Peeling Paint To Drywall

angelatc · 09-04-2012, 03:00 PM

I just bought a house. The previous owners pulled their curtain rods down and damaged the walls. What happened to me is much like what happened in this thread.

I went to pull off a loose bit of paint, and now have a huge spot where the paint just peels off. Underneath the paint is what I think is drywall - not paper. It's sort of chalky. You'd think that paint would soak into it, but it didn't.

If I understand the composition of drywall, there should be a layer of paper over that, so I think it's peeling off too.

I stopped peeling to see what I should do next. Thanks to the other thread, I think I need mud and orange peel spray. I guess I just want to make sure I don't need to worry about the fact that there's no paper on the drywall. Or that I think I could keep peeling until the whole room was white.

We are going to go over the room with primer anyway, so at least that's not going to change our plans dramatically.

sdsester · 09-06-2012, 08:52 PM

Peel all the peeling paint that is loose off or it will come back to haunt you. Use GARDZ to seal the damaged drywall and then skimcoat with a long blade and drywall compound so the surface is even again. Then if you need to match an orange peel texture do that. Then prime over the texture with whatever you are using on the rest of the walls or you can use the leftover GARDZ if you will not need it elsewhere.

Maintenance 6 · 09-07-2012, 08:06 AM

Somewhere in that room, I would pull off a switchplate and look to see if it's really drywall. I would check just to be sure that you aren't pulling off some old painted over wallpaper that's on top of a plastered wall.

angelatc · 09-07-2012, 11:32 AM

Thanks so much!

It is indeed drywall. Maintenance 6, you were close!!! After I peeled more paint off, I found that I wasn't down to the gypsum though. I am sorry for not knowing the right words, but I was working where the window was put in. The installer had used mud (or whatever) and gone over 4-6 inches on each side, I assume to blend the seam. I know I'm not saying that right - but it looked normal. After I peeled a little more, I got to the actual drywall and the paint started sticking. So basically I now have a window that's got a 6" unpainted circle around it.

As long as I have you guys - what's the difference between mud and spackle? I've always just used spackle to repair little wall wounds. I'm looking forward to working with the big boy toys though. I have been watching the techniques to spread it on YouTube, and I think it looks like something I can master with a little practice.

sdsester · 09-07-2012, 11:52 AM

Spackle as I know it best is that severely overpriced, foam type stuff consumers by to stuff picture frame holes in dorm rooms. Most of it, cannot be sanded. You are supposed to be able to paint it immediately. I have been corrected on this site to the point that spackle can also include nicer vinyl materials and so forth for filling cracks.

Drywall mud is what I used most for everything from little pinholes made from framing hook nails to cracks and even larger holes. It tools easily and can be sanded with either paper or a wet sponge depending on the application.

Of course it comes in pre-mixed containers of different sizes and is cheap compared to spackle. It also comes as a mixable "hot mud" you buy in sacks or plastic lined boxes as a powder according to set up time from 5-120 minutes.