Matt wrote:

I have removed a bunch of wall paper in my time, none of it easily. I
have tried the store purchased chemicals, steamers, scraping, etc. Its
just a messy job. I need to remove a border in the half bath. Looking
for reccomendations on getting the paper and glue off the wall. Are
there any home recipes you have had success with such as mild soap and
warm water? Any new or faithful products at the home center to ease
the job? Really hope this isnt going to turn into a full days job to
remove a border. Thanks.


Assuming the rest of the wall is painted, it should not be difficult.
If you can, just pull the border
off. You will probably get the surface/vinyl coating, leaving rough
paper on the wall. Spray the
paper a couple of times with plain water and let the water soak in for
5-10 min. Then scrape
gently. I've taken off lots of paper, including two coats that had each
been painted. The only
trick is getting water to the paste. I tried a "Paper Tiger" once for
piercing the paper, but don't
like it - very coarse sandpaper, used carefully, works as well taking
care not to cut down into
the paper coating of the wallboard.

If you have most of the paper off, some remains, just spray again and
scrape some more. Wash
the wall to get the remaining paste off - it should quit feeling slimey
when the paste is gone. If some
fool used Elmer's glue to apply the paper, you may need to sand it.
There is a "repair" paste, for
mending seams, that is tough to get off - ran into it removing paper for
a friend once. It was
kind of like Elmer's but softened after a while. Tougher than regular
paste. It's a messy job, and
I know of no way to avoid that.