Removing PVA glue from walls General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[Benny999]

Hi,

I've recently had a ceiling in a bedroom skimmed. Before the plasterers did this they coated the ceiling surface with a diluted PVA mix. The problem is that this mix dripped down the walls, which I'm not having re-plastered. I want to paint the walls (some are currently just plaster others have paint on them), however when I tried to do this big drip marks could be seen through the paint. I've tried to scrap the glue off but this takes some of the plaster off as well, leaving me with damaged walls. Does anybody have any suggestions for how I can remove PVA glue from walls without damaging them?

Thanks very much!

[rigga]

Benny999
Amyl acetate, toluene, and also cellulose thinners will remove set Polly vinyl acetate.

[pbp]

If you look on the removing paint on the projects page a product called Home Strip paint and varnish remover will also remove glue. The product is totally safe and wont have any affects on your health compared to solvents that could potentially kill you.

[rosebery]

[quote="pbp"]If you look on the removing paint on the projects page: https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/paintstrip.htm a product called Home Strip paint and varnish remover will also remove glue. The product is totally safe and wont have any affects on your health compared to solvents that could potentially kill you.[/quote]

It will also probably be worth contacting Eco Solutions to check whether the product will also work on PVA.

If not, hot water can work well in most cases.

Cheers

[vidwiz]

Hi, you could try an electric sander over the PVA.

The trouble is that PVA, once dry, is designed to be waterproof so I doubt washing it with warm water would work too well.

If there isn't any physical lumps of the glue it shouldn't really be visible after 2 good coats of Matt Emulsion because it can be used as a sealer on walls before painting anyway.

If the worst comes to worst you could always seal all your walls with PVA then when you paint them they will be all uniform.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

[proptech]

Although this is a very old thread, I do have to jump in here. vidwiz has suggested sealing walls with PVA. Under no circumstances should this be done. It can cause all sorts of problems. Even the manufacturers do not recommend it to be used in this way.
PVA is a very useful product with many uses, but has no place in decorating work.

[vidwiz]

Having C&G in my trade and being a decorator for 20 years plus I can assure you that PVA,, if used correctly, can be very useful to the DIY decorator as well as very cost effective.
Yes it must not be used on fresh, dry plaster due to salts needing to get to the surface over time (efflorescence) nor should it be used on fresh drying plaster as the water would have no where to go.
However, older porous substrates can be effectively sealed prior to decoration. Emulsion paint can mechanically bond to the tacky finish of diluted PVA as well as bond at a molecular level.

This argument has gone on since the dawn of PVA time so I will say no more now, there's already plenty of info on the net if people wish to research for themselves.

[DNA1]

Just wanted to make a post as I searched the World Wide Web and although people post do’s and don’ts. It doesn’t give a resolution to the problem.
The other week I was recommended by a good friend and plasterer to pva freshly laid plaster as this will seal everything and make the job a whole lot smoother. I went to a new job (highly confident) and applied pva to the walls, ceiling.(Feeling proud). I then went on to paint the ceiling. Painted all round edges twice and painted the full ceiling. Upon completion i realised that it had started to crack everywhere. Looked aweful!!! After countless google searching and panic. I finally went to the house the next day and tried various tests. It soon became clear that anti mold paint nor sanding works at all. Finally I tried hot water, virtually burning my hands and scrubbed. You really do need to scrub!! You finally start to see the paint disappear. Then you get a white coat of sticky pva. Keep scrubbing till you get back to the plaster. (Cracks do disappear)Then wipe with another clean cloth. This was a medium sized lounge and I kid you not took me a full two days to finish and I was aching in my hands, arms, neck even my fingers were in agony. This however did rectify the problem and I managed to get the job completed and looking fantastic. Customer extremely happy! Please take this from experience. DO NOT PVA any walls and definitely NOT fresh plaster.
If you have already made the mistake, I really do feel for you!

[Clintlem]

DNA1

I think the method you used to rectify the issue..wasn't an easy process,but it was best solution...
I just had my walls plastered
And i didnt think too much about the stains that was on the fresh plaster not knowing at the time it was pva..
I painted over it with a mist coat .only to discover the paint came off way to easy with tape.
I then washed the walls ..i then realise it was pva..rookie mistake..now im following your method washing the walls them sanding the pva until its off from the surface of the plaster then mist coat it again and paint..

I might just try washing the pva off completely as well..


For interest sakes do you know how the plasterer managed to get pva on the plaster after he finished..

I noticed he put it on before he plastered..how did he managed to get it all over the completed job