How to Remove Old Paint From Wet Drywall

Perhaps you're about to tackle repainting damp basement walls, or you've just removed wallpaper and the drywall is wet from washing. If your next step is removing old paint from wet drywall, you may find this a bit challenging. Wet drywall becomes very soft, and any method you use to remove old paint will also wreck the wet drywall. The trick here is drying out the drywall, which will give you a solid surface to remove paint and do any necessary repairs.

Hair dryer
Heat lamp
Dehumidifier
Space heater
Fans
Paint scraper
Joint compound
Sanding pad
Drywall sander

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the cause of the dampness in the drywall. If it's wet because there's a leak in the ceiling or behind the wall, repair this first before continuing.
- 2
  Dry the surface. If just a small area of the drywall is wet, use a hair dryer or heat lamp to dry it out. For larger areas, you may need to set up a space heater or run a dehumidifier to allow plenty of ventilation to dry it out.
- 3
  Check the drywall for excess dampness by gently running a putty knife or your fingernail over it. If it dents easily or feels damp, allow more drying time. Dry drywall will be hard and not easily gouged or dented.
- 4
  Remove old paint with a 3-inch chisel-edged paint scraper by working it under loose edges and pushing the paint away from the wall. Work carefully to minimize damaging the underlying drywall.
- 5
  Sand the drywall smooth with a sanding pad or drywall sander once you've removed as much of the old paint as possible. You may have to do some repairs with joint compound first if the drywall got damaged by water or from the paint removal.

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