Peeling paint after applying primer

18 days ago

We started renovating our 1999 house that we bought last year. We decided to apply a paint primer (Dulux walls white primer and undercoat) before painting to ensure a nice uniform finish. However, after application the paint started bubbling in one small area where there was a little crack we’d missed to repair and we realised the paint was peeling off! When we started pulling we were able to peel large areas of paint as if it was wallpaper! It seems that all coats of paint are coming off, down to the bare plaster underneath… We know we have to continue peeling now until there’s no more paint and then prime the walls again and apply our top coat. We’re wondering what could have happened though… is it something we did or something that was done by the previous owners?

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Comments (6)

Isla Cherry
18 days ago
last modified: 18 days ago
It's hard to say what is the cause of the peeling paint? I would strip it all off and use a dehumidifier on it for a while. Is there any chance it could be damp? I would be tempted to rather use the Zinsser primer. It is good for all kinds of surfaces. Did the previous paint look like emulsion or did it have a slight sheen? Some people do use different finishes of paint which are not compatible with others. What room are you working on? Sometimes plaster is blown too which is a problem. Is it a solid wall rather than a stud wall?
Sonia
18 days ago
Do you have a picture of the peeling paint? Sometimes wallpaper bubbles if painted due to the moisture in the paint. It may well settle down as it dries.
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I think using egg shell on new plaster that is not quite dry may have caused this, especially if it wasn't given an undercoat designed for new plaster. I do not use egg shell any more after something similar happened in my newly plastered kitchen. After you have scraped away the flakie bits and lightly sandpapered it down use a good emulsion like Crown. . My builder suggested I open all my windows every day for at least 15 minutes to ensure a good flow of air to reduce any condensation from new plaster/paint, this has become a habit.
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Without seeing the walls it is hard to say but the way I always used to prepare a reasonable wall after stripping was to soak the wall with slightly soapy water, go over the whole surface methodically with a stripping knife then wash the wall down. Having gone over the entire wall you will have spotted anything that needs attention such as cracks or holes, fill holes vee out cracks and fill then rub down, refill if the filler has shrunk. At this stage the wall should be good enough to paint, with very old plaster sometimes it is better to size the walls and hang a lining paper to give a more regular surface after filling and sanding, I prefer to use a heavy lining paper, paint with a mist coat (very dilute) to seal it then 2 or 3 coats depending on the paint, it's colour and quality. If you need to skim it then if you are doing it yourself don't forget the surfaces will need keying in the provide something for the skim to bond to.
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Jonathan
18 days ago
I shouldn’t worry too much- it could be a mistake in the original decorating, it could be heat from a fire going up a chimney or it could be that previous owners always dried towels over a nearby radiator or it could have just been a bit musty behind a piece of furniture.

Assuming there is no obvious cause such as damp then strip off the loose flaking paint and then use a little filler to disguise jagged edges. If there is bare plaster paint firstly with a mist coat before the final coat- undercoat is good for disguising small cracks in neglected decorating and probably not necessary in a 25 year old house.
Marion Sense
Original Author
18 days ago
Thanks all!
The whole paint is coming off so we’re peeling off the whole room… 😂 there’s no wallpaper underneath, just several coats of paint. I think it must be a reaction between two different paints because the moment you find a crack and you start peeling it feels like you’re going to peel off the whole wall in one go… it’s crazy!
We had decided to put an undercoat because we wanted a blank canvas before changing colour, but I don’t think the primer is the reason for the peeling off…
Kim
18 days ago
This has happened to us in a couple of rooms - currently fixing one now. Whoever painted first in our house failed to properly mist coat the plaster...grrrr. Only came to light when we had new window board fitted and the paint (only done a couple of years prior) came off in sheets like yours. Small mercies is it came off your walls now before you have done too much. All the best with fixing it and decorating - will all come good in the end :)
Marion Sense
Original Author
18 days ago
Thanks Kim, that was my thought too. As we can peel up to the plaster it feels like the paint didn’t stick to the plaster so I thought they might not have mist coated properly… but that was 25 years (and several coats of paint) ago, it’s strange it’s happening now. Indeed we’re glad it happened before we applied the more expensive top coat but now we’re wondering about the other rooms in the house… we might do a scratch test in every room to check 😂

Peeling paint after applying primer

Comments (6)

Isla Cherry

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Peeling paint after applying primer

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Isla Cherry

Sonia

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