[DyerWolf]

I recently retiled the bathroom - but now the untiled walls look really bad. The parts where I finished the drywall look okay - the transitions were smooth & I repainted - but once we added the new light the parts where the previous homeowner had made several repairs look really bad. There were obvious blemishes, dings & patching all over the place.

So I attacked those areas with the sander and my new paint is peeling up rather than sanding smooth (yes, I should have sanded everything before I painted - but I was only focused on the work I had done & with the poor light I just didn't notice them ...).

So I've spent the day sanding & patching & my walls are sort of getting progressively worse. The recently painted coat is peeling up in sections as I try to sand and I'm getting frustrated.

Anyway, is there a good primer that might help hide some of these blemishes & make my job easier?

The photos below show the problem. I can get them almost to sand down - but there is a point where I run the risk of peeling again & I'd like to get the paint as close to smooth as possible without peeling up the entire walls...

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Tom Struble]

fresh acrylic is not the easiest thing to sand as its very flexible like sanding rubber maybe if you can let it cure alittle longer it will harden up alittle more

 

[DyerWolf]

Since my first post, I've attacked most of the loose stuff with a plastic scraper - and most of that is gone.

@ tomstruble: I'll try letting everything cure for another day before I try to sand again. It is like rubber.

Still, I think I'll need a good "hiding' primer to minimize the transitional areas from showing through.

Any suggestions on the primer?

Oh, and should I wash the walls with TSP before priming?

 

[slickshift]

Paint, or primer, can hide "color" (stains), but doesn't "fill" holes, cracks, non-level "divots" and such as you are posting about

In your case (which is a bit more than that), any/all loosely adhering paint must be scraped off and if possible sanded smooth

You will not be doing yourself any favors by trying to keep any loosely adhering paint on the walls
It merely adds to the risk of failure (greatly) either right now, or later
That's an "adhesion" issue, and should not be (for the most part can not be) sealed in by adding more coatings
There could be a number of reasons the new paint is peeling, most of which are adhesion issues to begin with...so...if it's not sticking, it's gotta go

The whole area then should be cleaned and primed with a specialty primer (like Zinsser's Gardz, a penetrating, poor surface, sealer), which will help any questionable areas

If it's not possible to sand them smooth, then a primer should be used (again, in your particular case I'd suggest a specialty primer over the whole area), and any un-level areas "skimmed" (it may be easier to do a whole area rather than spots) with a layer (or two...or three...) of joint compound and sanded smooth
The area doesn't have to end up exactly flat so to speak (with a straight edge across it), it just has to look flat (be smooth)
Then cleaned of dust and re-primed (either the repairs spot primed or possibly the whole area) with either a quality acrylic primer (adhesion oriented-like if you have any Gardz left over that would be fine-or Ben Moore's Fresh Start, rather than a "stain-blocker" like Premium Kilz or a "new drywall primer" like a "builder's grade" or any PVA products)
At this point, any leftover "not quite right" spots should show up (if any)
These should be skimmed, sanded, dusted, and primed again (adhesion-oriented acrylic primer...or Gardz would be fine if you still have some) if needed

At this point you should have a smooth looking area, properly adhering primer and repairs, and can topcoat with two coats premium quality paint

Just keep in mind:
Paint colors, it doesn't fill*






*OK, so maybe it does sometimes a teeny, weeny little bit...the better paints more so
But the fact is: if you are relying on the paint or primer to fill, you have not done a good enough prep job
That's an absolute

 

[slickshift]

PS If the current paint job is only a few days old, I'd wait for a week or two (cure time) before scrape and sand

 

[DyerWolf]

Thanks all.

Well, because I need to get this job done (& don't have a week or two for the cure time to try to sand the paint back down) I went ahead and tried somethings.

First, I've peeled off as much of the paint as would peel & sanded the edges where it stopped peeling. The edges didn't sand quite as smooth as I would have liked - but I did the best I could with the paint as fresh as it is. Next, I vacuumed all the walls & wiped them down with cheese cloth. Then I wiped the walls down several times again with a damp sponge to make sure I don't have any dust on the surface.

I then went over every single trouble area with a skim coat of joint compound (broadly; covering several trouble areas in one large skim to reduce the obvious). I did a pretty good job with a large trowell, so there won't be all that much sanding when it dries.

Tomorrow, I'll sand everything smooth, reclean the walls & then apply a good primer after they dry from the wipedown. Porter carries the Gardz, so I'll try that. Thanks for the tip slickshift about Gardz vs Kilz. If you hadn't written that, I'd have gone straight for the stuff.

Fingers crossed.:thumbsup:

 

[slickshift]

:thumbsup:

Keep us posted

 

[DyerWolf]

Worked like a charm. Thanks slickshift, et. al. for the advice & support.

The walls now look clean & smooth throughout the entire room.

 

[slickshift]

Thanks for the update
...and glad to hear the Good News!