Remove or seal over mylar to rehang?

[Denise Scott]

I have a client with 30 rolls to hang in an 18' entry foyer.
The problem is she has mylar on it now. Would you recommend feathering out the seams with mud and sealing the hall to rehang or stripping? What's a good sealer to use over mylar?

How to strip mylar is also my question... HELP!

Thanks.

Denise

[Joseph Parker]

Denise

I would avoid trying to hang over the mylar. Of course the big question here is weather the walls were properly primed with wallcovering primer which would make the removal not too difficul.

Sometimes mylars will pull off, if not then I would suggest using a paper tiger removal tool to preforate the material and allow the stripper to get under the mylar. Some folks in our chapter swear by wallpaper steamers which they say expedites the removal.

If the mylar is up very well and the seams tight you might be able to prime over it will a good quality wallpaper primer. (shieldz plus, ultra prime or equlivent depending on what's available in your area. If you go the priming route do a test area to see if it bleeds thru the primer prior to priming the whole area.

All things considered your best removing the paper and starting fresh.

Good Luck!

Joe

[Cliff Hayes]

Stripping mylar can be an exercise in futility. Most times it comes off in little shards, and using a shredder to score the surface for a removal solution to penetrate it can end up doing such harm to the walls, that you end up having to do a skim job afterwards. If it's a tight installation, that is to say that it's not peeling up anywhere, I don't see why you couldn't prime over the material with a high-bond primer like Guardz or R-35, then float the seams, then re-prime over the spackle, again with a good, penetrating sealer like Guardz. As my esteemed colleague says, best to take down anything that will come down, but if a removal is going to result in the destruction of the walls, then I would suggest the "work smarter, not harder" approach.

Good luck.