Best way to remove "stucco" finish for ceiling

HomeRepairNoob

I am tryng to remove joint compound stucco finish from kitchen drywall ceiling and I'm gouging it badly. What is the best method for doing this? Thanks.

redline

mist it with water

747

yep get a pump sprayer fill with water spray (saturate) the ceiling and scrap if it doesn't scrap off smooth you need more water.

handypilot

This is a real good ARTICLE on how to handle it, especially if the popcorn texture contains asbestos.

MicDIY

Will this work on stucco that has been painted? I cannot confirm if it was painted with latex or oil.

Brik

Try it and see - not much to loose

jmaurente

My wife and I just went thru that. The living was painted with oil based, which the water won't penetrate, so we scraped off as much of the thicker stuff as we could with a 6" mudding knife and re drywalled. Don't use 1/4" drywall...It'll show the ridges. Go with the half inch. To find out if it's painted with latex or oil, spray an area of about 2 feet by 2 feet...If it's latex, it will get darker right away, and start to bubble. 10 minutes later, you can scrape it right off. If it's oil, the water will bead right on the surface. Hope this helps

slickshift

Wet and scrape
Messy but effective