How do I strip paint off a wall????

[FAQ]

It's not wall papered, and I think they just painted onto the plaster/brick/something underneath.......need to strip is asap - as I think a bare wall will look better for potential buyers than what it looks like right now - it will be sorted properly either next weekend, or the weekend afterwards (by someone that knows what they're doing) but I want to try and get the paint off this weekend.....(it's currently all flaking and peeling off, and is the wrong type of paint so it looks horrible)

I don;t think you can get Paint off, unless it's gloss and you use paintstripper. But not on a whole wall? Can you just sand it (use a machine) so that the flaky bits are off?

I don't know what type of paint was used on it - but I can pull bits of it off with my fingers (where it's coming off)

sand it down then get a good quality paint to cover it up

Sounds like they painted onto bare plaster without putting new plaster paint underneath.

I'm not sure that is possible unless you get professional to grit-blast which can end up damaging brickwork and would definitely spoil plaster. Could you try sanding and repainting? Maybe if you sanded off worst and used a coat of PVA over the rest you could repaint without it all just flaking away from under it? [hopeful]

How flaky is it?

very flaky - and it at first glance it looks like it's rusty lol (although it can be wiped down). We thought there was a damp problem there, but there isn't any damp coming through the walls - it's just been craply done by the previous owners

I've got a friend (a professional) coming to do a weekend of DIY/Maintenance sometime in the next few weeks (won it at a silent auction of talent at church for harvest festival) - but as the house will be on the market next week I'm keen to try and get some bits looking better before he comes to "do his stuff" iykwim

Get a stiff brush and give it a good scrubb down (no water or anything)

I would buy a textured paint if it isn't very flat and paint it with a roller as a quick fix

Thanks Katy - may try that this weekend - I think I could cope with doing that - and leave putting bathroom doors back on, filling other holes in walls etc to my friend

ARe there actually rusty marks that keep coming back?

If so, you might want to put stain proof paint on before your next coat

It depends how quickly they come back & realistically how long it will take to sell the house

"Maybe if you sanded off worst and used a coat of PVA over the rest you could repaint without it all just flaking away from under it? [hopeful] "

That's what I was going to suggest.

yes the rusty marks keep coming back -can't remember how long they take to come back - as I gave up trying to get them looking nice a long time ago .

Realistically we've probably got 6 months max to sell (or get repossessed) so either way I'll be out of here by spring next year......

How did it go?

Didn't get a chance this weekend - took 2hrs tidying up the garden (and didn't even get as far as sorting the lawn or weeding the border near the wall, about 8hrs sorting stuff in my room, and about 2hrs doing general housework downstairs

Most ofthe walls in my house were like this and I have ended up linning them, as that was the only to get a finnish I was happy with.

if the estate agent wants a photo of the bathroom she'll just have to take a shot without that particular wall in it

well I have now purchased a stiff brush and a bought a roller - couldn't get the paint today as I was already fighting with a ripped bin bag full of brand new curtains lol.

I'll take some "before" "during" and "after" photos as I progress

Gulp - I can't wait