How to stop peeling paint
by
Patb
+6
My house was built in 1920. I have tried to keep as much of the character as possible. I have painted the walls, after stripping the wallpaper, at least once. In my new update I decided to paint the walls again. The old paint appears to be peeling. It is an out side wall but no evidence of any moisture on the brick surface outside. I have attempted to scrape the paint but it is tedious. Is there a reason that it is peeling? Are there any easier ways to peel the surface to get ready for painting? I do have wall paper in the back of my mind if all else fails. :-)
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Did you prime the wall first? Even though it may not show moisture outside, I think I would have the wall checked with a moisture meter to be sure it isn't migrating into the wall. I'm sure you have plaster walls rather than sheetrock and there could be moisture within the plaster.
If the paint is peeling, either the wall was not primed properly or their is moisture getting in some how. Bricks are porous and you may not see any color change when they get wet. There is a product you can spray on bricks to make them waterproof and it will not change the color of the bricks.
You do not say if this is a bathroom wall where steam from the shower may cause paint to peel.
Is the house settling? Are there any cracks that may cause the paint to peel?
You sorta have to be a detective at this point.
Yes, you have to scrape all the loose paint. If it leaves the wall uneven, either sand or use drywall mud to smooth over where you scraped the paint off. Then prime with a primer - Because you have a problem, use a primer, not a paint with a primer in it.
good luck.
Talk to a paint expert at a good paint store like Sherwin Williams or Porter.
Did you prep the walls? There's probably glue residue or you can't can't paint latex over oil based paints so check to see if that might be your issue.
Another thought. This is almost for sure a moisture issue. Could there possibly be a roof leak?
Thank you for the responses. I will start to check into the suggestions this weekend and report the results when I have them.
It's possible to have a leak that just drops inside of the wall. If it were closer to winter I would suspect that your new roof may not have proper membrane to prevent ice dams pushing moisture under the shingles. I've seen water stains on wallpaper from this, but then if that was the case you should see water stains too.