well. The the top layer of the wallpaper came off with little fuss other than being out of easy reach in some places.

The problem however is the glue residue. I've DIF'ed it. I've scoured it. I've vinegar-ed it. I've lightly sanded it. I steamed it.

Nothing has worked to the level that would be paint-ready. I even had a quote done. $900 for the rest of the removal + paint, even with 85% of the removal done and the paint and primer already bought.

I was looking at products for drywall repair in prep for the crazy that exists underneath the blighted wallpaper and had an idea.

What would happen if I sanded a little more and skim coated the entire place? It needs a lot of repair anyway as the previous owner just wallpapered over the damage instead of fixing it first. Would that be sufficient to paint if I used a kick-behind oil-based primer? I think I can get it pretty smooth so texture wouldn't be a problem. I'm just worried that the adhesion might be compromised.

Otherwise I'm just going to dissolve into a puddle of tears on the also heinous vinyl floors.

 

I sometimes find it cheaper and easier to replace drywall than clean wallpaper mess. But if you don't damage the drywall paper to bad clean what you can and primer with a oil based primer, than put skim coat.

 

Coating the wall with Zinnser's Gardz is also an option [the only water based option!] oil base primer is the old tried and true traditional primer for going over wallpaper adhesive. These primers are also needed over any exposed gypsum - where the paper has come off.

When trying to remove the adhesive it's important to keep your rag/sponge well rinsed so you don't just smear the adhesive around When I can't remove it all, I let it dry, sand and then apply an oil primer [or Gardz]

btw - welcome to the forums!

 

Thank you so much! Best news all week.

I had wondered. The sanding got things pretty smooth. The only reason I knew there was still residue was because of the difference in color.

There's some gypsum exposure but nothing too bad. I've patched and spackled the cleaner areas. I think most of the damage was from the previous owner removing the original wallpaper and instead of repairing, just slapping up more stuff. Though I let my frustration at times get the better of me. Some holes were definitely from my putty knife being wielded in a overhand stabby motion.

Is the Gardz a one and done primer option? Or will I need additional on top of that? I'm still trying to wrap my head around a miracle cure. But I will accept it just the same! You've made this girl quite happy.

 

Gardz is a sealer type primer. Once the wall is repaired you'll need to prime again. While either Gardz or an oil base primer can be used to coat the repaired wall it's generally best to use a regular latex wall primer at that point.

Priming with Gardz or oil base seals the gypsum so the moisture in latex primer or joint compound won't make the surrounding paper to lift.