Replies

1. 
   DanH | Jun 16, 2012 01:55pm | #1

   But you didn't wipe before the first coat?

2. 
   DanH | Jun 16, 2012 03:49pm | #2

   Probably oil paint, possibly applied at one point to cover some water stains.

3. 
   JimB | Jun 17, 2012 08:17am | #3

   Sounds like there is something on the surface that is preventing

   good adherence.  That could be a previous paint coat, as Dan points out, but could also be just about anything oily.  You could try priming the areas with a good sealer (e.g., BIN) before attempting to repair and paint.

4. 
   DanH | Jun 17, 2012 08:44am | #4

   Understand that as any paint dries it changes shape slightly, either expanding or contracting.  If the adhesion to the previous coat is sufficient then this change in shape doesn't cause a problem, but with insufficient adhesion there can be problems.

   In your case likely the first coat was poorly adhered to the original paint.  Adhesion is fairly good as the paint is drying, but weakens once it dries, then improves over the next few days as the paint cures.  So the first coat went on OK, but you likely applied the second coat just at the time when adhesion of the first was at it's poorest, and the stress of the second coat caused the first coat to separate.  This effect was amplified since moisture from the second coat worked through the uncured first coat and further weakened the adhesion of the first coat.

   So the two things you can do are 1) use a primer that will improve adhesion, and 2) wait longer (perhaps 3 days) between coats, so that the first coat will be better cured. 

1. 
   netrate | Jun 17, 2012 04:40pm | #5

   Yes, I think it is a combination of things.  The paint underneath - which the previous owner had done - was an oil based paint and he did a lackluster job (I know I shouldn't criticise because I am a novice, but really,  it wasn't very good).

   So here are the 2 issues I am now stuck with.

   1) The rest of the ceiling has one coat of latex on it.  I haven't tried putting another coat on it yet for fear of the same thing happening.  So I am willing to wait a few days and see if it cures as Dan suggested above.

   2) The real problem - where the paint blistered and bubbled (about 1.5 feet by 1 foot area) has no paint on it at all - and looks really bad because the rest of the ceiling has 1 coat of paint on it.  So it looks like an uneven square as been cut out of the ceiling.  I tried to patch it with CGC compound around the edges and feather it out to make it look smooth, but alas, working on the ceiling isn't the ideal way for my body to contort to do this.  So I tried putting Latex primer on the 1.5  X 1 foot area last night.  It doesn't look good.  So I am trying to figure out a way to fix it.

1. 
   MarkH | Jun 17, 2012 07:24pm | #6

   You migt be able to mix some drywall compound and paint together and roll it on. I would experiment on a small area where there were problems before to test the outcome.  The combination may camouflage the existing surface enough to hide it after repainting the ceiling.