# Painting after removing wallpaper
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-after-removing-wallpaper/359019
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 1, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-after-removing-wallpaper/359019 "2006-06-01T15:38:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-after-removing-wallpaper/359019/1 "2006-06-01T15:38:13Z")
I am finally removing the really ugly wallpaper that came with the house, and I need help on how to prep my walls for paint.
It’s a bathroom that had vinyl wallpaper installed when it was built in the mid-80s.
It was vinyl wallpaper over a single layer of flat paint, on sheetrock.
As I was steaming off the wallpaper, there was a lot of wallpaper paste. Running down the walls in places kind of volumes. I’m assuming that I need to get that off somehow. The paint also peeled in some areas when I removed the wallpaper.
So, any ideas on what I need to do? Is there a wash that will get the paste off, or just elbow grease and hot water. Do I sand/scrape it then? Will I need a primer coat?
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-after-removing-wallpaper/359019/2 "2006-06-01T16:10:52Z")
Most hardware stores sell [trisodium phosphate](http://www.truevalue.com/content/projects/ContentView.aspx?sec_id=2&subsec_id=96&con_id=1110).
It’s quite good at dissolving old dry wallpaper paste.
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### Author:  [@2MuchTrivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2MuchTrivia)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-after-removing-wallpaper/359019/3 "2006-06-01T16:48:59Z")
If you are painting or re-wallpapering it is best to have a primer on the sheetrock…especially in a bathroom. It acts as a vapor barrier, it helps the paint adhere to the wall, and it allows the paint to dry or cure properly (the paper on the sheetrock wicks moisture out).