[drtbk4ever]

Looking good.

 

[mjkpainting]

So here is a picture before I started the project to the when they dropped the countertops. Thanks guys all your suggestions were EXTREMELY helpful. After taking all your suggestions the avenue I went was.

Cut the tops of the laminate backsplash with a multimaster tool
Pried the laminate off with a stiff putty knife
Primed the drywall with Zinnser Gardz lacquer used for wallcoverings
Skim coated with compound 2 coats/sanding in between coats
Primed again
Now ready for tile

Thanks to all here are the pics so as of now:

 

[drtbk4ever]

That looks great. Any idea what you may be putting up for a backsplash?

We have the exact same coloured oak cabinets and are looking at a granite countertop with a similar colour as the one you had installed. Yours looks FANTASTIC. It gives me more confidence that our choice will look good too.

 

[sleepyjen]

I realize this is an older thread, but I hope you can help me--do you know if can I skim coat over the glue that's left from a laminate backsplash on a plaster wall, using the method here? So I'd prime using gardz, skimcoat, prime again? We definitely don't have drywall under the glue and there's glue from the 80s splash AND the 50s splash. Genius.

Thanks!
Jen

 

[Bud Cline]

Use modified thinset, you don't need any of that other stuff.

 

[sleepyjen]

I'm new to all of this--what's modified thinset?

Thanks!

 

[Bud Cline]

Thinset is a Portland cement-based tile adhesive product, it is a mortar of sorts. It comes two ways basically, modified and unmodified. Use the modified version and your worries are over.

 

[sleepyjen]

THANK YOU! I was pretty flabbergasted when I saw all that old adhesive stuck to the wall. You can see it here in my original thread.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f19/removing-laminate-backsplash-help-126085/

 

[sleepyjen]

Oh, and before I forget--we'll be able to put up a tile backsplash after painting the modified thinset?

 

[Bud Cline]

Oh, and before I forget--we'll be able to put up a tile backsplash after painting the modified thinset?

Okay...now what have I missed?

Why would you want to paint the thinset???

 

[sleepyjen]

Wait, what? I'm looking, essentially, to smooth out a plaster wall with 60-year-old adhesive stuck to it--then, we can paint the wall where the backsplash was (it's all over our kitchen--tiling it all, even if we wanted to, is not an option) and put up a narrow backsplash.

Does this make more sense?

 

[Bud Cline]

Okay, I thought you were removing laminate in preparation to install a tile backsplash.

If that's not the plan then you don't want to use thinset after-all.

Whose pictures are those shown and why are you tagging onto a two and half year old thread? Why do you also have another thread on the same topic?

What the heck are you doing?

 

[sleepyjen]

Sorry for the confusion. First, I had my own thread, after digging through the archives to see if the topic had been covered. Then I wanted to private message the guy who started this thread to see how his project worked out, but couldn't figure out how. So I thought if I posted onto this thread, I could possibly get some feedback from either him or the other folks who gave advice on this thread. And here we are. That other thread is mine, and that photo is of my wall. We do plan on putting up tile, but only about a 6" splash or so--and in some areas of our kitchen, we have laminate splash that's three feet tall. So essentially, I want to turn this mess that you see into a regular wall, suitable for both painting and tiling.

 

[Bud Cline]

Okay how about a fresh photo? Right here, no where else, don't change anything.

 

[sleepyjen]

For some reason, it won't let me post the images inside the thread.

This the same photo from the other thread:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z373/sleepyjen_1/DSC02745.jpg

The stove was moved when a dishwasher was installed, and I suspect that's when the backsplash behind the stove went up--thus the older glue next to the stove, where the counter begins.

In this photo, you can (sort of) see how extensive this stuff is:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z373/sleepyjen_1/DSC02609-1.jpg

 

[Bud Cline]

Still don't know what you have to work with at this time. The old photo is no longer accurate is it? The new photo is of the old laminate splash is it not?

This just keeps getting worse.

What is the current condition of the walls and has ALL of the old laminate been removed?

 

[sleepyjen]

Both photos are of the kitchen as it is today. I've only begun removing the laminate and stopped when I saw the old glue. The kitchen is square and the laminate runs along two complete walls. One wall--the one in the older photo--has a lot of laminate, because of the high, short cabinets. All of the laminate's still up in that section, as I've only taken it down over by the stove. My question pertains to the whole shebang--if, as I suspect, that old black glue is under most of the laminate (which at this time is still up), what can I do to make those walls paint- and tile-able? The kitchen has plaster walls underneath the laminate.

 

[Bud Cline]

Anything I have to say will be obvious at this point.

1. The old laminate must be removed.
2. Any splotches of old adhesive must be removed. Using a razor blade type scraper may peel the old adhesive and it may not.
3. It may be necessary to make a shallow cut around the splotches of adhesive in hopes that a scraper will then remove the splotches along with a layer or two of old paint - hopefully.
4. If this technique is successful then the damage can be repaired using joint compound.
5. Once the damage is filled with joint compound and sanded smooth the wall will be ready for either paint or tile.
6. Any place raw joint compound exists after sanding that is intended for tile should probably be primed with a primer paint to seal the joint compound. Tile adhesives don't like raw joint compound.

Hopefully we are getting somewhere.

 

[sleepyjen]

Thanks. Unfortunately, that stuff is stuck on the wall something fierce--the wall is unpainted beneath and a lot of the white, thin plaster is coming off when I can get the adhesive off. I'm debating on taking the laminate down and then calling in a plaster contractor to sort it out. I could try to remove the adhesive using solvents; I only wish there was a way to cover the darn stuff up without yanking out cabinets and counters and adding drywall. I suppose in a worst-case scenario, we put up more laminate :wink:

 

[Bud Cline]

The adhesive may be hard enough that it can be sanded-away. Try that. Once the humps and lumps are gone the wall can be skim-coated to renew its surface.