Painting dilemma?

Question

Sorry for the length of the question, but I need to explain it and hope for a good answer.

I had recently painted my Kitchen wall with premium latex paint over and old latex that I even primed before putting the new coat.
I even washed the wall before priming it.

For unknown reasons, the new coat did not stick. In some places it could be peeled off like a piece of plastic.

About two weeks have passed, last night I decided to get to it and peel off the whole thing and redo it. But, now it seems to be stiking much better.

But still anywhere I scratch, I can peel off a little bit of the paint. Actually peel off.

Is that the new these new Enamel paints are and expected to be, or am I going to have problem if I do not remove them all first.

Answer 1

Are you sure your old paint was latex? Did the new primer come off with the new paint? Or just the paint?
This sounds VERY Typical from an application of Latex painted on oil-based enamel.
You should wash walls (kitchens are problematic) with some TSP in water solution, dry. Then some light sanding.
If you are not sure what the paint is on the wall is then you should Prime it with "KILLZ" brand of sealer/primer. This allows you to apply latex to whatever,
NOTHIN' Beats Elbow Grease.

Answer 2

I've been painting for 40 years, you don't state what is/was the finish prior to painting over,,,IE: gloss/enamel/ semi gloss/ latex, etc.

Curing,,etc,, is NOT an issue!!! Latex needs no more than 48 hours to be scrubbable.

I cannot imagine anyone using enamels indoors any more, certainly not glosses of any substance. There are so many QUALITY satins available that work.

Your problem is in the old finish and the prep for the new. Silly Q maybe, but why would you "scratch"? Any paint will be capable of degradation.

I suggest you determine the old substance, and though it will be labor intensive, re do the job. At the very least, scuff up th old to allow better adhesion.

I'll give you an example. I do this for a living, and one of my clients is a school. Before I began with them they painted every Fire door with enamel. Now they ask that latex be applied in cleanup and patch. The latex will never adhere well enough to the enamel, and will always be subject to constant abrasions, etc.

Job security for me certainly, but a redundant waste of effort as well.

Rev. Steven

Answer 3

If there has been a fair amount of smoke in the kitchen this could be one of the reasons. I'd recommend taking some soapy water and a scouring pad and clean the walls first and let them dry before painting. Any soot on the walls, even if it doesn't look like there's soot can cause the paint not to stick. I didn't know about this till the person cutting my hair told me about how she had that problem and her dad, a painter told her what it was.

Answer 4

It sounds to me like that paint never really had a chance to "set", or cure... Is there a lot of moisture in your home?

The walls that you put it on, are they brick? or drywall?

Is there a lot of moisture comeing from the outside, into the house that way, thus the paint never really set up right?

You may have gotten a bad batch, or the primer wasnt really worth a hoot, and it didnt set right.

You should NOT be able to peel, or scrape off the paint after two weeks...maybe the first few hours, but after that, the "skin" cures and the paint should adhere properly to the wall...

I would take the paint back to where you got it and explain it to them and see what they say...

I wish you well..

Jesse