How to Keep Paint From Bubbling
After spending hours across a few days painting your Toronto home, the last thing you want is for your paint to start bubbling a few weeks, or even days later. Paint begins to lift from the surface and reveal air or moisture bubbles beneath the surface. This is caused by a lack of adhesion between the paint and the wall. It looks bad on new walls and can be a pain to get rid of. Here’s a list of reasons why paint bubbles and how to avoid them.
Why Do Paint Bubbles Form?
- Painted during high humidity
- Oil based paint on top of latex
- Surface not primed correctly
Steps To Take To Stop Paint From Bubbling
1.Paint when it is not hot or humid in the room
Try to paint on a surface that isn't exposed to drastically different temperatures and moisture conditions. If that isn't possible, paint on a day where the conditions have been consistently drier and mild.
2.Make sure your surface is dry and clean
Dry and clean surfaces are less likely to bubble. Make sure your wall doesn't have any removable stains before you break out that priming layer, gently wash away and dirt from the walls. A freshly washed wall is not good to paint on either. instead, wait for the wall to be dry completely before adding your first coat
3.Fill any holes that may attract moisture with joint compound
Any cracks in your surface may attract moisture and facilitate bubbling. Seal these up with a joint compound and head to the next step.
4.Prime walls with latex primer
Latex primer will allow your paint layer to adhere to the walls much better than other primers, and make your paint job long lasting. Ensure your primer is completely dry before adding your first layer of paint.
5.Don't expose your fresh paint job to moisture
Introducing your fresh paint job to moisture like that from a humidifier or steam will make the paint bubble as the moisture is drawn to the surface of your walls. You may add a dehumidifier at this point, to rooms where you can’t avoid humidity.
I Still Have Bubbles, Now What?
If you still experience paint bubbles, you will need to scrape them off, sand the area down, reprime, and repaint. If that doesn't solve the problem, look for the source of moisture, seal it up, and try again.
Quick Tips
- Use high quality paints
- Use the right tools
- Have patience
- For specific concerns talk to the Monarch Paint experts
Painting should be fun, spice up your room with a fresh coat. Let the experts at Monarch Paints help you pick out the right materials to jazz up your space!