Repainting project but old paint is blistering

Hello paint gurus need some advice here on how to tackle my interior repaint

A little background...
House was built around 1930s with plaster walls. It's has probably been repainted a few times through out the years.

Last time I painted it was about 7 years ago and the old paint was in good condition so I rolled on latex paint and all was good. Recently I'm noticing that the paint on the ceiling are bubbling up. It's occurring in multiple places in patches and it seems like the old paint underneath is losing its bond.

So what do I do at this point? Do I have to strip the layers of paint before I apply a new layer? I'm pretty sure there's leaded and oil based paint on the walls at some point. Do I just scrape the loose stuff and prime and paint and hope the rest won't flake off?

Appreciate any advice you all can offer.

 

http://share.photobucket.com/shareprofile/indexshare.php?id=ODc1MDY=

Hope this works...here's an image of the bubbling paint

 

your photobucket link comes up invalid ??

First you need to determine why the paint is peeling. Most common cause is moisture so you need to make sure there isn't a leak. Water stains are normally darker than the surrounding paint. It's also possible that the underlying paint didn't have a good bond and the weight of additional coats of paint caused it to fail. Is the paint peeling all the way down to the plaster? In what room [s] is the ceiling paint peeling? Kitchens, baths, and laundry rms were generally painted with an oil base enamel which requires priming before top coating with latex but the rest of the house would normally have been painted with flat oil which usually doesn't need priming.

I'd scrape off the loose and skim coat those areas with joint compound. If you contain the debris and don't sand, there shouldn't be any issues with the lead coatings. While some lead paints 40 or more years ago were lead based, latex paints are not. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/pa...latex-oil.html

 

There's no signs of moisture at these areas. No discoloration what so ever.

It does look like it's going down to the plaster. The rooms are dining room and the den (tv room).

Any idea how to prevent this from occurring from other areas or do I just have to keep patching and paint these areas as they blister out?

 

When walls are that old there isn't a lot you can do other than keep in a stable environment [constant temp/humidity]

 

My 2¢ would be to scrape off what you can, make any needed repairs with joint compound, prime everything with an oil based primer (on the assumption some of the remaining paint it oil based) and then reapply your latex paint.

 

Can you recommend what type of primer I should be using? I've heard alkyd primer should be used.

 

alkyd is another name for oil base
I'd try to determine what the existing paint is before resorting to an oil primer [not that it hurts to use oil]

 

The surface layer is definitely latex since I rolled it on years ago. It was white before i rolled on another white so the paint is not separating from that. The back layer where it's blistering away from the wall is unknown since I can't pull down a chip big enough to test out. The paint chip that I pulled down, the back side is tan so it's not the paint that I rolled on that's blistering off. Should i break out a q tip or something and test the paint on the back side to see if it's latex or oil?

 

I would scrape off all the loose first, then test the paint with denatured alcohol.

 

Got the denatured alcohol and did the test. Nothing is coming off. It feels like it's plaster. If there's paint or primer on there it's on there really good behind the peeling paint chips and it's smoth to the touch.

So what do I do next? Scrap off the loose stuff, patch and prime?

 

That pretty much proves there is no latex paint where you used the denatured alcohol.

I'd scrape off what comes off easily. If you suspect the exposed low spots are too shiny or chalky for good adhesion - prime it before applying the joint compound. Once those areas are filled and sanded smooth, remove any sanding dust, prime and paint.

 

Thanks marksr..any recommendation on what primer to use? Should I go with a latex or oil based at this point. I really want the patch to stick so would it be better to prime the low areas fill it in and prime over the patch again before paint?

For the patch....Should I just go with joint compound that's use for sheet rock or go with plaster...or should I consider something different?

Thanks for your advice.

 

If any adhesion issues are suspect it's almost always better to use a solvent based primer instead of latex. Regular j/c should be fine, a setting compound like Durabond dries quicker if speed is important but it is a little harder to work with. I have no actual plaster experience so I never use it.

 

Can you recommend a solvent based primer? Safe to assume I can roll on latex paint over it right? Thanks again

 

Not sure I understand why you'd want to remove a solvent based primer [oil or pigmented shellac] The original oil base Kilz often works ok, Zinnser has several good solvent based primers as do most paint manufactures. Most any residential paint including latex can be applied over it once it dries.

 

Given the age of the dwelling, is it possible that the walls were once coated with calcimine ?

My experience includes experiences wrestling with calcimine ceilings in a home built in 1943, and the inability to get any paint to adhere permanently. Here's a decent description:

https://www.oldhouseonline.com/artic...imine-ceilings

 

I had all but forgotten about the calcimine coatings. I think we used an oil base primer first when painting over them but it's been such a long time I don't remember for sure.

 

My Wife and I had to resort to a product referred to as Cal-Coater in order to resolve that frustrating issue with the calcimine ceilings.

Here's an example of one such product still on the market:

Ox�O�Flow Cal Coater - California Paints

I think she re-did one bathroom ceiling about 5 times before we finally discovered this solution. With so much moisture in the bathroom (even with an exhaust fan), paint on that ceiling had a life expectancy of only one week or 10 days.

 

Wow...ok right now it's a few small patches. Does it all fail at the same time or does it gradually fall apart patch by patch? There's a slight chalky feel but nothing like rubbing my hands over a chalkboard.

 

I wouldn't conclude that it's calcimine; but here's an older article that purports to allow you to verify before you go through all this extra work:

How to tell if walls, ceiling are painted with calcimine - The Boston Globe