Hi There, I have a problem with bubbling paint and would like some help to establish if there is a product which can help me solve this as I have now read so much different advice that I am totally confused now!! I have been in my house for 6 years now but am only just redecorating. Therefore the original plaster and paint has been there for some time. The bottom part of the wall below the dado rail looked to be matt paint and above silk. A base coat of white matt paint was used over all of the purple matt and some patches of the light coloured silk which I had applied some tester colours to (which had gone one the wall fine btw). When the matt base coat was dry I cut in around the room and applied my first coat across all areas of the wall in the chosen colour of Wickes Trade Silk Emulsion. This first coat dried absolutely fine but the walls did need a further coat. Therefore 8 hours later (after getting some sleep!) I began to apply the second coat. The paint immediately broke out in clusters of bubbles and looked like a bad case of measles!! The bubbles were full of air which could be moved around. If the bubbles were popped they went right back to the original wall. If they were left to dry they still didn't dry back and disappear and dried as bumps in the paint. Further painting of coats led to further break outs of bubbles in the paint in other areas. Although bubbles did appear on the top part of the wall (originally silk) this was very minimal and the main problem was on the bottom part of the wall (originally matt). Where the bubbles had been popped, the original matt purple and the matt white base coat could be seen and so it would seem that there had not been a problem with either of these bottom coats. Sanding of the un-popped bubbles with the intention to sand and fill, resulted in all of the paint coming away in sheets like sunburnt skin. Further investigation of the top part of the wall later on found that the paint came away easily and so was obviously not properly bonded which could leave to issues further down the line. I have spent all weekend removing all of the Wickes Trade Silk Emulsion and so am now back to the original paints on the wall. I need to repaint but I obviously don?t want to waste another weekend scraping it all off again if the walls react and bubble again. I contacted a specialist paint stockist (Brewers) who have sold me a tin of Zinsser ?Cover Stain?. I have a number of questions about this: a.) Is this the right product for the job? b.) Will the Zinsser cause problems/a reaction for future redecoration. c.) Can this Zinsser product be used with common domestic paints? Eg, can I paint over this with Silk Emulsion, Matt Emulsion Any help you can give on this subject would be much appreciated as I am at my wits end and totally behind schedule for finishing my house redecoration now!! Many Thanks
Sounds like an adhesion problem, you do not mention that you had washed the walls before painting. Wash the walls over with sugar soap and then rinse off with fresh water, this may be all that's needed, should you still have a problem Zinsser Cover Stain will be fine to use and then emulsion on top as usual. Cover stain is spirit based and will not cause any problems for future decorating, it will stabilize the surface ready for you finish emulsion. Open the windows for ventilation.
Sorry Puma but I have to disagree. I too believe this to be an adhesion problem ie one of the previous coats has not adhered properly, not simply the current emulsion leaving bubbles when rolling out
Yep you right there Stinknugget - sorry didn't read it through properly. Agree with Astra. But personally think that unless the OP has a carbon filter mask they should not be rolling spirit based inside. I would go back and swap it for something like water based Zinsser Virtually Odourless, but they'll have to ask them to order it in.
Did you ever solve this problem? I have the same problem trying to paint over purple emulsion with white silk. The 3 walls which were previously lilac are ok, the fourth (a darkish purple) has come up in thousands of tiny bubbles. If you managed to apply a coat of paint successfully, I would love to know what you did! Many thanks Jackie
Hi I would use dulux grip primer instead, don't use zinsser stain block in case you have to do some extra filling, you might end up with paches on walls. you should use zinsser only on surfaces that are ready for top coating. heard of people using cheap oil based undercoat in such cases but have never tried it myself http://fsdecorators.co.uk
When the previous layer of paint bubbles and peels away from the plaster it is usually because the first decorator didnt seal the plaster before applying the emulsion. What happens is the plaster sucks all the moisture out of the paint before it has time to adhere. It can help if you brush your emulsion on rather than roll it, this helps by not peeling the old paint off with the roller. You can paint over the top of any of the zinssers range, but a stain block is not required here, you need a stabilizer. First scrape all the loose paint off, sand back, coat with a stabilizer, fill, sand and coat. The stabilizer will act to seal the plaster too. You can use an oil based stabilizer or a product called SBR, this is water based but very effective.
Hi don;t no if you have sorted your problem yet, but i have come across this a few times in the past and i have managed to rectify the issue by using a hot air gun and holding it about 12 in from paint and as the silk paint gets warm you are able to break the surface with a scraper and the paint will peel away like a strechy skin, rub your hand onto bare plaster, if you get a dusty or powdery residue on your hands then the initial problem is that the plaster was never sealed and that the silk paint was aplied straight from the tin and this has led to the paint siting on the surface of the plaster as oposed to being absorbed into it , it may have helped if the paint had been thined with water first, but i would have sealed the plaster using a plaster sealer or stabalizing solution
Preparations are essential! First, you should vacuum the room and wash the walls with warm water using a sponge or a paper towel. Tape off the ceiling and then prime the walls. Use a grey primer, if you are going to use a light-coloured covering. Just be sure to match the paint shade. Hope this works! Good luck.
Forums
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube
Instagram
Shop