How to Remove High Gloss Paint from Your Walls

  • 1-4 hours
  • Beginner
  • 75-125
What You'll Need
A heat gun
A large cloth
A piece of plywood or drywall
A putty knife
Medium grit sandpaper, 140-150
A sponge or cloth
Some warm water
What You'll Need
A heat gun
A large cloth
A piece of plywood or drywall
A putty knife
Medium grit sandpaper, 140-150
A sponge or cloth
Some warm water

There are many ways to remove high gloss paint from walls. Removing this paint will give you a perfect surface to create a new decoration on. The new paint will stick to the cleaned wall and make it look much more appealing and professional. Many are put off by the prospect of removing thick paint from walls but the process is not much different from removing other types of paint.

Step One - Heat up Heat Gun

Take a heat gun and turn it onto a high setting. You must wait until the heat gun is at a very high temperature if you want the glossy paint to come off first time and not damage the wall. Lay out a large cloth over the surrounding area you will be working in. A good way to check if the gun is hot enough is to take a small piece of drywall or plywood. Apply some glossy paint to this small tester piece, allow it to dry and remove it with the heat gun.

Step Two - Bubble

Use the heat gun to bubble the paint on the wall. Work in smaller sections working from the top to the bottom of the wall or vice versa. Hold the heat gun over the wall until you start to see little bubbles appearing. At this stage move onto the next section. If you leave the heat gun over a section of wall for too long, it could damage the surface beneath the paint.

Step Three - Remove Paint

By this stage you should have weakened the entire high gloss paint cover on a wall. Take a small putty knife and use it to pry the paint layer away from the wall. It should not be difficult to peel off a section and put the knife beneath the paint layer. Do this as best you can until the surface of the wall is almost completely bare. Be careful with the putty knife and make sure you don't damage any corners or ceilings when you take paint off of hard to reach areas.

Step Four - Sand

Use a medium grit sandpaper of around 140 to 150 grit. Gently use the sandpaper to rub the whole surface of the wall. This will do two things. Firstly, the sandpaper will remove any small remaining particles of high gloss paint. Secondly, the sandpaper will help ready the surface for a brand new paint layer by smoothing out lumps and bumps, which will help new paint to stick.

Step Five - Wash

Wash the surface of the wall using a sponge or cloth with some soap and warm water. Be generous and rub the soapy mixture onto the wall using circular motions. It is important you be thorough in this step because washing the wall efficiently will remove any dust or debris, which is sticking to the surface. Finish by rinsing the surface with some clear warm water.