Okay, so I removed all the wallpaper in my bathroom to paint the walls. Once I started painting I noticed the paint was not sticking to the corners. I knew there was some sort of sealant in the corners but didn't know that it wouldn't stick. It's not like a bead of caulking, you can see it was brushed on. How can I remove it or get it so I can paint over it? It's difficult to try to scrape and sand off (I tried) and I just have to spackle over it afterwards anyway. Any ideas? Please help, I'm dying to get this finished.

Did you wash down the walls after the paper removal? Perhaps you just did not get all the "sizing" or adhesive off of the wall. Try washing the area with TSP or other prepainting wash, and rinse with a clear water/cloth after.

Priming the walls should also help with any adhesion issues. (I like Zinsser 1 2 3, and keep a gallon of the primer around for any prepaint priming.) Then put your paint over the primer when good and dry.

Yes, I made sure to wash the walls really well after the wallpaper removal. It's a white sealant of some sort just in the corners of the walls. Currently I'm just trying to sand some of it off and clean it really well and patch and uneven spots with spackle and then try painting once everything is dry. Hopefully that will work. If anyone has any other ideas that they know work, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks.

Did you also use primer on the walls and your repaired areas?

The only thing I know of that a good primer won't stick to would be a silicone coating, as in a silicone based caulk. If the primer sticks, then the paint will stick to the primer

My money would be on silicone caulk too.

Nothing sticks to silicone caulk. Not even silicone caulk.

If it is a silicone caulk then you won't be able to apply a proper layer of paint. Even the primer may not work for you.

Holland And Green Architectural Services

Kind of what we said in prior posts. If primer does not adhere, then scraping the all the silicone off and repairing the damage with a good compound and sanding... or if minor cracks, a paint friendly latex caulk, then prime....finally paint coats.

I would be really leery of the walls if somebody gobbed on silicone caulk with a brush. almost like they were depending on the caulk to hold the walls up, if you ask me.

any chance you can borrow or rent a fiberscope camera, drill a small hole in the opposite side of the wall, and look around to see if there's really anything left?

I would have a really, really bad feeling in my gut if I saw that.

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If anyone has any other ideas that they know work, I'd really appreciate it!

I'd use this stuff:

http://www.homedepot.ca/wcssto...0-40e2968da515_4.jpg

It's called "Silicone-Be-Gone" and it's made by DAP, which is the consumer products division of Dow Chemical. You should find it in the caulking aisle of your local Home Depot. It's basically just gelled mineral spirits. Mineral spirits doesn't dissolve silicone, it just makes it swell up and get soft so that it can be more easily removed by mechanical means, like scraping or scrubbing. So, scrape all you can off with a razor, and then use Silicone-Be-Gone (or mineral spirits) to swell up and soften what's left. Once it's swollen, you can remove it easily with a Scotchbrite pad (or perhaps a sharp paint scraper).

quote:

I would have a really, really bad feeling in my gut if I saw that.

I have a really, really bad feeling in my gut all the time.

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