Differences in difficulty from unit to unit in removing wall coverings?

[Jenniflow]

Hey folks,
I'm contemplating a mostly gutted 1982 34' Limited and whether or not to strip or otherwise cover the wall coverings.

Here's a pic of the current interior: http://hownottorv.com/what-happens-w...gutted-limited

Some have said it's easy to do, others, not so bad. My question is, is there much difference among the materials used in various years and various models that could predict how difficult stripping the covering would be on any particular model?

I've read some of the threads on the gauge of the interior aluminum, I've read some of the discussions on stripping or replacing the aluminum, but I haven't seen much posted by folks who own the same rig as mine.

Does anyone know whether my particular situation is likely to be any easier or more difficult than others? Based on the materials used?

Also, I suspect that this Limited is probably very similar to some other model, maybe the Excella, but I'm not sure if they're comparable on this wall covering spec.

Any thoughts are welcome, and thanks in advance,

Jenniflow

[Jenniflow]

Well, I guess we have no knowledge or takers in this one.

[Jenniflow]

I have been reading a lot of threads on removing wall coverings and removing the sticky residue from wall coverings.

When I realized how difficult it would be to remove the wall coverings I resorted to cleaning the walls well enough to paint or glue onto them.

I have tried citrus based products, Awesome, (which some have sworn by), a low VOC paint stripper, ammonia, and even WD 40 because it’s a petrochemical solvent.

I’m convinced that there is a lot of talking at cross-purposes here on the forums about the right cleaner for the sticky in the vinyl wall paper. Some are trying to remove cooking geese and nicotine stains. Most of the products I listed above will do great with those.

But many of us are trying to remove the underlying sticky residue exuded by the vinyl as it ages and decays. Not one of the products I used above worked. In fact what they did was lighten and clean the top layer of grime off to reveal ... the underlying layer of still-quite-sticky plastic residue.

I attempted this thread because I suspected that we are talking about different trailers of different ages and histories and possibly different wall coverings. I was hoping to find a way to predict what was likely to work in my ‘82 Limited but it seems that the quite substantial institutional knowledge here isn’t cataloged in that form.

I’m reluctant to use the metal hydrides because of the danger of damaging the underlying aluminum. I still hope someday to completely remove the awful vinyl wall covering entirely, but ...

I’m in Mexico now where they are very tough on high-toxic chemicals. What you usually find here is low-VOC solvents and none of the Marine Clean-like solvents. They don’t even sell the heavy black chemical gloves.

Unfortunately, I’m coming to the conclusion that if I want to get the plastic residue off, I’m going to have to use a metal hydride. Am I wrong?

And I have to get the surface unsticky in order to glue or paint, right?

[Myelfself]

i have heard a few people recommend goof off. I havent tried anything yet I'm just getting to the point in my resto where its time to strip the interior panels. I want the bare aluminum look.