Professional painter says the freshly painted wall is peeling off! HELP!

designwright · 08-20-2009, 01:47 PM

Hi!
I'm an interior designer and just got a distressing call from a painter I've hired to re-paint a children's playroom.
All paints we are using are Benjamin Moore. He was painting a previously white wall (which the owner assured me is B.M. as well) a bright color. He primed the wall yesterday and painted the first coat of the bright color. Today, when he got to the job site, he found that the paint is peeling off in giant sheets right down to the wallboard, which seems to be in fine shape.
Any thoughts as to why this is happening? Could it be that the pre-existing paint was oil-based? If so, wouldn't primer solve that problem? If not, how do I solve it?
Any thoughts would be very greatly appreciated!

chrisn · 08-20-2009, 03:32 PM

Professional painter says the freshly painted wall is peeling off! HELP!

If he or she actually was a professional painter, this would not happen and if it did, it would be fixed and explained why by them.

Workaholic · 08-20-2009, 03:50 PM

I do agree with Chris.
If it happened to be I would not call franticly. I would of already had a probable reason and a proposed solution when we spoke.
More than likely it was oil based paint on the wall. Or some other adhesion issue is at hand. Without seeing pics or knowing the true extent of the problem.

NCpaint1 · 08-20-2009, 04:26 PM

You CAN put latex over oil and vice versa, years ago was a different story, nowadays its just fine. If its peeling down to wallboard....thats not from the paint he just applied. Take a pic and post it so I can get a better idea.

Workaholic · 08-20-2009, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCpaint1

You CAN put latex over oil and vice versa, years ago was a different story, nowadays its just fine. If its peeling down to wallboard....thats not from the paint he just applied. Take a pic and post it so I can get a better idea.

This is a DIY site best to not recommend painting latex over oil. IMO
Well latex does still not adhear to oil that well and does have a high failure rate, so it is not recommended by me. Also if you were to do it a good surface preperation would be called for.
Best practice is that if something you are painting has oil on it then scuff sand, dust and prime before topcoat.

Now the peeling down to wall board is a strange twist.
Pics would add to this thread.

Matthewt1970 · 08-20-2009, 05:10 PM

If that is peeling right down to the wallboard then that is the original paint's fault. Could be caused by moisture or a non-primed wall or contaminates on the wall but something is causing the original paint to fail. When latex paint dries, it shrinks causing it to pull on the layers below. Sometimes you may see bubbles that may or may not go away when the paint dries completely and sometimes it can make it come off in sheets like is happening on your project.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCpaint1

You CAN put latex over oil and vice versa, years ago was a different story, nowadays its just fine. If its peeling down to wallboard....thats not from the paint he just applied. Take a pic and post it so I can get a better idea.

You can paint latex over oil based but I highly recommend you use an oil based primer first. You can get away with a bonding latex primer, but if it was my house it would be an oil primer. Never put oil over latex no matter what you prime with.

Back to the original post. Have them peel off everything they can. Then prime it with the strongest thing the home owner will let you like a good quick drying oil based primer. Then patch any area that needs it, prime the patched areas and paint away.

Scuba_Dave · 08-20-2009, 06:04 PM

I had the same thing happen at my last house
Seemed to be the moisture of the new paint that peeled off the old paint
BUT, I do not believe they used primer 1st on the wall board in my case

designwright · 08-20-2009, 06:06 PM

Wow. Thanks so much everybody! I'm really new at using these forums, but what a fantastic resource.

First off, TOTALLY concur that the painter should not have called me early on in a panic.

Secondly, I went to take a look and it was an old patch job from a previous leak. This is a brownstone garden floor with a shared outer wall. I should have mentioned that in my first posting. It seems there was a leak that had not been properly patched and primed. The paint ONLY came off on that one area. (Not the entire wall, as he mentioned to me in his panic.) The painter now has the problem in hand (I hope!).

Didn't think to take a pic, but I'll remember that in future.

Once again, you all are so generous and helpful. Thanks so much!

Workaholic · 08-20-2009, 06:09 PM

Good deal.

NCpaint1 · 08-20-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthewt1970

Never put oil over latex no matter what you prime with

Where are you getting your facts. Better to keep them to yourself when you are totally wrong. I sell paint for a living, its my JOB to know these things. You most definitely can put latex over oil and you certainly CAN put oil over latex. You wont have any problems whatsoever. The only solvents that arent compatible are Laquer, Xylene, MEK, etc. Although most homeowners will never use these type products. Plain old oil based trim paint can be recoated with latex no problem, it can even be done without priming

Same for putting latex over oil, THERES NO ISSUE WITH IT. I will come to your house, paint your trim with latex paint....then 3 hours later, slap a coat of oil on it with no problem. Or vice versa, either way...no problem.

ccarlisle · 08-21-2009, 07:30 AM

..."This is a brownstone garden floor with a shared outer wall. I should have mentioned that in my first posting. It seems there was a leak that had not been properly patched and primed. The paint ONLY came off on that one area..."

Oh.

Uh, IMO that's relevant, don't you think?

A "brownstone garden floor"??? A "leak that had not been patched"??? Sort of makes me glad we all wasted our time answering this thread when "minor" details like that were omitted in a panic call for help.

Matthewt1970 · 08-21-2009, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCpaint1

Where are you getting your facts. Better to keep them to yourself when you are totally wrong. I sell paint for a living, its my JOB to know these things. You most definitely can put latex over oil and you certainly CAN put oil over latex. You wont have any problems whatsoever. The only solvents that arent compatible are Laquer, Xylene, MEK, etc. Although most homeowners will never use these type products. Plain old oil based trim paint can be recoated with latex no problem, it can even be done without priming

Same for putting latex over oil, THERES NO ISSUE WITH IT. I will come to your house, paint your trim with latex paint....then 3 hours later, slap a coat of oil on it with no problem. Or vice versa, either way...no problem.

OMG are you serious? Putting straight latex paint over oil with no primer is just fine? I cannot tell you how many jobs I have had to fix where people just put latex paint over oil. I am not going to get into a pissing match with you and I am glad you work in a paint store, but I will let this statement from you stand on it's own:

Plain old oil based trim paint can be recoated with latex no problem, it can even be done without priming

The rest of what you said is wrong too, but not as blatently wrong as that.

**Termite** · 08-21-2009, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccarlisle

..."This is a brownstone garden floor with a shared outer wall. I should have mentioned that in my first posting. It seems there was a leak that had not been properly patched and primed. The paint ONLY came off on that one area..."

Oh.

Uh, IMO that's relevant, don't you think?

A "brownstone garden floor"??? A "leak that had not been patched"??? Sort of makes me glad we all wasted our time answering this thread when "minor" details like that were omitted in a panic call for help.

Not worth getting all worked up over. If our time were worth all that much none of us would be here on the internet!

Besides, nobody's time is wasted when you look at the amount of people that search these topics and find your information to help them out down the road. Newbie DIYer-types often don't have an understanding of what is relevant information and what is not.

designwright · 08-21-2009, 12:46 PM

Ouch! I feel properly scolded. Flaming frowny faces no less! So sorry to have wasted anyone's time. In my meager defense, I didn't know about the patch when I first asked the question. Found that out after I visited the site. But my bad: I should have mentioned the fact that it was a garden floor of brownstone. I will try harder to be more specific next time.

Thanks again to all for incredibly supportive responses.

ccarlisle · 08-21-2009, 01:00 PM

The "kctermite" is right of course and I did come down pretty hard on you, sorry for that.

These days, I find time very precious; so, for me at least, it has a value. That, plus I am reminded of the saying "garbage in, garbage out"...

We have to continuously strive to better the communications; it's the quality of threads people are most likely to be attracted to here. I love it here.