How to Remove Plastic Wallpaper From Bare Drywall
- 1). Loosen one of the top corners of a strip of wallpaper using a wallpaper scraper, cutting it if necessary but only deep enough to cut through the vinyl layer of the wallpaper. Begin pulling the wallpaper down slowly, peeling the plastic off of the wall carefully. Portions of the paper backing and much of the adhesive will stick to the drywall; this is normal.
- 2). Continue peeling the plastic wallpaper off of the walls, cutting it as needed in places where it is too strongly bonded to the drywall. Trying to force the wallpaper off of the wall will severely damage the bare drywall, resulting in a significant amount of repair work once the wallpaper is removed.
- 3). Perforate any wallpaper or large pieces of paper backing that remain on the drywall using a wallpaper perforation tool so that a liquid paste remover can penetrate the paper and reach the paste holding it in place. Use only enough force to penetrate the wallpaper to avoid damaging the bare drywall with the tool.
- 4). Apply a chemical wallpaper paste remover to a small portion of the wall using a spray bottle or paint roller, using as little of the liquid as possible to get good coverage. Let the paste remover stay on the wall for no longer than 10 minutes, then begin scraping the paste off of the drywall with a wallpaper scraper.
- 5). Finish scraping the wallpaper and paste from the wall and let the drywall dry completely. Inspect the bare drywall for cuts, holes and other damage caused during the wallpaper removal. Fill all holes with spackle or drywall joint compound, letting it dry and sanding it smooth. Any torn paper edges on the drywall should be sanded as well.
- 6). Apply a water-based sealer designed for penetrating and sealing drywall to finish repairing the walls and to prepare them for painting or new wallpaper. Once the sealer dries you can prime, paint or begin putting up new sheets of wallpaper without having to worry about damaging the walls further.
