Painting Problems – DIY Painting Tips

All painters know that painting in wet conditions or on a wet surface is asking for trouble. Your freshly painted finish will quickly fall victim to unsightly peeling and bubbling.

But what is the answer if the peeling occurs on a long-established painted surface? Most people would just scrape and repaint if it only happens in a small area. But what if it’s a widespread problem of peeling paint throughout an entire property? So you have a mystery to solve and a solution to find.

moisture development

Paint will tend to peel and crack first around areas such as doors and windows, fans and heaters, usually areas where the temperature changes frequently. A quality paint applied correctly will be able to handle this, but a cheaper, incorrectly applied paint will become stressed by repeated heating and cooling and changes in humidity levels and gradually lose adhesion.

If the flaking is in unexpected areas, check first for water or mold damage. Any leaks will be readily apparent, but also use a moisture meter to check for less obvious wet patches. Consider and check for less obvious sources of moisture, such as standing water under the house, a moisture problem in the house (do kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms have proper ventilation?), or high levels of condensation.

Paint over old wallpaper

This can usually be spotted right away, and the big clue is that the paper is peeling off with the paint!

poor priming

If the painted surface needed to be primed and no primer was originally used, then adding more coats of paint can cause peeling. This type of failure can take years, even decades, to manifest. The first few fresh coats of paint won’t necessarily cause a problem, but as the weight of the painted surface builds up over time, it can start to peel.

too much paint

Careless application of too many coats of paint can cause problems at a later date, with the final weight of the coating causing it to peel off.

poor quality paint

Using cheap paint or thinning paint to make it last longer is a cheap fix that often comes back to bite.

poorly cleaned surfaces

Another way some people take shortcuts to get the job done faster is by not cleaning the surface properly. If this happens with the first coat, just like with primer problems, it may not show up for some time. Additional coats of paint can also mask the problem. Ultimately, however, poor preparation will reveal itself.

Poorly applied texturing

If a spray-on texture has been misapplied and moisture builds up behind the paint, over time the texture can re-emulsify and start to peel off the walls, taking the paint with it.

infestation

If all of the above have been ruled out, you need to consider termites or some other type of infestation, and in that case, peeling paint is just the beginning of your problems. Get a pest inspector to check the property

Solutions

Getting the job done right in the first place is the best solution, but years later that smug response is particularly pointless.

If the peeling is restricted to specific areas and you have established that the problem is restricted to that area as well, then you can scrape and repaint. Or you can remedy it by cutting out an affected surface, such as a damp patch on a wooden door, filling, and then repainting.

Unfortunately, however, if it is a widespread problem, the most common solution is to steam or scrape back to the original surface and start over. There is a solution to this: a product called ‘Bind Back’, which can be applied to create a repaintable surface.

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