Problem with Bathroom walls...help!!?
Question:We purchased the house last year and months thereafter we found that our bathroom walls were peeling paint. By the looks of it, it appears that someone painted over oil based paint with latex paint. In addition the walls are plaster. At this point, there are rough edges where we peeled off excess paint and it only peels towards the top of the walls. How would I go about fixing this, Lowes advised to scrape off all the paint, but that is taking forever. House was built in 1952. Any other advice?? Note: Where the paint has been chipped away leaves the wall with a slight uneveness, so just painting over will still leave a line and possibly more peeling. what a nightmare!!
Answers:
Nightmare it is as far as the amount of work required. However, first fix the cause, which is moisture lingering for lack of ventilation.
Do you have an exhaust fan and use is during showers? Is is vented outdoors? Is the attic above the ceiling and is it sufficiently insulatedand vented? After those are fixed, proceed to the wall.
Not many options there. You can start by putting an overlay of 3/8 rock over all the walls and start from scratch or continue with your scraping.
A good sharp paint scraper will do wonders and finish with sander. Use a vibrating palm sander that you can cut paper for it.
Use one of the coarsest belt sander paper or floor sander paper to cut sheets for your palm sander.
Of course you can use a rotary sander with that coarse paper and make short work of it if you can live through it. Not advisable.
Paint stripper does not work well with latex. Not advisable.
Now that you have the walls well scarred, use the plaster adhesive and joint compound to refinish. Paint walls.
Pat yourself in the back and have renewed appreciation for the people that do this all the time.
Sounds bad, but there is hope..
If you scrape of what you can take a 5 gallon bucket of drywall compound ($15 @ home depot) and refloat your wall flat with a trowel in thin coates, then it can be repainted, you'll want to prime it first though. You will be able to use a waterbased paint after that because the wall will be like new again. I suggest a satin or semigloss sheen.
If you dont want the wall flat you can float it with one coat of compound and spray knckdown texture onto it, but that can be tricky without a hopper gun.
You have to get that paint off. Anything you put over it will peel also. The topcoat is only as good as whats under it. You dont have to get every little bit off if its holding tight. but any loose stuff has to go. then you sand uneven edges and also may have to still use sheetrock compound to get a smooth base. Then Prime and paint. If you dont get it perfectly smooth you can texture the wall, then prime and paint.
howdy, painter here!
just to clarify, latex can go on oil, oil cannot go on latex.
unfortunately you have to scrape all the paint off that wants to come off. if you don't it will just continue to peel. then you should prime just those spots, with a great primer (1*2*3 or benjamin moore all purpose) then after it's dry use lightweight drywall compound. only get a gallon i believe( you said it's just the top of the walls??) a five gallon bucket will last you a very long time. then fill the low spots with the compound and a joint knife. (ask the people at lowes to show you what you need and some tips on how to do it), after the mud is dry and you have sanded it, i would prime the whole bathroom with the same primer. it will help prevent the problem from happening again. then you can go ahead and repaint the room stay away from dark colors, as they can 'bleed' from your showers. a bit of work, but it will look great when your done!
lj
I'm real sorry, and know what your going through. I have the same bathroom. Our,is cracked on the wall because of water damage,than was painted over with latex paint . How unfunny for us all. But Lowe's is right. you must remove the peeling paint. You can try using a heat gun, which is made for removing paint. I really don't like going through all that mess. Maybe I'm just a little lazy. I would,and did,first correct the problem that caused the water damage, than I used a wall paint stripper, took off what I could, than I sanded down the parts,or seams where I pulled the paint off. Until smooth of course. I had to go over it with some plaster. I'm not the best plasterer there is ,and knew it wouldn't be very professional looking. So , I decided to put a pattern on the wall, using the plaster. That is the style now-a-days. First I put some concrete adhesive or Masonry adhesive on the wall, that helps the new plaster stick to the surface without falling down. Than I took a trowel, and swirled the plaster onto the wall, in circular directions. Wow! does that look great! After it dried, I used a water-sealer on it,let that dry, than a primer,and finally paint.Looks SO Good! I hope that my situation helps you out in yours. Bye
shim the walls with plaster and sand to make sure it is smooth and then paint it.
Is paint on plaster the only finish you're willing to go with? Otherwise, you can get sheets of tile or beadboard that you could install onto the wall so you'd get a finished look and not have to deal with the horrors underneath. This pops up in a lot of remodeling mags and I've seen some people do it in their own homes to good effect. The beadboard is better for a cottagey look (and you can paint it any color you please;) the tile can have a broader range of styles.
Same problem, first kill your sons and their father or ask them to sit to p$$, then sand the area down to the plaster or at least through the latex. Wash the area with vinegar water and allow to dry, hit it with KILLZ, the shellac type and paint with oil, latex has it's place and this ain't it... good luck and or aim...
ughhh what a mess frown plaster walls are difficult ; how about putting tile on walls with a mastic ?
Instead of going through all that work I would suggest priming the entire bathroom and then apply a knock down texture. Home Depot and Lowes sells texture spray in a can and it is pretty easy to use. However if the bath is larger you may want to have the texture professionally applied. Typically this would cost about $1 per sq ft of wall.
After you do the repairs needed, install a vent fan! One of the main reasons for peeling paint in a bathroom is due to moisture. If you do not remove the moisture from the room then you will have the same problems, no matter how much repair you do.
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