[nevilshute]

Hi everyone,

First time poster here.

Well the title says it:

I'm attempting to remove the paint in my bathroom. It's a small room. It seems the naked wall (concrete, I think) has been painted twice. Now I'm not very good at stuff like this and do not have much experience. To be honest I thought there was a layer of wall paper beneath the paint, but there isn't.

Because I thought this, I purchased a sort of scraper (sorry, English is not my first language and I do not know the word in English), basically a stick with a long, horizontally placed blade at the end for scraping off wallpaper.

I did not get a steamer because the guy at the store said, seeing as it was so small a room, I should be able to moisten the wallpaper just by switching on the hot water and closing the door for 10 minutes... So far no real success. I've managed to scrape off some of the paint, but it is very, very hard work and small chunks of the wall are coming out as well...

My question is: how do I best get this paint off of my naked wall? Do I just need to buckle down and keep scraping? And if so would it help to use a steamer to loosen the paint? (Remember there is no wallpaper). Or is there some kind of chemical way to remove the paint?

Many thanks and best regards,

Martin

 

[jsheridan]

Welocme Martin. Why do you need to remove the paint?

 

[nevilshute]

Hey,

Well it's slightly complicated, but here goes:

I moved in to the appartment a few years ago. I decided I wanted to paint the bathroom. So I bought some wet-room-paint (direct translation here, probably not what it's called in English, but special paint used in rooms where the paint is liable to get wet frequently), and started painting. I had finished one wall and started on the next when noticed with dismay that the paint on the first wall was already starting to come loose and peel off along with the layer of paint underneath. It seemed the original layer of paint wasn't very capable of handling being painted on again.

So, for a few years, out of lethargy more than anything, I just didn't bother with it. But now I've decided I want to paint the whole room and seeing as last time I painted on the already painted wall it started to peel off (only on some parts of the wall - the area beneath and around the shower head), I deduced that I would need to remove all of the paint before starting painting a fresh coat.

 

[jsheridan]

It sounds like, for whatever reason, the new paint is activating the layer underneath. It may be that the water in the new paint is penetrating and causing problems somehow. I would buy a quart of oil based primer, try Zinsser Cover Stain. Apply that to a sample area to see if you get different results. I think that you will, and it will save you a lot of headache.

 

[nevilshute]

Thanks for the advice

Just to make sure I understand you:

I should buy some primer and apply it to where the old paint started to come loose to begin with, then let it sit for a while to see if the same thing happens... If nothing happens and the primer stays then buy some more primer and apply that to the whole room and then a fresh layer of paint can be added subsequently?

Sorry if it is banal, but I want to make sure I understand you correctly

Kind regards,

Martin

 

[jsheridan]

Thanks for the advice

Just to make sure I understand you:

I should buy some primer and apply it to where the old paint started to come loose to begin with, then let it sit for a while to see if the same thing happens... If nothing happens and the primer stays then buy some more primer and apply that to the whole room and then a fresh layer of paint can be added subsequently?

Sorry if it is banal, but I want to make sure I understand you correctly

Kind regards,

Martin

You got it Martin. However, I wouldn't do my sample in the already tried area. Choose a new place to start with the test sample. The failed area may need some light scraping and sanding to repair the damage done. I think the oil will solve the problem. Check back with your findings.

 

[Workaholic]

I too think a oil primer will work.