A 5 to 6 inch drywall knife will flex better than the smaller sizes.
You should also round off the corners to reduce gouging.

Also, A 3 inch or 4 inch razor blade scrapper wil lget off any tight spots.
Use a very shallow angle to the surface and buy a lot of spare blades.
You are probably going to end up with some dings, so start in an area behind a door or not very promninent till you get the scraping technique down.

Old credit cards work well, too. And good quality (Ateco) flexible or offset icing spatulas also are good, particularly on ceilings. You should also try wide scotch tape. That can peel it nicely and has the benefit of containing the paint layers, as well. I have used 6 inch wide stuff.

If you have one of those European steamer machines, sometimes it's really effective at dropping all the layers, including the calcimine. Ask around, one of your friends may have one you could try out.

The short answer to whether you need to scrape off all your rooms, is probably, yes; just because it hasn't peeled, yet, doesn't mean that the next coat of paint, especially modern emulsions, won't be the layer that breaks the calcimine's bond. If you're just slapping on an emergency "I can't stand this another day" coat, it wouldn't matter. But if you are going to the trouble and expense of a high quality paint and a meticulous job, well, don't waste it over calcimine! Three quarters of the work in painting is the prep and cleaning. The "fun" part is applying the finish coats.

You could scrape off a hidden area in the rooms without evidence of peeling and see if the dreaded calcimine is there. I don't have it in all of my rooms, though most of the ceilings are calcimine.

Even though you have no kids, try not to stomp on the paint leavings, you can contaminate your house for a long time with the ground-up dust. Plus pets are also affected by lead dust and with their smaller body masses and proximity to the floor (not to mention mine eat anything they can find there) they can take a lot of lead dust in. Whenever I have to have blood work done on my pets, I always get a lead level check on them since I live in a crumbling old house.

Have fun!

Molly~

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2001/march_april/calcimine/

Here is a link that might be useful: calcimine

I'm currently removing wallpaper off of plaster walls in an older home...and in the hussle and bustle of this, forgot to even think about lead paint that might have been lurking under the wallpaper.

How can I tell if there is lead paint or calcimine paint for that matter under the wallpaper? It seemed to just be plaster but it was very dusty and now I'm concerned about cleaning up all that dust.

Lead wall paint (lead oxide pigment) would have to be very old.
Most if the lead is lead acetate used in gloss paint.
In older houses with plaster walls wallpaper was typically applied to plaster with only a coat of size on the wall. No paint, no primer.

Has anyone ever thought of or tried covering the ceiling with tiles? I saw some nice copper ceiling tiles that I was considering using rather than going thru this laborious project ( and I have a pregnant wife that i concerned about the dust). Let me know your thoughts PLEASE...wife due in 2 months and just found all this out.

I just completed a kitchen project which was layers of painted wallpaper and peeling calcimide painted walls underneath. And, some lead paint thrown in for fun.

I had success with a spray bottle of hot, hot water mixed with a 3 tblspoons of Downey and one tblspoon of Tide. I would heat up the waterbottle in the microwave to keep it very hot.

I used a plastic scrub brush and a mesh sponge to scrub the paper and loose paint off the walls. It would not come off with the chemical remover and even a scraping tool - which is what I tried first.

This worked really well. It is very labor intense, but eliminates the dust issue. It is a messy process but worked great.

"I had success with a spray bottle of hot, hot water mixed with a 3 tblspoons of Downey and one tblspoon of Tide. I would heat up the waterbottle in the microwave to keep it very hot."

At that point renting a wall paper steamer starts to look like a good option.

You can tell it's lead paint because it gets an alligator-like crackle to it. Try Multi-strip, it's a gel like remover that smells bad, but won't stir up lead dust.

"You can tell it's lead paint because it gets an alligator-like crackle to it."

Any old alkyd paint can get alligator crackling.
It is NOT an indicator of lead (or lack of lead).

You can tell it's lead paint because it gets an alligator-like crackle to it."

Latex painetd over existing wall paper paste will have the same effect

Nutech Ecosafe Architectural strip takes off calcimine no problem and it’s water based

Calcimine ( also kalsomine or distemper paint) is a calcium carbonate product that, mixed with water and sometimes pigments and glue, formed an opaque, easy to use and fast-drying coating used mostly for ceilings. I assume you know for sure that the coating is a calcimine paint. The usual test is to rub a damp finger over the paint. If it feels "chalky" it's calcimine.

The only way I know of to remove it is lots of soap, water, elbow grease and patience. It's messy and wet and not at all fun to remove. To avoid discouragement, don't get over-ambitious. Do one wall at a time. Also, be sure to protect your floors. with 3-mil PVC sheets. This will catch dripping and any lead paint. When you are done, role it up, tuck it in a contractor bag and remove it outside. It can go out with the regular trash as long as it is tied securely.

Scrape off all the loose paint using a 6" taping knife or carbinde paint scraper. Keep a 2" putty knife in your back pocket for tight areas. Some of the paint is probably lead paint, so wear a dust mask and try not to track it all over the house. If there are several coats of oil-based or latex paint, we use a gel-type water-based paint remover on the wall. Follow the manufacturer's directions, but generally it's paint it on, let it sit, then wash it off.

Using a very wet sponge, wet the wall. Some calcimine will dissolve and lift from the surface. Then using a sudsing cleaner (Spic 'n Span or Dawn) and a scrubbing pad, wash the wall vigorously until all the Calcimine is gone and you are down to the hard final coat of plaster.

We then use a rubber window washing blade to remove as much of the suds/water mixture as possible followed by a rinse with a wet sponge. Some of my colleagues add 10% vinegar to the rinse water. We tried it and did not see any difference, but maybe your experience will be different.

Thid does not remove all of the calcimine, but does remove all of the loose and chalky calcimine. Once the wall is dry, inspect it carefully. Use the damp finger test in any suspicious spots to check for remaining chalky calcimine.

Paint with a good calcimine-ccoating primer such as Benajmine Moore's Super-Spec Alkyd Calcimine Recoater. There are other brands, but we have had good success with this one, so we have not tried any other.

Do one room at a time. Remove the old paint; prep, prime and paint the walls. Start with the room you like the least. Practice on that room. As you get better, move to rooms you like better.

Good luck with the project.