removing old wallpaper paste

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Eureka! After searching the Web, talking with the folks at Home Depot, and experimenting, I have found the formula that works on 60-year old wallpaper glue on plaster. The paper had come off easily enough, but the glue was impervious to all methods I had read about and tired. Here the combo that works for me:

Buy DIF concentrate and mix it in a spray bottle (16-oz. bottle; 3-4 T of DIF). I didn't do the math, but that seemed about right. Water should be hot for the first spraying. After that, doesn't matter.

Buy a $50 Wagner 705 Power Steamer. Found one at Home Depot. Nice lightweight, easy to use steamer for home use. The rental models were big and heavy. I can hold this one above my head without tiring.

Buy a 4" putty knife. (The 3" ones are too narrow for the job -- takes too long; the 5" ones don't get a good grip on the wall.)

Thumbtack or tape (not masking tape) a large garbage bag to the top of the molding to catch both liquid and glue scrapings. Protects the wood and floor. Very messy without the bag: wet scrapings are difficult to remove from the floor later, and DIF streaks the wood molding. (I sucked the stray scrapings up in the vacuum after they had dried.)

Wear gloves. Set the sprayer so that you don't get a mist; don't want to breathe the stuff.) Probably should wear a face mask.

Work in a space on the wall that is 1 steamer plate long (top-to-bottom) and 2 steamer plates wide (right-to-left)so you can work from right to left along the wall. Spray the area, then steam the right side first, holding the steamer plate tightly in place for 2 minutes (no less). (This first one may take 2 sprayings.) Before scraping that area, quickly re-spray the left area, place the steamer over that area, and then scrape the right area. Glue should come off easily with the putty knife while the left area is steaming. Work to the left (if you are right handed.) Once you have a rhythm, you can tell how many sprayings and how many minutes to hold the steamer plate.

Downside: one room takes a long, long time. But, for me, DIF didn't work by itself; needed the steam. And the steam didn't work by itself; needed the DIF.

As usual, clean-up is the worst part.