paint help please

silvercar

In the shower, the paint is peeling (after 4 yrs use). Windows are always opened after showers so I guess it is just time to repaint.

Sanded down the flaking paint and painted with Wickes primer (suitable for bare walls etc according to the label). Now the paint is peeling around the edges of the areas I have painted! It has bubbled the old paint and flaked just around the edges. Any idea what I should do?

This was meant to be a patch up job until I can get the whole room redone professionally. So I thought removing the peeling paint (to bare plaster) and using a primer would be the right thing to do, obviously not! My plan was to use primer followed by a bathroom paint, but now I'm unsure of my next step.

If I sand down the new bubbles, I'll be left with round halos with the new primer OK in the middle and the old paint OK elsewhere:(

silvercar

Anyone any ideas?

jason_s_2

Im sure gracie or phill will help on this one silvercar.

robnye

have you used the shower during the patching up...... its possible it got damp before the paint/sealant had set

silvercar

robnye wrote: »

have you used the shower during the patching up...... its possible it got damp before the paint/sealant had set

The old paint started bubbling as I applied the primer!

Not used the shower since.

robnye

that would indicate damp.......... the primer is trying to block lay a seal.... you need to refrain from using the shower for a couple of days either side of putting on the primer, you could try, putting a hair dryer on it, a couple of hours before putting the primer on , then wait a couple of days before using the shower or glossing

misgrace

silvercar wrote: »

In If I sand down the new bubbles, I'll be left with round halos with the new primer OK in the middle and the old paint OK elsewhere:(

You would get that anyway with you sanding down the flakey paint, tbh, I dont think there was need for any primer, but we need to work out what has caused it to bubble up again.

The areas that you have sanded cause they were flaking and peeling, did they flake again on thier own,(before you applied the primer)

I'll put it another way......when you sanded the flakey/peeled areas, it was all nice and smooth, did you come back to it, say for example the next day, and some of it flaked/peeled again, even though you had left it smooth previously?

Was the existing paint silk?
Was the primer oilbase or waterbase?

Bathroom paint does flake/bubble due of course to condensation, and the think is, if that is the problem, then no matter what prep you do, the flakyness could come back, unless you have proper ventilation.

But, if your getting a professional in anyway, couldnt you leave it to him to sort it out, I would imagine he would be dealing with the flakyness, peeling paint anyway.

silvercar

I sanded the flakey bits and then painted straight away.

In fact the shower had been used a few hours earlier - but the window was open. Skylight almost directly above the shower so it well ventilated.

Dont know what the existing paint was - previous owner did it. Seemed to be only one layer of paint onto plaster.

Paint was "Wickes All purpose primer quick drying for interior & exterior use".

Instructions to wash brushes in soapy water after use, if that helps.

Hoping to wait til 2009 to get a prof in!

Should I dump the idea of using a primer first and just get a bathroom paint?

robnye

i assume this is on plaster walls..... if so, it sounds like there is moisture in the plaster, so you may need to leave the bare patch for alittle while to dry out, now you have removed its top layer (ie blistering paint)

you could try giving a coat of gloss paint to seal in any nastiness,

when you do paint over, make sure you use one of the paints specifically for bathroom/kitchens. they are designed to resist moisture penetration...... most makes are fine..... i have used Dulux and BnQ and got good results with both (especially BnQ cos it was cheaper)

madeane

If you are down to bare plaster you need to let it dry out completely and then seal the plaster. Dulux do a plaster sealer or you can try a couple of coats of watered down PVA. Then paint on top of it. I would not under any circumstances paint gloss on top as this will cause problems with what you may want to do in the future.

misgrace

robnye wrote: »

you could try giving a coat of gloss paint to seal in any nastiness,

)

Your sort of on the right track there Robnye,:D but dont use gloss, the emulsion wont adhere to it.

Infact I was going to suggest to silvercar, that he sand down the walls again, apply a thinned (white spirit) coat of oilbase undercoat, this is a mat finish, leave it a day or two, then apply your matt.

If you are going for bathroom paint, I would be very carefull going over any new bare plaster with the bathroom paint, you can touch these in with any old matt emulsion,(thinned down), or even the oilbase undercoat, then apply your bathroom paint, but again, I would thin down the first coat.

Dont forget, bathroom and kitchen paint is quite shiny,and has similar properties to silk, and its not advisable to put kit/bath paint onto bare plaster.