Found out a heat gun works way better than a scraper for old wallpaper glue

I spent two full afternoons scraping a single wall in my 1920s kitchen in Buffalo, barely making a dent in that sticky glue residue. Then I remembered a guy at work mentioning a heat gun for softening old adhesives, so I borrowed one from a neighbor and hit the worst spot. Anyone else have a random tool they tried that made a horrible job suddenly go smooth?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_dakota4d ago

Yeah, I gotta push back hard on this. "Barely making a dent" sounds like you just weren't using the scraper right, not that the tool was bad. I've stripped four rooms of 1940s wallpaper glue in my old house with nothing but a sharp 4-inch putty knife and a spray bottle of hot water and fabric softener. No heat gun needed, no burn risk, no melting plastic trim. Plus that heat gun on old glue in a 1920s kitchen? You're just baking the paste into the drywall paper and making a bigger mess for later when the adhesive dries rock hard. Try wetting the glue with hot water, let it sit for ten minutes, and scrape with a sharp blade on a shallow angle. It's slower at first but doesn't ruin the wall underneath.

sarahh484d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, totally agree with you on this. I had the exact same nightmare with a 1950s kitchen that had layers of old vinyl wallpaper glue baked on like cement. Tried the heat gun approach once, thought I was being smart, and yeah, I just ended up with this gooey crust that wouldn't budge and tore up the drywall paper underneath. Switched to the hot water and a little vinegar in a spray bottle, let it soak for like fifteen minutes, and it was a total game changer. A good sharp putty knife on a low angle just glides right through it without gouging the wall. It's way more work upfront, but you're not wrecking your walls and having to skim coat everything after. Plus, no risk of setting your house on fire which is always a win in my book.