Varnish on plaster

[Sonofsander]

I have joined this forum on the advice of a friend who you kind folks have helped in the past.I am very much a novice and I am learning as I go, so would welcome a second opinion.

I am starting to decorate our new house and have stripped back the wall paper in the hallway with a view to painting. The plaster underneath is generally very solid with a very manageable amount of patching and minor fixes to be undertaken which I am slowly getting the knack of.

My issue is the previous incumbents of the house put a dado rail up in the hall, which when they varnished, they got the varnish on the plaster. I've attached a picture which shows what it looks like. It's a thick varnish strip in the middle of the wall the length of the rail

I have been able to use an orbital sander to remove some of the varnish, but I have lost my nerve. I started to worry that I might be taking too much of the surface of the plaster off in removing it. I don't think I can feel a bump, except at the far corner, but I am not sure if that was there before.

My question is essentially, is sanding it off a good idea am I damaging the plaster? If not what other methods could I use?

Many thanks for any help

 

[oldbutnotdead]

From that pic it looks as if there was paper behind the dado rail- steam that off and then see if you can feel a bump where the varnish is. If not then sand it lightly (just to key it) and slap your emulsion on- might need 3 coats to hide it but it will hide

 

[Sonofsander]

Thanks very much for the reply. The picture was mid job I've got the paper off. I can't feel a bump on the varnish, but it seems like you think a lot of paint will do the job after a light sand rather than sanding the whole lot off. This prompts a couple more questions from me:

1) I am intending to use Matt White Emulsion. Will this be a problem.
2) Will I need to layer all the wall multiple times to get an even finish, or just the effected areas?

Cheers

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Matt white- perfect. Long as you don't have any wallwashing light no one will see any ripple. Depending what brand you use, 2 or 3 coats on the wall, if you can still see a dark bit where the varnish was then whack some more at that bit

 

[Robbie uk]

Steam strip the paper completely off. Sand down as much as you can. Apply a sealer coat of a stain block or oil based undercoat over the stained/varnished areas. Carry on emulsion painting
If you emulsion paint over the varnish it may not stick, the stain block or undercoat will make sure the emulsion covers properly.