projects.shearerpainting.comWhy Paint Blisters, and What to Do About It - House Painting Guide

Painting Videos High Gloss Black Shop Painting Exterior Painting Exterior Surface Prep Exterior Painting | Options and Considerations Why does paint peel? Pressure Washing Fundamentals of Masking Outside Surfaces Pre-prime wood How to Prepare Outside Surfaces for Painting: Getting It Right the First Time Remove Chaulk How to Sand Inside and Outside Surfaces Sherwin Williams Resilience Outdoor Caulking Projects How to Clean Vertical Surfaces Before Applying Finish How to Clean Stained Siding with a Pressure Washer Eliminating Chalk Deposits from Exterior Surfaces How to Scrape Paint That Has Peeled or Loosened Why Does Exterior Paint Peel? Interior Painting Prep a room for painting Masking Indoor Walls How to Sand Inside the Home Six Ways That Masking is Essential to Painting Projects How to Move Furniture Safely and Efficiently Repairing and Priming Indoor Surfaces Fundamentals of Preparing a Room Getting the Rooms of Your House Ready to be Painted What’s On My Walls? Pick House Paint Colors Resources House painting cost Paint Brush Conditioning Hard Wood Species How to Minimize the Health Risks of Lead Paint Mildew and Mold: How to Stop Them Before They Start Finding a good painting contractor How to Find a Good Painting Contractor What is zero voc paint? History of Low Voc Paints House Painting Guide Why Paint Blisters, and What to Do About It By John Shearer PDCA Standards Commitee June 15, 2003 Both Professional and DIY House Painters, after a thorough prep intensive paint job Example Prep Intensive house repaint , blisters and bubbles are THE last things you want to see; but Paint peeling and blisters happen all the time; EVEN to professional painters. Latex and acrylic paint are especially prone to blistering and bubbling, a condition called surface tension, but these problems can occur with any kind of fresh paint finish. Imagine as wet paint cures it shrinks pulling on the previous paint coat. They can happen on interior or exterior surfaces, and they’re more likely to arise when preventive measures haven’t been taken. You might ask several experienced painters and you might get as many answers why paint bubbles and blisters; likewise from paint dealers and manufacturer reps. I have been a painting contractor since 1990 and I will will share my experience with old homes. Prep work makes the paint work ; house repaint Where Do Blisters and Bubbles Come From? Blistering is what happens when the top coat of paint parts ways with the coats beneath it. Sometimes the top coat can take away multiple coats of paint with it.. almost like a paint stripper!! Unfortunately, this phenomenon is nearly impossible to predict. It may appear suddenly or occur gradually, over the course of many months. Blistering is likely on a moist surface that wasn’t properly dried before it was painted. Applying paint to areas of a house that tend to be humid, like basements, requires particular care. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shearer Painting (@shearerpainting) Fine Paints of Europe Universal Primer to prevent paint bubbles Latex paint is half water (read data sheet for solids, etc) , so water from rain and some moisture on the substrate is usually not the reason for the a paint bubble, blister… Painting an exterior just before it rains can be every bit as harmful as putting paint on a wall that’s already wet. If a storm is expected, refrain from painting for a total of eight hours: the two hours preceding its arrival, and the six that follow. A humid day can lead to water-filled blisters, which must later be scraped and touched up (this is a condition more common in Houston and New Orleans.. not Seattle in summer). This is not a hard firm rule… painting must go on and reputable painting contractors must still proceed with the project; in our experience it is only once in three years that a paint coat is damaged from rain heavy enough in the four hour after period”. If a wall is unclean, do not prime or paint it. If a surface is covered in oil-based paint, it’s best to use oil, not latex, when repainting it. Mixing types of primer and paint on the same wall can lead to problems, especially on exteriors. Heat causes surfaces to expand, and latex and oil paints behave differently in that situation. Ultimately, the latex may take the oil clean off the wall. Consider that chemistry can also play a part in the formation of bubbles. In hot weather, the upper stratum of paint may dry quickly, which traps and subsequently vaporizes the paint’s solvents. The solvents, in turn, increase in volume, which creates — you guessed it — bubbles. To avoid this fate, paint in the shade whenever possible, and don’t paint at all when the temperature outside is 85 degrees Fahrenheit or above. If all else fails, a conditioner can help keep freshly applied paint from dying too quickly. Water-based paints are compatible with Flotrol, while Penitrol works with oil paints; these are commercially available paint extenders” designed to help improve paint flow for brush and roller work. Linseed oil can be used to extend drytime for solvent based finishes. Dont go crazy with extenders the performance of your paint may suffer. Thinning paint with water or mineral spirits may seem like a good idea, but it only makes things worse… often speeding up the drytime. Preparation might be the most important part of exterior painting. A surface that’s experiencing blistering or bubbling is certainly not beyond repair; scraping it and applying a new coat of paint should do the trick. That said, do not take a Band-Aid approach to persistent problems. If blistering and bubbling recur, they may not stop until you figure out what’s creating the trouble and take appropriate action. What are Paint Blisters and How to Avoid Them..On interior walls There is more to painting a house, inside or out, than choosing paint, buying paint brushes and slapping paint onto the surface of walls. Before even beginning to paint, you need to know what is already on the walls and how to prepare them for the paint. For example, if the walls are papered, especially if paper has been pasted over paper, painting the walls may well rip that paper right off the walls in chunks. Paint blisters are another real possibility if you do not correctly assess and prepare the walls before painting. There are any number of things to avoid when painting and blisters are one item to be avoided. What are Paint Blisters Blisters are caused when the newly applied paint detaches from the surface beneath for one reason or another. The blisters look rather like pox on a face and are unsightly bumps on the smooth paint surface. The blisters can be caused by heat, moisture, incompatibility and more. Here are ways you can avoid paint blisters.Clean it Up Though many do not realize it, dust and grime attaches even to the flat of a wall surface. Of course, you need to check for spider webs in corners, but it is also important to clean the entire surface you plan to paint. Dirt, stains and grime keep the paint from clinging properly to the wall. Not only is it important to clean the walls before painting, it is also important to consider what you are using to clean. You want to make sure not to leave fluids, oil or any other contaminants that might cause blistering behind on the surface before you start painting .Make Sure the Wall is Dry While you might be impatient to get that new color on the walls, do not rush into painting before making sure the wall is totally and completely dry. After cleaning the walls, give them time to dry. This will depend upon season, weather and humidity, Moisture can cause that newly painted wall to blister, leaving you frustrated.This also applies to primer. Many times, a wall needs a coat of primer before the actual paint goes on. Primer prepares the wall surface and helps paint to adhere better. However, primer needs time to cure or dry before paint is applied. Evaporation a paint drying process. If paint is put...