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In our primary and guest bath, there is a very old towel bar that will no longer match to the brushed nickel/stainless steel finishes I plan to have. During my primary bedroom painting project, I was so frustrated with the ugly bar that I decided it must go… right now!
The wallpaper was partially glued to the supports of the towel bar, so using a razor blade, I trimmed the edges to make the process easier.
After trimming the supports from the paper, the rest of the piece was pretty loose and easy to separate. A couple yanks was all it took to remove the attachment from the wall. I was then left with two large-ish holes.
Using joint compound, I slathered a large glop onto the wall with a plastic trowel and smoothed the edges. Part of my painting project for the bathroom will involve smoothing wallpaper seams, so any excess was moved on various parts of the wall to give me a head start.
It may look like a mess right now, but very soon I think this will look so much better than the ugliness underneath. I would prefer to completely remove the wallpaper, but since there was no primer used before adhering it to the wall, it is less problematic to attempt it this way. I’ve got a backup plan in case it doesn’t work, but I’m crossing my fingers that “plan A” works!
Ugh, wallpaper is such a pain. On one wall section in our basement the previous owner had painted over textured fuzzy wallpaper. We ended up replacing the wall with new drywall. :) Good luck, hope Plan A works!