DIY Novice Awkward Wall preperation for wallpapering

[marchardstaff]

Hi,
I don't do a lot of decorating and need some advice.
I have stripped the old embossed painted wallpaper off my living room walls and i am planning on re-papering.
The problem is that one of the walls is a kind of wooden (almost MDF looking) another is plaster board and another is concrete... strange i know!
All three of these walls are causing issues when it comes to getting every bit of old backing paper off.
As i try and remove backing paper from the wooden wall it takes strips of the wood covering off... The concrete wall has loads and loads of little holes in if i take the remaining backing paper off and the plaster board outer layer peels off when i try and remove the backing paper.

I know the best wall prep is to strip it all off and patch up etc.. but im planning to use a high grade lining paper and seem to be making my walls even more bumpy by trying to get the backing paper off.
Would i be ok to just go ahead and put my lining paper up and leave the backing paper thats left up?
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

 

[footprints]

Sounds like you have stripped the top textured layer and are left with the thin backing paper is that right?

If so just soak the paper with a hand spray from a garden/diy store or a sponge.

Walk away for 15 mins have a cuppa or whatever floats your boat wet again and another cuppa, wet again and another cuppa, again and again (maybe a trip to the bathroom too by then ) until the paper simply pulls off the wall without the need of a stripping knife other than to lift an edge.

Keep at it, it will work in the end, unless your paper was hung with evo-stick! Otherwise as you have found the scraper makes a mess of the wall.

Wallrock Fibreliner is very good for poor walls. Google it and have a read up dearer than normal but good stuff.

EDIT
The only one to go a bit easy on with the water is the plasterboard if it is not skimmed.