Stripping Wallpaper "Sticky Walls"

[countrykid]

I have stripped wallpaper and washed down with Mangers Sugar Soap in readiness to apply emulsion rather than wallpaper, but the walls are still really sticky from the wallpaper adhesive.

After using the sugar soap, I followed the instructions to rinse with clean water, but the tacky walls remain. Any ideas? What do professional decorators do? Thanks

[terence7556]

i use a steam wallpaper stripper and its very good.
it is hard work as you have to use it when its creating steam but its money well spent.
you have to be careful using it trying to get the balance right.if you move it too quickly from spot to spot it does not soak the paper, and if you leave it too long in one spot it can crack the skim coat of the plaster underneath the paper
when you time it right the paper comes off the wall with very little pressure, and i go back over lightly with steam to remove any paste left behind.
another advantage is that very little damage is done to the plaster, you dont scrape ruts and marks in it

[The Builder]

It's gotta dry out of its own accord surely?
If not, a primer coat of diluted PVA (5 water to 1 PVA) solves most problems.

[theshedman]

Hi country kid, what you have done is the best thing to do. If the walls are still sticky it will be best to do them again. Try using a little bit of fairy liquid in the water then washing that off. If it is a bad area try fairy liquid directly on the wall with a scourer then wash it off. If the walls are sticky when you put the emulsion on it will not adere to the walls properly, the paint will come back off the walls. It is easier to get it right at this stage rather than after you have painted.

Good luck with it.

[countrykid]

Thanks for the replies. I do use a steam stripper (so much easier, but as Terrence said, you do have to be careful, or the skim coat will "blow", as I found to my cost on a previous occasion. I appreciate that after washing the walls down etc, they have to dry out of their own accord, but what I meant was that the paste once dry is still there and will become tacky again as soon as emulsion is applied. theshedman I think is spot on in this respect, so I will take his advice, and get it right at this stage.

Cheers to all and thanks again.