Cheap DIY Artex, Popcorn, Textured coating Stripping save money and make the job easier and safer

Try this before spending money on chemical strippers. It's a cheap and easy way to remove Artext / textured /popcorn wall and ceiling coatings even if it has layers of paint on it. No airborne dust when its wet enough so minimises risk from asbestos. I've perfected this technique over years of doing old house renovations, I'll have done hundreds of square meters in my time. Easy, cheap and safe is how I like it.

[@jack_irl]

wow incredible method, and very little mess! you are a life saver!

[@niallkelly5581]

Brilliant! Have tried and works very well. My top tip: Use some food dye in the mix. I find it helps identify where you've pasted and where you haven't. I've all the ceilings in the house to do unfortunately. I've tried with and without the newspaper and am continuing without. I use a light duty staple gun to help secure the plastic sheeting. This method works so well that the Artex is separating from the ceilng in very large sheets with just a little help from the scraper (actually a putty knife). I tried a sharp bladed scraper very like what 's in the video ,but it leaves too many gouges. Basic scraper seems better for my scenario. The ceiling won't even need anything other than fresh paint. I can hardly believe it. Thanks again :D

[@idostuffcouk]

Good Tip Thanks, good luck with the rest of them.

[@AlisonMcinnes-n1j]

Absolutely brilliant way to remove textured painted walls thanks so much for making my life easier 😊.

[@shawzy3624]

Thankyou so much for this, what I thought was going to take me 2 days, only took 2hours after prepping the night before, and so much easier to remove too. Thankyou again.

[@boycies79]

Thank you! Husband thought I was mad! But impressed with how well it came off!

[@idostuffcouk]

Hope the hubby is well impressed with your mastery of the stripping skills :)

[@martinbland8510]

Works really well! Saved me a lot of time and money. No dust. Brilliant. I would add, take care cleaning up afterwards. Keep a mask on until its all cleared away and floor mopped. Many thanks!

[@eformance]

You did a really bang-up job going for that 90's crack-house aesthetic! :-D

[@XXXSHARONOXXX]

[@dannyboy9817]

Brilliant idea. I am currently tackling my bathroom ceiling. The house is 20 years old so I'm not expecting it to be asbestos based. I've smoked for best part of 40 years so a bit of dust from my ceiling is the least of my worries. Will still wear a mask though. I have tried sanding a small section and even with a shop vac connected to the sander, the dust was biblical. I've scrapped that idea. Was looking to get a re-skim but will try your method first. Nothing to lose and could be a game changer. Many thanks for sharing your experience and idea.

[@idostuffcouk]

Great, would be good to know how you get on with it.

[@21agdmnm]

Hey! did it work? Im also thinking of trying this method on my celings first

[@dannyboy9817]

Unfortunately not. Not sure what the "artex" type product actually is but it was more durable and tolerant of moisture than I hoped. Ended up biting the bullet and sanding the bulk of it down with a random orbit sander with 60 grit discs, regular cleaning of the shop vac filter to cope with the worst of the dust. Then sealed with 2 coats of diluted SBR (50:50 with water), then reskimmed the next day. The SBR is far superior to PVA and sealed the surface really well and vastly improved the plastering process. First time I've used SBR (always used PVA before). SBR is deffo the way to go and worth the extra cost. Not sure I really needed to sand the artex so heavily, in hindsight I reckon I could have skipped that step (and dust). I'm no expert on artex type materials but I suspect that the modern stuff is designed to be a lot more durable than the stuff from the 80's and 90's. No harm in trying a small area using the paste and newspaper trick first though before plumping for the effort and cost of a reskim. You've nothing to lose. Sadly, didn't work on my ceiling.

[@peca1n]

Fab video, I'm filled with renewed hope & will certainly give this a go.

[@richardison5643]

Gave this a try and it works better than anything else. I did put a bit a vinegar in the paste too. Thanks, best bit of advice ever

[@idostuffcouk]

Great... I'll have to try vinegar to see if it makes a difference. Any idea how much you put in the mix?

[@neptune674]

I used this method over the past couple of days to sort a front reception room. It does work and mostly really well on the main walls. I struggled a bit more at the bottom and at the top of the walls. Not sure why those specific areas were more difficult. I wore a FP3 mask and proper eye wear. Took two days. Found a long arm scraper to be much easier than a basic scraper.

[@stephenwilliams944]

I am not a DIY chap but I have a ceiling with Artex that I want to remove the dreadful stuff. I will. I will give it ago after watching your video. Thank you for sharing.

[@UTO0O0B]

Did you have a go with this technique on your ceiling? How did it go? Got a ceiling to do myself.

[@michellearthur1426]

I am going to try this tomorrow.... I have faith in your idea! Check in tomorrow...

[@formbyjim]

Great stuff

[@Blindmonkey69]

Is it better to leave it in longer than overnight, like 2 days, or will it dry up/lose effect?

[@idostuffcouk]

If left too long it could just soak all the moisture in to the wall, it all starts drying out and hardening up again.

[@Blindmonkey69]

@idostuffcouk thanks, so overnight is probably the 'sweet spot'?

[@SimonLitster]

Very interesting tip, have you done the same on ceilings? I will need to remove artex from every ceiling in a house I intend to buy. Cheers

[@idostuffcouk]

Yes it works on ceilings. in fact ceilings are often easier they tend to have less layers of paint on them and are done only with matt paint on, which is easier for the moisture to soak through.

[@cglees]

This is brilliant!!!!

[@idostuffcouk]

cheers.

[@aisharehman5265]

Thanks for sharing.

[@idostuffcouk]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickymurray29]

Hi there, great method which I will be trying, have u ever had paste dry out come nxt day, thanks again for tip 👍

[@savingsusanna]

Brilliant mate! Cheers!

[@richardrichard508]

Brilliant

[@debbieharber6550]

Just got a house which is full of this …ty for this idea was going to get a plaster in….any tips removing it from ceiling too….or just do it the same way

[@idostuffcouk]

Yes same method but wearing googles and a hat.😀

[@tonywatson987]

Very good tip - Artex is the bane of older houses and notoriously difficult to remove. Not sure if it would work if gloss paint was involved, though? ;-)

[@idostuffcouk]

Fortunately, I've found the fashion for gloss painting walls came before Artex and under that distemper, like peeling a big flat onion. Thank goodness I've not had gloss on top. This works with many layers of emulsion on top but yes gloss would be a problem.

[@rickymurray29]

@@idostuffcouk hi there, great tip and will defo try, have u ever had paste dry up come nxt day

[@andybell6189]

@@rickymurray29 It will eventually start drying out as it soaks in to the wall, Next day it would be damp still. It can be re-wetted with a spray or brush. Best not leaving it too long as the plaster behind will get damper and then need time to dry out.

[@scorpionnetherrealm8937]

Hi mate quick question did you do an asbestos test and second if there are spikes on the ceiling could that be plaster or artex?

[@idostuffcouk]

I just assume all artex type material would contain asbestos so no test, even if it doesn't this technique keeps all the airborne dust down as long as it stays wet. The only difference is how you are supposed to dispose of the debris so check if the local authority can dispose of it for you. Spikes on the ceiling are likely to be artex type stuff almost certainly wont be normal plaster.

[@pjnathgaming]

I know its size dependant, but how much would you say this cost you in materials? (Bin bags, newspaper, wall paper paste). Would you say its cheaper than using x-tex?

[@idostuffcouk]

Yes loads cheaper £3 for 6 pints of wall paper paste £25 for 2.5 litres of the stuff you mentioned and after looking up the instruction it is used in a similar way, for heavy painted surfaces cover a leave overnight, but without the newspaper. After reading the reviews its can get very messy. The newspaper helps bind the debris together making it a bit less messy.

[@xmike9x]

Need to do this to a bathroom ceiling soon. Still I need to plaster or anything after or is it ok to sand and paint

[@andybell6189]

If there is anything left on the ceiling, wash it off with a wet cloth. avoid sanding as this creates dust that you don't want to be inhaling. These coating where often applied to cover up plaster that had cracks in it, you may find you need to do some remedial work before repainting. Various fillers and reinforcing tapes are available.

[@thepixel5]

brilliant thanks!

[@S4e88]

Can this work for a ceiling

[@idostuffcouk]

yes

[@markrowley16]

will this work just as good on a ceiling too?

[@idostuffcouk]

Yes, hat and goggles a must.

[@ninabuckland2017]

How do you get it off the ceiling please

[@idostuffcouk]

Just the same.

[@itsmyytaccount8498]

Is this safe??? What about the asbestos???

[@idostuffcouk]

You have to take precautions but as the whole point of this method is to get all the material wet the chance of airborne material is very low. It works the same way as commercial products in this respect with th added benefit that the newspaper binds most of the material together.

[@s4eedm]

Did you test the walls I’m really scared of it. But the asbestos team are going to charge 1500!

[@idostuffcouk]

No I didn't test it, but worked on the assumption it would have asbestos so took all the precautions. If you look on line you will find companies that will test a sample for you for not a lot of money.

[@s4eedm]

@@idostuffcouk yeah I did test mine and the bathroom I want to tackle has it on the walls and ceilings. Ironically I never wore a mask during the pandemic as didn’t believe in it not sure if the same hokum is true for this stuff as the going rate to do my utility room is 1500 down south.

[@s4eedm]

Not sure what will make me more ill, the worry of the money spent or the actual artex itself!

[@idostuffcouk]

@@s4eedm A professional company quite rightly has to take extreme measures to protect their workforce who might have to do this kind of work day in day out hence the cost. The risk is real so precautions should be taken, keeping it damp lowers the risk of particles becoming air borne, a quality well fitting mask reduces the risk further, careful clean up of yourself and the area and containing the debris finishes job as safely as possible. You wont know until later in life if you have been affected but by then it is too late, so why take unnecessary risks.

[@s4eedm]

@@idostuffcouk agreed under no circumstances will I be handling this stuff without a respirator if I’m to do it myself might use a steamer and a chisel as I’ve seen this works well as long as damp to wet.

[@mumsstuff2496]

How long do you leave it to soak thanks

[@andybell6189]

Over night may be 12 hours but if you are impatient you can try it sooner. It would all depend on now thick it it and how many layers of paint there is on top. No harm trying it sooner you can always re-wet it and cover it up again.

[@idostuffcouk]

@@andybell6189 ps I'm Idostuff answerd from the wrong account

[@mumsstuff2496]

Thanks you that's amazing

[@joeobrien196]

Long time no see/hear.

[@idostuffcouk]

Yes, finding the motivation to do the editing has been a problem. No shortage of footage though, I had a busy lockdown.😀

[@joeobrien196]

@@idostuffcouk how are the windows that first brought you to my attention?

[@idostuffcouk]

@@joeobrien196 That's going back some... They are doing very well. I've done the last one in oak for our front room, another of lockdown projects I've got to edit. I've still not drawn up the plans to publish the details but now I've retired (from the day job) there is a chance I might get around to that as well. Cheers

[@khazza930]

is this safe enough when dealing with Artex that contains asbestos?

[@tyremanguitars]

one thing I noticed is this doesn't work if it's modern cement based artex, which is an absolute nightmare to remove, the only way to do it is with a steamer, chisel and hammer and it takes ages.

[@idostuffcouk]

No it wont work on cement based products. Fortunately I've never come across any used as textured coatings.

[@obversant_nomad]

I have tried this method on a partisan wall and it didnt work. Just dried up when i came to scrapping it off. What do you recommend?

[@idostuffcouk]

I have no idea what a partisan wall is, so can't recommend anything.

[@obversant_nomad]

@@idostuffcouk partition wall i meant

[@idostuffcouk]

@@obversant_nomad if it is artex direct on to plaster board the moisture might quickly soak in to the plaster board. You could try spraying or brushing water on to see if it softens it at all or if you have a steamer you could try it.

[@thomaswright2614]

Bear in mind wallpaper paste take ages to scape of your wall.. I don't recommend doing this

[@idostuffcouk]

The paste stays on the surface of the artex, it's only the moisture that soaks through. Even if the starch gets on to the wall it can be easily washed off.

[@thomasbingham2797]

Tried this & it didn't work

[@idostuffcouk]

Let us know what does work for you then. It does work on any artex that I've come across, if this doesn't soften it up then it's not artex.

[@dboynette]

Anyone tried this method for woodchip?

[@idostuffcouk]

I haven't but it could be worth a try, that stuff is a right faff to get off.

[@dboynette]

@@idostuffcouk 👍