I tore wallpaper off in the master bathroom and fixed any holes/tears in the walls. I just put the first coat of Kilz2 on to prep the walls for painting and some of the drywall paper is bubbled! Am I rolling it on too thick? I tried thinner coats but it still seems to bubble in spots. How do I fix this and where do I go from here?? Ugh!!

 

The paper is loose or failing for some reason. A fix would be to cut the bubbles open, trim back the failed paper, mud the depression, sand, then prime. This should get you back on track.

Hope this helps.

 

I had that happen on one of the bedrooms of a duplex I was painting a while back; only difference was I was just going over paint. I pushed down the bigger blisters with my finger and the smaller ones disappeared as the paint dried.

I called Sherwin Williams tech support (even tho I wasn't using their paint at the time!) and they told me it was probably due to too many layers of inexpensive latex and suggested going over the old paint with an oil base primer and then a good quality latex.

I will be painting that same duplex the end of this month, so am going to try a small area using S-W's professional quality latex paint (Pro-Mar 200) to see if it happens again. If so, I will have to go the oil primer route. Will let you know what happens.

Bruce

 

Well, when I awoke this morning and peeked in the bathroom I noticed most all of the bubbles were gone. *WHEW* There are some spots that I may need to cut and spackle as suggested but really no big deal. I was so relieved!

I would like to put one more coat of primer on the walls before I paint...or should I just go ahead and paint the color? Are the bubbles tamed now or will they reappear with each coat of paint?

 

Without an oil primer the water in the latex could lift the drywall again but it should be less of a problem this time around. No doubt another coat of primer would be good in this case, you could spot prime the patches and paint....Mike

 

Should I make my second coat of primer an oil primer? I could cover the first coat of latex primer with a coat of oil primer (to ensure bubbles do not reappear) and then paint the latex color. Thoughts?

 

In theory it is the same as painting lining paper...If there are not bubbles to begin with then any bubbles appearing after painting should ..and normally do disapear..This is not always the case when an un primed area is cut and filled with a wet filler because the water in the filler causes the paper to bubble but then dries before the actuall bubble tightens up...If you get what I mean!!!!
So..If you wish to fill areas of drywall do as mike suggests...Spot prime(oil based) first!!

 

I'm not sure I want to spot prime as I've read it can leave inconsistencies in future coats; I've always primed the entire walls. I believe it also makes the paint color go on easier. I will just use oil primer for the second coat and let paint the latex (color) over. Thanks for all your responses.

 

Just thought I'd give you all an update on that duplex bedroom where the paint bubbled several years ago when I painted it with a cheap latex.

I just painted it again this weekend (no primer) with Sherwin Williams Pro-Mar 200 and, lo-and-behold, no bubbling at all. Yet another reason to buy good paint from the stores that only sell paint.

bruce

 

Hi Bruce. I am having the same issue as you did. I'm trying to paint the area with drywall paper plastered in after the window installment. I applied a coat of the KilZ latex multisurface primer last night and the drywall paper bubbled. I thought it was due the over-wipe problem when the tape was put in, but this morning the bubbles were gone.
I am also thinking using a second coat of oil primer so that the "bubbling" in thr tape wouldn't happen again. You said you were going to do the same, could you tell me if the bubbles didn't happen when you did that? Thanks a lot. Norin

 

Welcome to the forums norin!

How was the loose paper reapplied to the drywall? Normally it's best to either oil prime the area or prime it with Zinnser's Gardz [the only waterbased primer that will work] before applying any joint compound or latex primer/paint. That prevents the water in those products from further loosening the paper. The bubbles sometimes settle back down but there isn't any real bond with drywall where the bubbles were.

I'd cut off/out any paper that is suspect, coat the area with oil primer or Gardz and then when dry -apply the j/c. You should then be able to sand, prime and paint without any further issues.

 

Norin, welcome to the forums!

It's customary to give an award to anyone who comments on a thread that's more than 10 years old, so congratulations! Just having a bit of fun.

If you have used paper tape and joint compound, you will want to cut the bubble out of the paper with a utility knife. If this is just the drywall paper, you will still want to cut the bubble out. You should then prime with oil primer (not latex) and then you should be free to apply joint compound over the repair. The oil primer will prevent the paper from absorbing moisture and letting go of the substrate.