Wall problems

Peeling or blistering paint

Paint flakes off, blisters or comes away with tape. Painting over it just repeats the problem: whatever is loose has to come off.

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How to recognise it

  • Flakes lifting, especially on bathroom ceilings, outside walls and window frames.
  • Blisters that squash under a finger, sometimes with water or powder inside.
  • Paint that comes off on masking tape.
  • Old layers showing underneath.

Where it comes from

  • Moisture behind the paint: bathrooms, leaks, efflorescence.
  • Paint put on over dust, grease or limewash, without primer.
  • Paints that don't go together, for example gloss over emulsion, or emulsion over limewash.
  • Too many old layers that no longer hold.
  • Painting while the wall was still damp or in strong sun.

What the painter does

  1. Scrape

    Everything loose comes off, back to paint that holds firmly.

  2. Feather the edges

    So the step between bare wall and old paint doesn't show.

  3. Fill and level

    Where holes or dips are left. If it is the whole wall, it gets a skim coat.

  4. Primer or stabiliser

    So the new paint bonds to the surface.

  5. The right paint for the place

    Two coats of paint made for outdoors, bathrooms, wood or metal, as needed.

What it adds to the job

  • Scraping and preparation is often the slowest part: on a badly peeling wall it can take longer than the painting.
  • If whole walls need a skim coat, that is separate work and should be its own line on the quote.
  • On the quote, look for: preparation or scraping, primer or stabiliser, and whether a skim coat is included.

Photos that help the painter

One close up of the lifting paint and one of the whole wall, to show how much is loose.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just paint over it?

Not over anything loose: the new paint sticks to the old layer and comes off with it. Everything that lifts has to come off first.

What is a skim coat?

A thin layer of filler over the whole wall to make it smooth, when there are too many holes and dips to repair one by one. It takes more time and material and should be its own line on the quote.

Get quotes with this problem already noted

The request opens with "Peeling paint" chosen as the wall condition and a note for the painters. You can change anything.

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