Peeling paint/bubbles in some spots on ceiling during painting
#1
01-05-14, 12:48 PM
Peeling paint/bubbles in some spots on ceiling during painting
Hello all,
I just repainted my living room and had no issues. In the dining room I just finished painting the ceiling with one coat primer and two coats and noticed some bubbling after applying the paint. When I poked the bubbles with my fingernail it appeared the previously painted surface bubbled. I did not see any bubbles after the primer was applied. After sanding I cleaned the dust using a damp sponge. I sanded the bubbled spots (bubbles formed in a half dozen locations). I applied another coat of paint and noticed some bubbles form in some places again. After the paint dried a day I scraped the bubble and tried applying joint compound. When I applied joint compound the whole layer of paint around where I applied the joint compound loosened up and I was able to scrape it off the ceiling. A couple of pictures are attached. I didn't get to paint the dining room ceiling until a month after primer was applied. A day or two passed in between paint coats on the ceiling. Overall the ceiling looks great but I have to fix these spots. Any idea on whats going on?
Products used:
Spackle - Sheetrock green/blue top joint compound
Primer - Sherwin Williams Harmony
Paint Ceiling - Sherwin Williams Harmony Flat
Paint Walls - Sherwin Williams Duration Matte
Conditions:
Indoor temperature between 60-70 degrees F
Indoor humidity in the 20%-25% range
Heating type - Baseboard radiant
I just repainted my living room and had no issues. In the dining room I just finished painting the ceiling with one coat primer and two coats and noticed some bubbling after applying the paint. When I poked the bubbles with my fingernail it appeared the previously painted surface bubbled. I did not see any bubbles after the primer was applied. After sanding I cleaned the dust using a damp sponge. I sanded the bubbled spots (bubbles formed in a half dozen locations). I applied another coat of paint and noticed some bubbles form in some places again. After the paint dried a day I scraped the bubble and tried applying joint compound. When I applied joint compound the whole layer of paint around where I applied the joint compound loosened up and I was able to scrape it off the ceiling. A couple of pictures are attached. I didn't get to paint the dining room ceiling until a month after primer was applied. A day or two passed in between paint coats on the ceiling. Overall the ceiling looks great but I have to fix these spots. Any idea on whats going on?
Products used:
Spackle - Sheetrock green/blue top joint compound
Primer - Sherwin Williams Harmony
Paint Ceiling - Sherwin Williams Harmony Flat
Paint Walls - Sherwin Williams Duration Matte
Conditions:
Indoor temperature between 60-70 degrees F
Indoor humidity in the 20%-25% range
Heating type - Baseboard radiant
#2
01-05-14, 01:21 PM
How old is your house? what is above the ceiling?
The 2 main reasons for interior paint to peel are latex paint applied over old oil base paint and moisture coming thru the drywall/plaster.
Obviously, the more loose stuff you remove, the better chance you have of the repair lasting.
The 2 main reasons for interior paint to peel are latex paint applied over old oil base paint and moisture coming thru the drywall/plaster.
Obviously, the more loose stuff you remove, the better chance you have of the repair lasting.
#3
01-05-14, 01:29 PM
The house was built in 1970. The room above is a bedroom. There have not been any spills or anything in the room above.
How would you go about repairing these spots? The paint got loose after I hit it with joint compount. I was thinking to scrape, sand the area, clean it, spackle it again, prime it, and spot paint it. Do you think it will stand out? I'd rather not hit the whole ceiling a third time. I'm also worried that if I do the ceiling again some more bubbles will appear causing the process to repeat again.
How would you go about repairing these spots? The paint got loose after I hit it with joint compount. I was thinking to scrape, sand the area, clean it, spackle it again, prime it, and spot paint it. Do you think it will stand out? I'd rather not hit the whole ceiling a third time. I'm also worried that if I do the ceiling again some more bubbles will appear causing the process to repeat again.
#4
01-05-14, 01:37 PM
It's not likely your ceiling was painted with oil base paint so I'm thinking that maybe drywall sanding dust was left on the ceiling and painted over. Time and gravity likely made it turn loose 
Since the paint job is recent it shouldn't be an issue to just touch up the repair. The biggest task will be getting the texture right. A difference in the texture of the repair is more likely to show than a miniscule color/sheen difference in the paint. After you get the repair level with the rest, I'd suggest taking an aerosol can of orange peel texture to try and duplicate the existing texture, it shouldn't take much.
More than once I've had texture peel on a repaint and did a good job of scraping, patching and texturing only to have the surrounding texture come loose when I painted
Those types of issues mostly happen in bath rms with unpainted texture 
I wish you luck!
Since the paint job is recent it shouldn't be an issue to just touch up the repair. The biggest task will be getting the texture right. A difference in the texture of the repair is more likely to show than a miniscule color/sheen difference in the paint. After you get the repair level with the rest, I'd suggest taking an aerosol can of orange peel texture to try and duplicate the existing texture, it shouldn't take much.
More than once I've had texture peel on a repaint and did a good job of scraping, patching and texturing only to have the surrounding texture come loose when I painted
Those types of issues mostly happen in bath rms with unpainted texture 
I wish you luck!
#5
01-05-14, 01:40 PM
Member
I'd drop the can light fixture and see what is lurking above the area. It is acting like several things - Moisture in the sheetrock, Or there is a previous patch that is powdery and interfering with adhesion or that it is a plaster ceiling that has begun to delaminate. You can check with a moisture meter if you have one, but that ceiling fixture sure looks like a remodel can that you can pull down to investigate what is going on in the ceiling cavity.
#6
01-05-14, 03:51 PM
I do have a moisture meter... good idea I will try it.
It is a drywall ceiling. I've seen in that ceiling before and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I've painted a lot of rooms before with a variety of paints and have never had this happen before.
It is a drywall ceiling. I've seen in that ceiling before and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I've painted a lot of rooms before with a variety of paints and have never had this happen before.
#7
01-06-14, 03:35 AM
Something has caused the underlying paint to loose it's bond with the drywall. After awhile, time or the weight of the paint pulls it loose. Contamination, wrong paint or moisture are almost always the cause. If there isn't any moisture [and often moisture will be evident by staining] it was probably improper prep by the 1st painter.
#8
01-11-14, 04:54 PM
I did a little spackling to hide the areas that I scrapped. There are some small bubbles appearing again I will just keep on scraping and spackling and painting until its good.
I have another question for you guys. The dining room was primed a couple of months ago. I did some spackling a week ago and spot primed. Do I need to lightly sand the walls since most of the primed surface has cured for a couple of months or is it ok for me to paint right over it? Thanks all.
I have another question for you guys. The dining room was primed a couple of months ago. I did some spackling a week ago and spot primed. Do I need to lightly sand the walls since most of the primed surface has cured for a couple of months or is it ok for me to paint right over it? Thanks all.
#10
02-09-14, 06:02 PM
The walls are finished and look great so now I am getting ready to work on the ceiling again. I have been using a flat white paint before for the ceiling. Does ceiling paint look similar to flat white paint? I don't want to brush the edges again just paint the ceiling with a roller after I fix the issues.
#11
02-10-14, 03:55 AM
I normally use wall paint on the ceilings as it's normally a little better grade of paint. Ceiling paints tend to be a little flatter [sheen wise] than flat wall paint - makes painting the ceiling a little more forgiving.
Are you painting the whole ceiling or just touching it up? Touch up must be made with the same paint the ceiling was coated with and then if much time has passed since the original paint was applied - it might still show.
Are you painting the whole ceiling or just touching it up? Touch up must be made with the same paint the ceiling was coated with and then if much time has passed since the original paint was applied - it might still show.
