Preparing walls for decorating

[wickedtart]

I have taken off all the wallpaper and am back to the plaster, i do not want to use sugar soap to wash down the walls so can i use diluted washing up liquid instead. Thanks

[PatriciaH]

You need either "size" thats the name of it, or wallpaper paste made runny and "paint" that on , so when you hang your wallpaper the paste doesnt soak in to the walls leaving the paper dry

[heathfield]

Agree with the first answer. Provided you've remove every teeny bit of paper, the only thing left on your walls will be old wallpaper paste. The new covering of size or paste will combine with this to form a new coating. No problem.

[wickedtart]

sorry meant to say i intend to emsulion the walls not wallpaper.

[PatriciaH]

Well in that case..as heathfield said make sure there isnt any wallpaper left on the the walls, we use a cheaper emulsion 1st - 2 coats usually, then the paint weve chosen - usually 2 coats, hope it works for you...

[Champagne]

If you're painting afterwards then yes, you can use luke-warm water with some washing up liquid to clean the walls. You will need a base coat prior to painting as PatriciaH indicates. Cheap/diluted white emulsion is fine for this. You can also 'size' your walls prior to painting too. The whole point of sizing walls is to form a seal in case the plaster is too dry or slightly damp. It works for wallpapering and painting.

[wickedtart]

Thank you all for your help very much appreciated.