How to Fix the Most Common Paint Problems Around the Home

When you add a coat or two of paint to your home, you expect that paint to stick there and for that to be that. But life isn't always that easy, as sometimes the paint will peel, blister, or even chip off. So how do you fix some of the most common paint problems you'll find around the house? If that's the question you're asking yourself this weekend, you've come to the right article:

Problem: Paint blistering. What does paint blistering look like? Like skin blisters, except not (necessarily) red. Blistering paint will have bumps that pop up, and this can be caused by a number of problems, such as trapped water vapor underneath the paint. You can't simply paint over this problem, so how do you fix it?

Solution: Start over. If the cause of the paint blistering is coming from inside the house, you'll want to fix that. But when it comes to the pain itself, you'll likely have to start over - scrap the paint off, re-sand the surface, and re-paint the area using the same method you did around the rest of the area. Let the paint dry and re-evaluate the entire area in a few weeks.

Problem: Paint is "chalking," spreading to areas underneath the paint in what looks like chalk. Paint that "chalks" has a layer of what looks like chalk appear on it, also affecting other areas that you don't want covered in what appears to be paint powder. Chalking is a problem that often comes from lower-quality paint, and you might see it if you used a contractor.

Solutions: You'll have to fix the paint itself, or else the area will simply continue chalking and you'll need to keep cleaning the effected area. In order to do this, you'll want to do as much as you can to replace the paint job - remember that chalk would be considered debris like any other paint job. Apply a layer of higher-quality latex paint after washing and rinsing the chalking off, and then clean the affect areas (such as masonry walls including bricks) with specialized cleaners that are designed for those areas.

Problem: Paint "sagging" or running makes the paint look like old skin. Forgive the image, but "sagging" is an ugly way for your paint to settle anyway. Here's how to fix it.

Solution: Sand over the effected area - where there will typically be an area of excess paint - and repaint over that area.

Photo credits: Photos by Mavis

This post involves:

blister, blistering, bricks, chalk, debris, latex paint, masonry walls, paint job, paint powder, paint problems, quality latex, quality paint, skin blisters, water vapor

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Handyman, How to Fix, paint

Posted by Fix Handyman on December 1, 2009 in Handyman, How to Fix, paint. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.