Wallpaper was removed from our living room by a "professional" and the walls painted. The paint peeled in large pieces in several areas within a couple years. We had another painter scrape and repaint. This second guy thought the wallpaper paste had not been properly removed. A few years later it peeled again. This time I'm scraping it. There's no evidence of moisture. It's peeling right down to the wallboard and the wallboard looks clean. I noticed that most of the large peeling areas are above the heat registers. Never heard of that causing paint to peel. How do I make sure the paint will stick this time? Will a primer be enough? How do I know there is no residual paste?

" It's peeling right down to the wallboard " do you mean the paper is peeling off the drywall too?

It just might be Latex paint over oil paint without the proper prep. You get LARGE flakes. As big as say 2" by 4", right?

If it is this, then sanding will identify the problem areas and just scrape these.

Use Redi-patch (Home Depot) to fix and sand smooth.

Priming may only be necessary if there is a major difference in shades of the removed areas.

No, the paper surface on the drywall is still there and in very good condition.

Yes, the peeling paint is 2" by 4" or larger. But when I start scraping it off, the paint easily comes off in large areas, some 1 ft by 2 ft. ALL paint layers are coming off together, right down to the drywall surface, which is smooth and in good condition. It's not just the top layer peeling, like it might if latex was separating from an oil paint layer.

Is Redi-Patch better than regular drywall spackle? Shouldn't the Redi-Patch be primed before painting?

Appreciate the help.

Always prime over any compounds applied once and then the whole wall to get an even reflective sheen. Also tint the primer for better coverage in pigment color.

Lets to this by deducing it.

Wall paper removed form drywall.
Primer used and painted.
Paint and primer came off?
Re done again.
We know drywall doesn't do this without wet or heavy moisture.
Paints today are better then every.

SO what's left here?. Glue from old wallpaper would be the active catalyst. Remove a lot of wall paper but that was off old plaster walls. Vinegar is what removes the old wallpaper glue but that's using it on plaster. If I missed a little right of way it shows yellow through the primer the next day or so. Kills was the way out for me to hide and cover.

The problem here is I see Old wall paper steamed/scraped off drywall and usually that's a hard thing to do on drywall, especially if "sizing: wasn't used when the paper was put on.
How old was the wallpaper?

I agree with the painter on the glue end. I don't think Binz or kills was used here or Zinnsers 123 primer and sealer/stain blocker. Is a very good sealer and primer

Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer, Sealer and Stain-Blocker All In One Can - Zinsser Qt Bullseye 123 Prim/sl - Epinions.com

So three choices here.

1. Good primer/sealer/stainblocker.
2. expoxy paint
3. New 3/8 drywall over old wall and finish it and strart from new.

Thas all the pick I see hear.

21boat:

The epoxy paint is an interesting idea, and that stuff is expensive.

OP (Original poster)issue:

The oil/latex issue makes the most sense to me.

Repair/Repace - that's a choice

Replace
The 3/8 drywall may be the best choice. You may even cosider ripping the old stuff out, adding insulation if there isn't any and maybe even staining the woodwork. You'll have to pull the woodwork. The multimaster (see later in post) makes that easy.


Repair
Removal of old paint

Not sure if "sandblasting" with walnut shells will work.
The Fein Multimaster for scraping Fein Power Tools USA Quality Precision Power Tools

Sand to see what ares are not adhering

Standard large area hand scraper

Patch
Spackle is good for filling nail holes and not large areas.

Redi-patch is good for larger areas, but probably not a whole wall

Drywall mud
May be your best choice for a large area. It spreads thin and it's easily sanded. You'll need a large spreader to keep things flat.

Use a manual pole sander (Drywall sander) to keep things smooth over a large area.


Surface prep

Vacuum wall

Dust wall

Use a mix of TSP and bleach (instructions on package) to prep wall. Rinse again.

Prime. Imperfections will only show after priming. They will be difficult to spot otherwise.

Painting:

Check to make sure the woodwork is not affected. Paint the woodwork before the room. Makes things go much faster.

My $0.02

You have a lot of work ahead of you. I had the same issue with some molding. It was a really time consuming problem. I also took the time to add some low voltage wall plates to the room.

Hi now paint in most cases does not come off in large areas you could have a few things that may have happened you say the wallpaper was taken off did they steam it off? If it was the painter may have primed it with a shellac based primer which is very sencative to moisture which could have been in the drywall.The next thing it could be if your house was plastered it could have been primed or painted to soon, plaster that is not cured will make paint peal off Try to apply a little drywall compound let it dry and see if that sticks to the wall if it does you could try skimming the wall with drywall compound and sanding it and then painting

Quote from 21boat:

The problem here is I see Old wall paper steamed/scraped off drywall and usually that's a hard thing to do on drywall, especially if "sizing: wasn't used when the paper was put on.
How old was the wallpaper?

I agree with the painter on the glue end. I don't think Binz or kills was used here or Zinnsers 123 primer and sealer/stain blocker. Is a very good sealer and primer

So three choices here.

1. Good primer/sealer/stainblocker.
2. expoxy paint
3. New 3/8 drywall over old wall and finish it and strart from new.

Thas all the pick I see hear.[/QUOTE]

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MP-Squared comments:

The house is 30 years old with drywall - we've been in it for 15. The paper was installed by the original owner. Don't remember how it was removed by the painter we hired 15 years ago.

After peeling off all the paint that I could lift with a putty knife, I see the paint is adhering well to the drywall in vertical areas spaced 16 inches apart, apparently where the studs are. I suspect the nails in the stud areas were spackled and primed but the rest of the wall areas were never primed. After removing all the paint I could, I'm filling in with the Redi-Patch. I'll sand, prime with Zinssers and then paint, and see if it holds longer this time. I don't think the previous painters took the time to find all the loose paint before. Paint that looked sound on the surface came off in sheets with the putty knife, when I started poking around. And the drywall underneath is clean and looks new.

I do appreciate all the advice and suggestions. Thanks.