Paint job is "patchy"

[Scott]

After having great success painting the bedroom a couple moths ago, I decided to paint the livingroom this weekend. I used a different paint brand this time (Glidden, a custom color mixed at Home Depot), and stated with laying down a coat of primer on the drywall. A couple hours later I went to paint the walls with the paint I had bought, but to my dismay the finish looks "patchy." There are patches on the wall where the paint is darker, patches where it is lighter, and it's very noticeable and looks very unappealing.

What causes the paint to end up like this? I applied the paint using a

9" roller, and, I believe, applied the paint evenly. Used the same technique I used when painting the bedroom, but this time the results were far from satisfactory. I am contemplating trying a second coat of paint tonight - will that help?

Am I screwed here? I'm not looking forward to repriming and repainting with a different brand, but I'm afraid that's the path I might have to take. Any suggestions or explanations as to why this paint job ended up so dismally?

TIA

[Doug Kanter]

1) Same primer as before? What kind?

2) You painted 2 hours after priming? I don't care WHAT the directions say. I would've given it a day, and that assumes low humidity. At this time of the year in many parts of the country, it's not quite cold enough for the heat to run regularly, but not warm enough to have the windows open. If it's been cloudy & damp, that means generally clammy air.

3) I don't know where Glidden ranks, in terms of quality, but I know it's not junk. A second coat ought to do it, assuming there's nothing evil going on underneath. It sounds like there isn't.

In the future, find a dealer for Martin-Senour paint. Seriously good stuff. Barring any odd conditions, you'll only need to paint once.

[curmudgeon]

Hard to tell what you're talking about when you apparently use the terms primer and paint interchangably.

[Scott]

Yes, Kilz2 Primer/Sealer

I take that back, I've not had much sleep this weekend and misspoke. Here's what I did:

-- On Saturday morning I prepped (moved furniture, laid dropclothes, etc.). Sat. afternoon I primed the walls and ceilings

-- On Sunday morning I painted the ceiliing with Behr Premium Swiss Coffee Flat, then ran some errands

-- Sunday afternoon/evening, I painted the walls with the Glidden paint.

The ceiling turned out fine, the walls are really patchy. I think what I'll try is a second coat on one of the walls tonight or tomorrow, and see if that evens it out. Barring that, I guess I'll reprime and repaint.

[Scott]

Where did I interchangeably use these terms?

Here's a rundown of what I did:

-- On Saturday morning I prepped (moved furniture, laid dropclothes, etc.). Sat. afternoon I primed the walls and ceilings

-- On Sunday morning I painted the ceiliing with Behr Premium Swiss Coffee Flat, then ran some errands

-- Sunday afternoon/evening, I painted the walls with the Glidden paint.

TIA

curmudge> Hard to tell what you're talking about when you apparently use the terms

[Doug Kanter]

My primary experience with Kilz was years ago when the product's claim to fame was that it was especially good at hiding stains which insisted on bleeding through normal primers. Now, they've got other products. My girlfriend primed our kitchen with Kilz because that's what the Highly Trained Paint Expert at Home Depot told her to use. Even when mixed, it seemed pretty thin, and it didn't cover well.

I commandeered the project (because I'm impatient), and we continued with Martin-Senour paint, after she re-primed the walls again. The next room will be done with MS primer, not Kilz. I'd strongly suggest that in the future, you open the yellow pages and find a store whose only business is paint. The really good stuff isn't that much more expensive, especially when you take into account that you may have to paint twice with the cheap stuff.

My only other thought is whether your walls were clean when you painted. Air movement can exist in odd patterns in a house, and stuff like cooking effluents & cigarette smoke can leave deposits in an uneven fashion.

[Scott]

Doug, thanks for your reply.

I whiped them down on Sat during prep with a sponge and a little soapy water. It's not like the patchiness is located in one spot. It's everywhere. On all four walls, on the stairs leading up from the living room, on the banister, etc.

It's like there are dark rectangles and light rectangles. It's really disappointing.

I'll definitely go with more upscale paint moving forward. Hopefully the 2nd coat will even out these disparities, but we'll see.

Thanks again.

[Norminn]

It doesn't hide stains. It seals them in. Two coats.

Not supposed to COVER. It is to seal stuff and make the paint stick. That is why you put paint on top of it. Depending on how the old coating absorbs, primers may be absorbed irregularly and need two coats to make the paint go on evenly. That's what the guy with the paintbrush said, even before we told him to do only one coat of primer.

[Doug Kanter]

Right, but we're talking about two different products: I'm referring to the Kilz product that was common when I first tried it 15 years ago. You seem to be talking (correctly) about OTHER more common primers, in general.

[Kyle Boatright]

How many coats did you apply? I've been painting a bunch recently, and simply can't get *good* coverage with one coat, regardless of paint brand. My one coat jobs would be OK if I was selling the house (i.e. they look OK from 5' ), but they are not good enough for me to live with for 5 or more years.

Also, from another response you made, I saw that you used Behr paints on part of the job. Was this the Home Depot version of Behr? If so, count on 2 coats, because that is a cheap paint with a good brand label on it...

KB

[Fogbank]

all i can figure is that there may have been some sort of substance on your walls in the areas that it's showing through thats coming through the primer. give it a second coat and see what happens. if it is a flat, pearl or satin finish it should dry out evenly if applied well. another cause could be cold spots if it's on an exterior wall. sometimes the studs will "show through" as alomost a shadow - this is typical for oler homes will little wall insullation.

[ares]

I thought Glidden was pretty crappy paint. Behr premium plus seems a little better than that. I think it's the paint. Ace Premium paint was very good and I hear Sherwin williams is great stuff. ares

[newfy.1]

Did you paint a dark color by any chance? Sometimes with dark colors like reds and dark blues you need up to three coats.

JennP.

[Scott]

Jenn, it was a medium brown color. In any event, I decided to hell with it, and reprimed the entire surface last night after picking up some Berh Premium paint in a different, lighter color. Planning on painting

*again* tonight, hopefully it comes out! :-)

[Scott]

We had only done one coat at the time. It's wasn't ok from 5' away - it was pretty horrid 10' away. I contemplated doing another coat, but decided to hell with it, and reprimed last night after picking up some higher quality paint in a lighter shade.

Yeah, picked up from Home Depot. I don't mind two coats of paint - it's what I've done before. The paint job that was really patchy, though, was Glidden from Home Depot. Not recommended.

[Scott]

The walls were interior walls (save 1), and the home is 20 years old. It was really patchy all over the place, at various heights. There was no logical pattern, as I would assume so if studs were causing the problem. Also, the insulation is pretty good, I think. I live in Southern California, so it's not like it's needed for the weather, but the noise in the adjoining unit is non-existant through the walls, even if they're raising holy hell.

[Doug Kanter]

Consumer Reports did a thorough test of house paints a while back. I don't recall the results, but you can subscribe to a month's access to the web site for about seven bucks, and download & print the report. Might be worthwhile if you have a lot more painting to do.

[Scott]

For those following this thread, the end resolution was that I reprimed the walls and repainted with Berh Premium paint. The Berh paint exhibited none of the patchiness that was painfully evident with Glidden.

That's the last time I ever use Glidden!

Thanks to everyone who responded....

Scott wrote: