Paint Blistering - Bathroom
Alan
a professional painter. Everything came out fine. A few months later, the
paint in the smallest bathroom started to blister. We had used the best
paint available for bathrooms. Prior to repainting, there was no blistering,
though the tape on some seams had started to peel a bit. The painter came
back out, scraped off everything that was loose, reprimed and repainted. A
few months later- same problem. He came out again. This time, we replaced
the exahust fan with a stronger fan and vented it to the eave. He scraped,
primed, painted. This time we let the primer dry for a month (and no
blistering). He then painted, and we let it dry for a week before using the
shower in that bathroom. A few months later- same problem. In each case, the
blistering occurred in the spring or fall, when the heat pump/ac was least
active, so the air was not drying very quickly.
Anyway... What is the least expensive way to fix this problem? Wallpaper is
fine, if that will work. Our painter doesn't think it will, but I am not so
sure of his knowledge now. I don't know if the previous owners had used an
oil-based (or other non-latex) paint prior. Oh, one other intersting thing-
when he scraped the last time, in some areas the paint came off all the way
down to the greeenboard. No mold or mildew, just blistering like crazy.
Doug Kanter
"Alan" <al...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:354l97F...@individual.net...
Did he use oil or latex, and which one for primer and finish paint?
Phisherman
run 20-30 minutes after bathing. A timer switch is good for this.
Another thought, you may have a leak inside the wall somewhere.
m Ransley
something wrong on his first repaint, not priming, or painting over
gloss or not cleaning and cheap paint. With the first repaint failing
you have a problem. Is old paint oil gloss? test with alcohol, alcohol
softens and removes latex, not oil. Take time to figure it out.
Alan
"Doug Kanter" <ancien...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:aH9Hd.611$rU5...@news02.roc.ny...
Latex for both.
Alan
"m Ransley" <ran...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:23634-41E...@storefull-3138.bay.webtv.net...
The original paint was a base with a color sponged on. Either one may have
been a gloss, I'm not sure. I have a hunch the sponged on was gloss. How can
I test the original now that it's been covered so many times? And if it was
oil, can I fix this mess by scraping off as much of the new latex as
possible and then painting with oil?
Alan
"Phisherman" <nob...@noone.com> wrote in message
news:l1cqu01i3avvkavnr...@4ax.com...
> A more powerful fan should help remove moisture, but the fan needs to
> run 20-30 minutes after bathing. A timer switch is good for this.
> Another thought, you may have a leak inside the wall somewhere.
It's blistering everywhere- the closer to the shower, the more it blisters,
so I doubt it's a leak. When the heat pump is off, we keep the blower on to
keep the air moving. Just leaving the door open clears it out in 10-20
minutes. I was hoping the exhaust fan would suck out the moisture as it is
generated.
Doug Kanter
Hmm. Someone will disagree with me here based on their own luck using latex,
but personally, I would never use latex paint in a damp environment. You
could still have problems with oil paint if the prep work wasn't done right,
but barring that, oil will always hold up better. Do whatever you can to
assure perfect conditions such as temperature, even if it means you have to
wait till spring so you can open the windows & prevent damaging your brain
cells from the fumes.
Matt
very nicely. One important thing though - DO NOT pop the blisters. They
could become infected.
Doug Kanter
Mine does, but it's a small bathroom, and the previous owner said he
installed a fan rated for a room twice the size. Considering the way it
performs, and the fact that it rattles the glassware in the kitchen, I think
he did the right thing.
Alan
I would have loved to put in an even bigger fan, but this bathroom is off
the bedroom, and the fan is noisy enough as it is. They get pretty pricey if
you want a quiet, powerful fan.
Alan
What kills me is that I asked this guy about that, and he said that latex is
no problem- he uses it all the time. He would probably come back out again
if I asked him to, but he's already convinced me that he has no clue- so why
bother.... Well, onward... What is involved with the prep for oil? Scraping
down to bare geenboard is probably not realistic. Just scrape off whatever I
can? I will defintely wait till spring.
Doug Kanter
I honestly don't recall what how to prep latex before covering with oil. 20
years ago, I lived a block from a local hardware store whose owners knew
every damned thing about painting. After my wife raped three rooms with
cheap paint from Sears, we switched to Devoe, sold at the hardware store.
The result was that we hardly ever needed to paint, so we forgot some of the
tricks in between major projects. Get out your yellow pages and find
yourself a real paint store. Not a Home Depot or Lowe's. Find a place that
sells Martin-Senour, Devoe or Pratt & Lambert paints. Get advice from the
people at the store. If you speak to anyone with pimples and they pause for
more than 1 second when you ask a question, ask to speak to someone else. I
suspect you'll be able to put a good quality primer over the gloss latex.
Doug Kanter
So? You're about to blow $100.00 on paint & brushes. :-)
Alan
Well, it's like I always say- Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is only
50/50. The new fan was well over $100, and the "right" fan was probably
around $300 or so. Anyway, the real problem in all of this, is, I suspect,
the painter.
Alan
I also suspect that a good (oil based) primer will work. The trick is
finding someone who really knows what he's talking about. I'll give it a
shot, though. Thanks.
Travis Jordan
> After being in the house for about 7 years, we decided to repaint. We
> hired a professional painter. Everything came out fine. A few months
> later, the paint in the smallest bathroom started to blister. We had
> used the best paint available for bathrooms. Prior to repainting,
> there was no blistering, though the tape on some seams had started to
> peel a bit. The painter came back out, scraped off everything that
> was loose, reprimed and repainted. A few months later- same problem.
> He came out again. This time, we replaced the exahust fan with a
> stronger fan and vented it to the eave. He scraped, primed, painted.
> This time we let the primer dry for a month (and no blistering). He
> then painted, and we let it dry for a week before using the shower in
> that bathroom. A few months later- same problem. In each case, the
> blistering occurred in the spring or fall, when the heat pump/ac was
> least active, so the air was not drying very quickly.
It sounds like the blisters are all the way down to the substrate (wall)...
is that right? If so, they are forming because of moisture entering from
behind the wall surface. Strip the paint down to the wall surface and prime
with a vapor retarding primer such as Kelly Moore's Vapor Shield:
willshak
following:
My 20 year old bathrooms (with showers) were all originally painted
with latex and have been repainted with latex a couple of times since.
I have never had a problem with bubbling of the paint.
--
Bill
Jag Man
> Just leaving the door open clears it out in 10-20
> minutes. I was hoping the exhaust fan would suck out the moisture as
it is
> generated.
>
You have to leave the door open while the fan is on or it won't do
much good. Needs to be able to draw dry air into the bathroom.
Jag Man
> I would have loved to put in an even bigger fan, but this bathroom
is off
> the bedroom, and the fan is noisy enough as it is. They get pretty
pricey if
> you want a quiet, powerful fan.
>
There are really good quiet fans now, such as Panasonic, for $100-150.
Also
timer switches. Both well worth the money. Be sure the timer switch is
for
inductive loads or it will ruin the fan. Don't ask how I know!
Doug Kanter
>
>
> I also suspect that a good (oil based) primer will work. The trick is
> finding someone who really knows what he's talking about. I'll give it a
> shot, though. Thanks.
>
>
Just get the latex surface screaming clean.
m Ransley
screwed, it will always peel, Remove the BS latex with alcohol,
def...@uri.edu
>
> AS I said , He probably went Latex over dirty gloss oil. Your
> screwed, it will always peel, Remove the BS latex with alcohol,
Sand ceiling with a power sander, and re-paint with a 2-part
epoxy. It might come off again, but if it does, it's taking
the sheetrock with it.
--Goedjn
Norminn
Is it peeling only in one area? Same place after repaint? If so, I
would be looking for moisture intrusion from behind the wall. It should
not be that localized if it is faulty paint job, unless the wall wasn't
cleaned properly - soap scum, mildew, greasy hands will cause poor
adhesion but shouldn't make the paint blister.
Alan
"Travis Jordan" <no....@no.net> wrote in message
news:LmcHd.968102$2W1....@news.easynews.com...
Thanks for the link. I doubt that it's coming from behind, as all of the
wall surfaces (and ceiling) are affected. Still, I like the idea of sealing
the wallboard with this primer just in case. How does one go about stripping
paint down to the wallboard? Also, can I just cover the mess with vinyl
wallpaper (assuming I scrape off all the loose paint)?
Roger Shoaf
>
> Well, it's like I always say- Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is only
> 50/50. The new fan was well over $100, and the "right" fan was probably
> around $300 or so. Anyway, the real problem in all of this, is, I suspect,
> the painter.
>
>
If it is the painter's fault, how do you explain the tape peeling before the
painter touched it?
Paint is not water proofing, so when you get moisture under the paint you
are going to have a problem.
You either have a plumbing leak, a wall or roof leak or your fan is not
sucking enough steam out of the bathroom.
--
Roger Shoaf
About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.
Alan
"Roger Shoaf" <sh...@nospamsyix.com> wrote in message
news:11061109...@news01.syix.com...
>
> "Alan" <al...@erols.com> wrote in message
> news:35522qF...@individual.net...
> >
> > Well, it's like I always say- Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is only
> > 50/50. The new fan was well over $100, and the "right" fan was probably
> > around $300 or so. Anyway, the real problem in all of this, is, I
suspect,
> > the painter.
> >
> >
>
> If it is the painter's fault, how do you explain the tape peeling before
the
> painter touched it?
>
> Paint is not water proofing, so when you get moisture under the paint you
> are going to have a problem.
>
> You either have a plumbing leak, a wall or roof leak or your fan is not
> sucking enough steam out of the bathroom.
There is a moisture problem for sure, but the paint never blistered before.
It didn't start blistering until he painted over what was there. I am still
wondering if I can use wallpaper. Any idea?
Doug Kanter
I wouldn't, until you know what's going on with the blistering. Do you want
wallpaper because it might look good, or because you're sick of dealing with
the paint issue?
Alan
More because of the paint issue, but it would also look better.
Doug Kanter
"Alan" <not...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:359iffF...@individual.net...
Well....take lots of time to interview people who can show you how to do the
wallpaper the right way. The wallpaper in my bathroom was also installed in
the shower area, above the tile which ends at about 6 feet. The previous
owners installed it two years ago and the edges are beginning to peel. At
this point, it's just enough to get a fingernail under, which seems like NOT
enough to get a tool under to "inject" more adhesive. The issue is not
ventilation. During a shower, with the bathroom door closed, the fan keeps
the room very dry, even downright chilly. But, a fan can't do anything about
water droplets that are splashed around in the shower itself.
I'm beginning to think wallpaper within the shower stall is about as smart
as putting it on the outside of a boat's hull.