Weird decorating (paint) problem. (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gillespie]

I'm currently painting my hallway with flat (matt) emulsion paint. This is now the third coat I'm applying (decided to change the colour with the third).

The problem I have is that after the paint has been on a few minutes, I get bubbles appearing. Not just the odd one, but quite a lot. There's areas of the wall that look like they've broken out in chicken-pox!

The previous occupants had painted the walls with a silk-finish emulsion (I presume anyway) but I don't know what was under that. I wonder if there's some weird chemcial reaction going on. It doesn't seem to matter how many layers I apply, I still get the bubbles.

Once the paint is dry, there are no surface changes.

Anyone have any idea what is going on?

 

[Brian Mansure]

Rob,

I'm no expert by a long shot but I did a google search and came up with one explination/solution.

http://paintingyourhouse.info/interior_paint.htm

Skip down to right above the Wallpaper section and read the paragraph above about surfaces painted with calcimine paint. Sounds like either washing it off or covering it with a real good sealer/primer may do the trick.

Good luck.

Brian

 

[Brian Perry]

It could be that the previous coats were not yet completely dry.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Wouldn't have thought so. The previous coats had been there weeks and the ones before that - years.

 

[Lee L]

SOunds like the original paint is a oil pased paint. Emulsion (or latex here in the USA) paints do not like to be applied over oil based.

There are products made to de-gloss the oil or you can try to sand the heck out of it first.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Could be. I'll look into that.

Problem is now some of the small blisters have split open. I pull - and chunks of the paint - ALL of the paint I've applied during the last couple of months (3 coats) is now peeling in patches.

I think I'm just going to get it all plastered over. Worth a couple of hundred £.