Weird yellow stuff in between paper and plaster

[Lower]

I'm in the process of stripping the wallpaper in one of the rooms of my 1920's built house. The paper is coming off ok (not been redecorated since 1965 according to the writing under the paper), but there is a very thin coating of some yellow stuff in between the paper and the plaster. Its kind of like a skim coat of plaster, but less than 1mm thick and it softens and comes off with the steam. It then sets hard again when it cools.

Anyone got any idea what this yellow stuff is? We had it on the walls of the lounge too when that was stripped and the new skim coat of plaster seems to have bonded to it ok. I'm not worried about it, but just wonder what it is.

 

[alow]

Possibly just old glue. I had similar when stripping old wallpaper from late Victorian tenement flat. Think the paper had been up for many years!

 

[JohnD]

It might even be distemper, a kind of hard-wearing coloured whitewash which includes glue size which is made of boiled-up hooves of horses. Smells a bit unpleasant. It's a real pig to get off ceilings. Cold water won't wash it off, but hot water will.

 

[Lower]

sounds like it might be distemper. No smell now but its thicker than just glue. Seems to have been used to help flatten the walls prior to papering with woodchip.

 

[Zampa]

My guess that it is old glue used to stick lincrusta wall covering..is it a browny yellow?

 

[JohnD]

My guess that it is old glue used to stick lincrusta wall covering..is it a browny yellow?

Aaaar, jim lad, that takes me back. I stripped mine off with a blowlamp and paint scraper, because the analglypta had been gloss-painted. Didn't think of a steamer. what's it made of?

 

[Zampa]

My guess that it is old glue used to stick lincrusta wall covering..is it a browny yellow?

Aaaar, jim lad, that takes me back. I stripped mine off with a blowlamp and paint scraper, because the analglypta had been gloss-painted. Didn't think of a steamer. what's it made of?

The old stuff was lead based...

Blowlamp eh?...

 

[JohnD]

that most accooont for my brIAN DAMINGe

 

[Lower]

My guess that it is old glue used to stick lincrusta wall covering..is it a browny yellow?

it is a browny yellow. might well be the old glue, just seems a bit thick to be glue compared to the modern stuff.

 

[Zampa]

Lincrusta glue i different from the ordinary wallpaper paste..not easy when you cant actually see it...but thats my guess.

Outide guess...maybe its a stuff called dextrine...which is a corn maize..it used to be added to paste to give it strength

Contact crown paints about the removing it