Old 1920 home with old paint


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Old 11-28-18, 08:42 AM
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Old 1920 home with old paint

Hi, so we recently bought a older home and as we were trying to patch the holes on the wall we realized that the paint was peeling. It peeled so easy the we could stick our arm in elbows deep and peel that paint. We then ran into and issue where it only peels every other "area" and we think the owner prior had some crazy pattern or something. The other areas are really hard to peel and we really rather not use chemicals and the walls are also plaster so I don't know if that will mess the walls up. I attached a picture as its really hard to explain what they had going on. You can see that the owners tried to cover everything in white and the white paint only stuck on certain areas. The areas it did stick on well was where there was a red color under but the red still shows a little.

So my question is what is the best way to fix this room for some fresh new paint and fixing the holes? (Oh this pattern goes to the ceiling and we think they wanted it to look like a circus tent where the ceiling goes red then white and meet in the center where the light is.)

Thank you for all your help and input.
 
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Old 11-28-18, 09:13 AM
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Welcome to the forums!

That is a strange pattern, could it be wallpaper still on the wall ??
The peeling paint is likely latex but the original paint was probably lead based. Lead based paint is always oil base although not all oil base was lead paint - Is My Paint Latex Or Oil? those instructions will let you determine if it's oil base. Sending a sample to a lab is the only way to know if it's lead based.

Skimming the affected areas with joint compound will level the wall out but we need to know what you are dealing with first.
 
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Old 11-28-18, 11:52 AM
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I feel for ya'. Our home was built the same year. We've had to deal with multiple layers of paint and wallpapers. Some pretty sad style choices too.
I think whatever you can't scrape off with a good tool, you'll have to use a stripper on. There are several safe products out there. It's not so convenient this time of year because you won't want to leave windows open for ventilation.
Some people say to overlay a thin layer of sheetrock but I hate that idea.
 
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Old 11-28-18, 02:31 PM
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I can't see using a stripper on sheetrock. Scraping what's loose and skim coating smooth with joint compound would be standard practice.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 06:23 AM
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marksr- So in your opinion, depending if it is oil base or not will dictate how I go about fixing the solution? If it is what would be the steps or what about if its not oil base? I'm working on getting that figured out. Thank you for your input and feedback.

Viriliter_Agite- When you used the stripper which kind did you use and then how did you deal with the lead base paint? And did the stripper not mess up the plaster at all?

stickshift- The walls are plaster so I don't know if using a stripper will be a good idea or not.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 06:38 AM
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Ideally you'd sand the walls a little [to rough it for better adhesion] prior to apply joint compound but you do not want to sand lead based paint.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 06:46 AM
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marksr-What joint compound would you recommend?
 
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Old 11-29-18, 06:47 AM
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Any joint compound will work, the green lid all purpose j/c has the best adhesion properties.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 07:13 AM
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NewHomeowner3 -
"Viriliter_Agite- When you used the stripper which kind did you use and then how did you deal with the lead base paint? And did the stripper not mess up the plaster at all?"

I did not use one. A scraper, a wallpaper perforator and some wallpaper adhesive remover was all I needed. Then some mud to repair the gouges. Like you. I have plaster walls, not sheetrock. I was just wanting to say there are some strippers out there that are safe for humans and pets if you want to go that route.

*I'm new to this DIY board. Other boards I am on have a respond-with-quote so it's clear which post I am responding to.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by marksr
Any joint compound will work, the green lid all purpose j/c has the best adhesion properties.
Oh okay, thank you marksr, and once that is done then prime and paint right? Sorry this is all so new to me and this is one of my first big projects in our new home.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 08:14 AM
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Yep. prep work is the most important part of a paint job. The final coat will show flaws in your work.
Some paints include primer but I'm not sold on them yet. I see more advantage to priming, looking for flaws, touchup and then final paint.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 08:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Viriliter_Agite
NewHomeowner3 -
"Viriliter_Agite- When you used the stripper which kind did you use and then how did you deal with the lead base paint? And did the stripper not mess up the plaster at all?"

I did not use one. A scraper, a wallpaper perforator and some wallpaper adhesive remover was all I needed. Then some mud to repair the gouges. Like you. I have plaster walls, not sheetrock. I was just wanting to say there are some strippers out there that are safe for humans and pets if you want to go that route.

*I'm new to this DIY board. Other boards I am on have a respond-with-quote so it's clear which post I am responding to.
Once you did that, did you hand or did you jump straight to the paint? Or did you use primer first? I don't think my case is wall paper. I think the paint only stuck in certain areas so I don't know what to do with the paint that is really stuck on. Do I just paint over that?
 
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Old 11-29-18, 08:58 AM
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If you can blend it in with sandpaper with the rest of the wall it should be ready to prime. For depressions or other other imperfections you may need a local skim coat of mud. You can't put it on thick or it will crack when it dries. Larger fills need to be done in multiple coats of mud.
 
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Old 11-29-18, 10:14 AM
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Oh okay that makes sense. In-between the colors that prior owners you can tell that there is a little line bulging out, so would it be best to sand it a little, fill holes, get if I need to skim then prime and paint?
 
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Old 11-29-18, 11:03 AM
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That's in in a nutshell. In my experience.
Good luck!
 
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Old 11-29-18, 01:03 PM
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Paint doesn't always sand well so often it's beneficial to apply a thin layer of j/c to smooth out the transition. Joint compound often needs sanding and the dust removed prior to priming.
 
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Old 11-30-18, 06:08 AM
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Offering my two cents, the old green paint is oil-based and the tan and white layers, probably, water based or latex based paint. They do not bond without a coat of primer that can be oil-based but, could be latex if it is quality paint like Benjamin Moore Fresh Start. The label directions will tell you if the primer can be used over oil-based sub-coats. Without applying that first, spackle and finish paint will not bond to the blue paint and your problems will continue in the future. I would recommend scraping the wall with a 4" wide razor blade edge. Werner makes one but there are others. https://www.amazon.com/Warner-Blade-...SIN=B000I1VE7E
They can be found at H.D. I have found that scraping the high spots, rather than sanding is less labor intensive. With use, you'll find the correct angle where the scraper meets the wall. Also, when scraping, use a dust mask as the older paint is, more than likely, lead based. When scraping, attack using a slight arching or circular motion rather than pushing the blade straight towards the imperfections. This will "slice" them off providing a clean shave and preventing gouges in the plaster.
 
 

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