Home Painting Help

[clevername]

I'm about to start painting several large rooms inside my house. About a year ago, I painted my bedroom using a latex paint and had problems with the paint bubbling in places. I'm not sure what caused it to happen and it ended up being a big hassle / mess. Any tips on how to avoid this from happening again and what to do if it does? The bids I've gotten have been ridiculously high so hiring someone is not an option.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[hornimal]

I'm no expert, but I'm about to repaint a few rooms as well. the little brochures I've picked up recommend that you prep the surface well before painting. i.e. applying primer to new surfaces, sealing water stains, filling in cracks/nail holes.

I'm guess your paint is bubbling because there is some moisture seeping through that it pushing it off the wall. or perhaps it didn't adhere well, or you applies a second coat before the first one dried.

perhaps you should apply a primer this time around before painting.

 

[NickDanger]

Nobody much uses oil based paints anymore, but painting oil over latex and vice versa is often a problem. As mentioned, moisture is usually the culprit with latex and it's often from not letting a primer or first coat dry.

 

[BigWill]

Sounds to me like water-based paint on top of oil-based paint.

The bad news is, there's no easy fix. I've seen conditions where all the woodwork in the house was water over oil, and every inch of it bubbled up. Ended up trying to scrape it off, then said to hell with it, and replaced all the wood trim ($$$$).

Before painting, test the surface to see it it's oil. Use denatured alcohol on a colored rag. Put some on the rag, and rub the surface. If it's water based, it will smear all over the rag. Oil won't.

You can paint latex over oil if you use KILZ or somehing similar as a primer.

 

[NickDanger]

I once used a heat gun to strip every single inch of window trim in a 2500 square foot house. The previous had painted latex over oil and you could just scrape a lot of it off with your nails. I also stripped at least 10 doors. I just didn't have the money to replace. That was a real *****.

 

[Dead Horse]

this time of year you could get those rooms painted for a fraction of what it would normally cost. Painters are scrambling for business in the slowest month of the year for them.

If you need some names I can refer you to some folks in Austin or Dallas that I know are looking for work right now (I know because they call me daily looking for work). Feel free to PM me.

 

[ldogg53]

painters here in Houston usually work for about $1/sq ft as a general rule... it's not expensive at all, but of course it is much cheaper to do yourself..