Asked on Sep 20, 2016

New paint is scratching off of my walls easily

Valerie Willey
by Valerie Willey

We just bought olympic paint and primer in one to repaint my daughter's walls. The walls are drywall and were painted 11 yrs ago with a semi-gloss paint. The wall paint scratches off with fingernail or the lightest touch. We have used a similar paint (valspar) to paint other walls with old semi-gloss paint and had no issues so we don't know why this is happening. Even where we had put spackle to fill holes is easily scratching off. Any advice on why the paint scratches off the wall so easily or what to do would be greatly appreciated!!


  7 answers
  • William William on Sep 20, 2016
    Could be bad paint. Also prep wasn't done. Did you wash the walls before painting? Personally, I am not a fan of paint and primer in one. Used it a few times and still needed several coats. I prefer separate prime and paint.
  • KDS KDS on Sep 21, 2016
    Is it possible that you put water-based paint over oil-based paint? That would definitely cause a problem like that!
    • Valerie Willey Valerie Willey on Sep 21, 2016
      No, the old paint was bought from Walmart 11 yrs ago and it was interior semi gloss paint. I've never this happen before. Lots of work and money down the drain and more to do 😩
  • Lyn Lyn on Sep 21, 2016
    Darn! So disappointing . Your time and money gone-poof :( All I can suggest is to contact the paint manufacturer. I had an issue with red exterior paint that just wouldn't cover up a previous colour (it was for my front door). I contacted the paint company and I was given my money back.
  • Evon Ward Evon Ward on Sep 21, 2016
    I have a wall that I painted in interior semi-gloss and that I plan to repaint in satin finish, but I plan to use Kilz as primer before I paint again. I've had experiences before that have told me to use Kilz first. It works!
    • Valerie Willey Valerie Willey on Sep 21, 2016
      Thank You Evon Ward. All my walls were semi gloss and were painted over with satin paint and primer and never had issues until I used this brand.
  • Vickie Sugden Vickie Sugden on Sep 21, 2016
    Semi gloss needs to be sanded first before you can paint over it.
    • Valerie Willey Valerie Willey on Sep 21, 2016
      Thank You Vickie Sugden. All my walls were semi gloss and were painted over with satin paint and primer and never had issues until I used this brand.
  • Crystal Meyer Griffith Crystal Meyer Griffith on Sep 21, 2016
    Or you can wipe down the old semi-gloss finish with a deglosser that is liquid and disrupts the gloss so it has some "tooth" to hang onto the new paint. If you choose to sand the walls, it would be worth the expense to get a drywall sander that connects to your vacuum.
    • Valerie Willey Valerie Willey on Sep 22, 2016
      Thank you! I wasn't award they made a deglosser. Just not understand why the paint can wouldn't have stated this on the information on the can 😩
  • Joanne Allion Joanne Allion on Jun 18, 2019

    This has also happened to me first with crown paint and this time I got the paint from Homebase must have changed he ingredients for the environment perhaps??