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I just bought a house that has been smoked in for years and am wondering what is the best way to remove the oily film that I'm sure is on the textured ceiling. I'm not sure that it will stick if I retexture over the existing oily residue. I will scrub the walls and then primer and paint them, but the ceiling appears to be a much tougher job. Any ideas on cleaning supplies, tools and methods would be appreciated.
The textureing is a problem, but Greased Lightning will absolutely remove the smoke residue.
We removed 20 years of yellow-brown residue at our restaurant from the aluminum window frames. Sprayed on let it work for a few minutes and wiped it off, then followed with a clear water wipe down.
I would try spraying, the use a 5-6" paint brush and a bucket of water to do a little at a time. The bristles of the brush should be able to handle the texture.
This would be messy, so spread a ground cloth on the floor, first.
In 1991 we bought a home that had been heavily smoked in- the ceiling was nearly orange, and popcorn at that.
We sealed everywhere with a popcorn sealer and repainted. It's now 16 years later and the ceilings still look as good as they did immediately after we painted.
Think about using KILZ - it's a primer/sealer that'll take care of the smoke smell and seal the oily residue as well. It comes white straight out of the can, but they can add a tint to it at the paint store so it's the color you want.
yuck! i feel for you. you might want to consider removing the popcorn texture. I would Kilz it either way. we do a lot of repair work and painting and Kilz is the best primer ever! good luck.
TSP is usually what painters use to clean walls and I used it in our cleaning business and it is cheap. It works great. But applying in the popcorn would be sucha hassle since that stuff breaks off easy.
be careful though about painting over. If you live in a humid environment or in a bathroom, etc..the humidity will cause the nicotene to leach thru the paint and down your walls.
I lived in a house where they did not properly clean before painting and for 10 years I had nicotene coming through the paint after every shower. It is nasty.
If you are going to use kilz, you may want to second coat it.
There are much more friendly products to use than that nasty KILZ.
Most large manufacturers now make a nearly odorless Alkyd (oil) based primer that will hide old nicotine stains. One coat usually does it, it's white and tintable.
Please, lets retire KILZ. It's bad for your respiratory system and the environment. Check the VOC numbers, anything over 200 grams per liter is a no-no. KILZ is 450 g/l.
I'm a painter by trade.
Andy P
