6 Common Mistakes that House Painters Make

Whether you are tackling the paint job yourself or you’ve hired a professional, common, recurrent mistakes are made on projects that we are hired to correct. In this blog, I will detail the most common issues we face because of a paint job gone bad.

First of all, let me state clearly that mistakes are made by hard working painters and homeowners alike that are not intentional and most mistakes can be corrected. Sometimes things are missed because of oversight, other times there are issues that aren’t apparent until the job is done. Let’s look at some of the more glaring issues.

The lines aren’t straight. Painting is a skilled trade and I’ve seen painters with 20 years’ experience that still haven’t learned to paint a straight line. There’s also an art to taping off, and if you’ve ever painted for yourself, you know the frustration of the paint bleeding underneath the tape.

The solution is to hire a professional to repaint the straight lines. Choose a company that has a great reputation for clean lines and you won’t be disappointed next time. The simple act of straightening up the lines can make a difference like night and day on how your final product looks.

The paint is peeling. The three prevalent reasons that paint peels is a.) inter-coat adhesion failure, b.) moisture or c.) lack of appropriate prep or primer. Let’s look at these three causes separately:

Inter-coat Adhesion; inter-coat adhesion is a problem caused by two paint products not bonding. Most of you have heard that you cannot apply latex paint over oil without the proper prep. If waterborne paint is applied directly to oil based paint without sanding and/or the correct primer, it will peel. If you apply a low sheen over a glossy paint without sanding, it will peel.

When the paint does not bond, it peels off easily. This is inter-coat adhesion failure and it can be time consuming and expensive to fix. In some cases, a light sanding and bonding primer applied with a high quality paint will correct the issue; however, in the worst cases, the paint will need to be completely stripped.

Moisture; if the paint is bubbling and blistering then moisture is most likely causing the issue. This is very common with older siding. You may not see moisture, but condensation in the substrate can be causing the paint to blister and peel. Also, moisture intrusion in the house or places that are not properly ventilated can have problems with paint failure due to moisture.

Paint will not fix a moisture problem; the cause of the moisture needs to be addressed. Once you have addressed the root of the problem, then a good primer and two coats of quality paint will take care of the paint failure.

Lack of appropriate primer; if the correct primer is not used, problems can occur. You could be dealing with the paint not properly adhering to the substrate, inter-coat adhesion and/or tannin bleed. If you apply paint to bare wood, it will not stick. Most wood requires an oil based primer. MDF requires an oil based primer as well. If you prime MDF with a water based primer, you will definitely have moisture issues because the water in the primer will penetrate the substrate. If you have a glossy surface, then I recommend a bonding primer. Also, cedar and other wood products require an oil based primer to block the tannins. Tannic acids are the oils that bleed out of certain woods, especially cedar, mahogany, redwood, fir and pine that cause a yellowish-brown stain in the paint; more prominent with light colors.

Paint drips and splatters; nothing is more frustrating than cleaning up drips and splatters from a freshly finished paint job. It doesn’t take long for paint to dry and if paint lands on certain fabrics and belongings, you may never fully remove the paint. Once, we were hired to take over a paint job because the previous painters did not cover anything while painting and got paint on the homeowner’s antique cello, of all things! While painting, accidents can happen; after all, it is humans performing the tasks, but you should NEVER have paint slopped on your surroundings because someone didn’t take the time to tape off and cover everything.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Avoid the worries of having to clean up dried paint by making sure EVERYTHING is covered with plastic, paper and drop cloths. It takes a bit of time in the beginning, but saves a huge headache in the end.

Lack of prep; if the surface you are painting is not properly prepped, all sorts of problems can ensue. Prep work includes cleaning the surfaces, sanding, and caulking, filling holes, wall repairs, primer and taping among other various steps required for a fine finish. This can be tedious, time consuming and cost extra labor; or it may cut into your personal time if you are attacking the project yourself. But, if you are anything like me and appreciate a beautiful paint job that lasts then it’s worth the extra effort or expense to have the job done right the first time.

My advice? Don’t skimp on prep work!

If you’ve found yourself at the end of paint job and you aren’t satisfied with the workmanship, you may need a professional opinion. As always, we are only a phone call away!

Happy painting!

Nancy