Dear pros, this is new to me but we recently purchased a house that has beautiful venitial plaster all over.

However, one room we need to remove it from the drywall as my son wants it smooth to paint it his favourite colour.

What is the best method for removal?

THanks everyone.

Kyle

The best recommendation would be to find out what brand of Venetian Plaster was used then call the manufacture for instructions on preping the wall before painting. It could have a wax applied on top on the Venetian Plaster which would require additional prep work. Take precautions if it needs to be sanded, test a small area before doing the whole room.

Vallie

Good advice Vallie, knowing what is on the wall helps but you may not be able to find out? It sounds like skim coating the wall with drywall mud is going to be your best option if you want the walls smooth. Again like Vallie said if it has a wax on it you may need to try to remove this wax to make sure your skim coat adheres. Since it sounds like it is a rough wall maybe a primer like XIM would be advisable before skim coating.A small test area is a safe way to get started.
Mark

Thanks for the reply. You are correct, I do not know what is on the wall. Also, it does seem to have a wax like coating on it and it is on quite thick. Is it possible to just get a sander and sand it off? This is a kitchen so skim coating is probably takes lots of skill.

Please let me know if sanding is a possibilitiy.

Thanks guys.

Apply Trisodium Phosphate. This can be purchased in most Paint stores.

This product will remove the wax.

Thanks. When I move in I will try that product to remove that wax stuff....can I then let it dry down and use a palm sander or hand sander to remove the plaster?

K.

IF the TSP doesn't work, try an actual wax remover. Chexk lowes or home depot. What is the texture of the finish? Is it smooth, gritty, overlapped? Once you get the wax off, you may find that it is good ol drywall mud, in which case, it will sand down smooth. IF it is a gritty finish, I would skim it after the wax has been removed. Mineral spirits or Turpentine can also dissolve wax, depending on the wax of course.

So how heavy is this texture anyway?? If you can fill the low area's with drywall mud, skim coating, you will not have near as much sanding to do, power sander's can make a whole lotta dust and you can pretty much count on having to do some wall repair even after the sanding.

Maybe knock some of the bigger higher area's with a power sander then skim coat two times and sand.

Lefty: If you have a digital camera, can you take a picture of the wall or walls and put a link to the pic on this site?

Dear All,

Thanks for all the replys. I will repost when I get to visit the house next. We move in June 7th but we get two visits for measurements.

I will ask the owners as well if they remember what product was used. I will post pics as well. Stay tuned.

This forum is great. I belong to several Car forums where we share info on how to do repairs etc..but never imagined one for plastering.

Thanks guys. Will be back.