It is totally possible to strip wallpaper with three simple tools.
We show you how to scrape off gross old wallpaper with hot soapy water, paint brush, wallpaper scorer (optional, just use the side of the 5-in-1 tool if you don’t have one) and a 5-in-1 tool.
We are using the instructions from Mr. Aubrey of “Aubrey’s Absolute Decorating.” His YouTube channel is full of some of the most useful and clear instructions I have ever seen on all manner of home improvement projects. I must have watched every wallpaper removal video on YouTube and his is the best.
Here is the link to his tutorial
Supply List
Plastic Bucket
Ajax, Dawn, or other liquid detergent
In this video, I’ll show you exactly how to strip wallpaper with three simple tools. If you’d rather read, I’ve written it all out just below the video.
How To Strip Wallpaper With Three Simple Tools
Hey what’s up YouTube this is Kathleen from the blog and YouTube channel oldworldfarmhouse.com and this is my son. We are going to be stripping the wallpaper off of his bedroom walls today. Very ugly, old, extremely old wallpaper. I’m gonna show you how to strip wallpaper with three simple tools.
I’ll link below. I – I have watched a ton of how to remove wallpaper videos and my favorite one is from Audrey’s ah Audrey’s Aubrey’s Absolute Decorating. He’s got really clear directions. They’re great. I have followed them for stripping this room. They are the best I’ve ever seen.
Wallpaper Scorer
I’m just going to show you how I’ve taken his directions and adapted them to our situation, so let’s get started! The first thing we’re going to need is a wallpaper scorer. You can get these at Lowe’s, Home Depot, hardware stores, whatever. They’re not expensive at all. I can’t remember how much this one was, but definitely under ten dollars.
I’m gonna show you how – well, Lars is gonna – Lars is gonna show you how. It’s really fun, it works all right. Okay so you just go over your walls in a circular motion. I think Mr. Aubrey said, you know, do about, I don’t know, two feet or so at a time. No more than that. The reason that you’re going over them like this is to create little cuts in the paper so that the water can get behind there and soften the wallpaper. There, buddy you’ve got your section scored.
Hot Soapy Water and Wide Paint Brush
You want to get a bucket of very hot water with a couple drops of – Mr. Aubrey calls it washing up liquid because he’s English, but you know I have Ajax in here, and a very wide paint brush.
This is a cheap, four inch wide, you know, plastic bristle or something. What you’re going to do is just kind of dip your brush in the water – oh and I should mention, to protect your floor, throw down a drop cloth. This is a plastic one.
You know some water is going to drip, and if you have an electric outlet or something, tape it over. In his video he actually goes and turns the power off before he does the wall because there’s like an electric socket right in the wall. I’m working on a wall that has no electric on it, but when i get over to where my electrics are I’m definitely going to turn the power off. You’ll see why in a minute.
You take your brush, and he recommends, you know, soaking the paper in kind of an arcing motion. So, not up and down, but like – like a little rainbow back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and not a very wide section, you know two feet or so at a time, because otherwise it’ll dry before you get a chance to come over there with your scraper.
Then you wait two or three minutes, go do something else, come back and repeat on the same section again. Paint it with the water again. Mom what happens when you don’t wait? Well if you don’t wait, then you have more work. Like, if you want it, you’re like, I just don’t want to wait! You want to get in there with your scraper and start lifting the paper up, it’s going to be much harder because what the – what giving those three or minutes or so does is soften the paste. The water softens the paste, so let the water work for you. Let the water do the work. Um, okay then you wait another two or three minutes.
Then you do a third time. Coat your wall with water, always waiting two to three minutes in between.
Lift With 5-in-One Tool
Okay, so we have soaked our paper three times, waiting two to three minutes in between each soak with water, and now we are ready to lift it off. A good tool to use for that, show one Lars, this is from Lowe’s. It is a five in one tool. A very sturdy little thing that would be good. I have also been using this puppy from time to time if i can get good big pieces up with it.
Now Lars is going to demonstrate how to gently loosen the paper from the wall with the scraper without damaging the paper – not the paper, we don’t care about the paper; the plaster. We don’t want to damage the plaster underneath.
We do not want to have plaster problems if at all possible because plaster problems are a big big headache. All right, Lars, so get your little tool in there and show them how it’s done. Just slip it under the paper, and it will come off and then you can just take it off with your hands, like this. And voilà. And then what, just keep going, keep going, until you have gotten all you want for that day or that time done and if there’s this stuff you can just learn how to lift it with a tool. You can just go like if it’s small spots, just that’s what I do, yeah, show them with the paper. It’ll fall off, but this you can just push it, not too hard, not too gentle.
And then, and just keep doing that until you’re done. Okay, so that is where we are with our wallpaper stripping. It’s really part one, because according to Aubrey in his video, after you’ve got all the paper off, you have to go back and kind of take your scraper and scrape very gently the entire room to get the glue residue off. Otherwise, when you go to paint, the paint will stick to the glue and, you know, dry and look like a – an awful mess. He said lizard skin, I believe.
So we’ve got to go over it to get the paste off and then over again with water to wash. I’ll make separate videos for that when we get to that point. But for now, we are signing off, bye!
If you’re looking for more information about stripping wallpaper, check out my post, How Hard Is It To Steam Off Wallpaper?