bubbles in paint

[Dumbo]

If you still owe that painter some money tell him you'll pay off when the bubbles disappear. I've never seen that happen, but I don't know everything...

[Konyoman]

We just had a few rooms painted and I noticed that there are several bubbles in the paint... The painter told us to leave them as they will be absorbed into the wall.

Is this true or will he need to sand them, putty and re-paint?

[User Example]

It depends... I have seen some flatten out. Time will tell.

[George E. Cawthon]

You mean like little craters, where a bubble was but then it popped? If so, no they aren't going into any wall, they will just sit there. If you mean big round paint blobs, then who know, but don't count on them being absorbed or when they do it will look like hell.

[siralfred]

What kind of paint? Flat latex? And did you or the painter make repairs with some kind of plaster compound before painting? How big are the bubbles?

Bubbles in latex paint are usually caused by painting over plaster or joint compound that isn't thouroughly set or dry. Whether or not they are absorbed to a point that is satisfactory to you depends on the paint. If you still owe this guy a final payment hold on to it until you're happy with the way your walls look.

[RicodJour]

Also my experience with painting over green plaster. I'd go a step further. Latex paint dries quickly. Once the air under the bubble leaks out, what's to glue the paint back down to the wall itself? Nothing. It will be a skin stretched over a bare spot. Nothing good will come of it.

R

[Ken]

Well, I can offer one anecdote:

I painted the bedroom, rolled on latex, and everything looked fine. Maybe a half hour later, small bubbles started forming everywhere in the still tacky paint. Ohmygosh! Catastrophe! I tried popping a couple of the bubbles, but that just seemed to make it worse. Not knowing what to do, I left the room to sulk at the prospect of having to strip the paint off the walls of the entire room. Next morning, all the bubbles were gone, and everything looked fine. Paint was still in fine shape when we moved out of the house about 6 years later. I have no idea what happened then, but when the same thing happened to me years later in one small spot on the ceiling I was painting, I just left it alone and everything was fine.

Ken

[FACE]

I won't claim to be overly experienced here but I have found that if painting is done when it is too hot, the flatteners in the paint have no chance to work since it dries so fast. That usually applies to visible brush strokes being left, which I have gotten in the house before. But if the paint is shaken, not stirred, (hat tip to Bond there) I suppose you could get bubbles the same way.

I know this applies to polyurethane, though that is a completely different type of paint.

(Outside, I try not to paint at much over 80 degrees or in direct sun -- which was been difficult outside in July. On the winter end , I don't paint at under 50 degrees. )

FACE

[G Henslee]

Following that, how much did he sue your inept ass for?

[Amun]

Just helped out a guy painting a few months back who had the same problem. House was a "builders special" ten years old, but still had only the original paint.

In some spots as the new paint was going on with a roller it raised areas of the old paint about 6 sq inches into big bubbles, without tearing the paint some peeled off and wrapped around the roller

rolling the paint very slowly kept the old paint from tearing off, but it still bubbled.

Some went down and looks not to bad, but still can be easily lifted, as nothing is holding but the skin to the paint around it. (it will tear/peel the first time someone brushes it hard)

Some never went down and we had to sand, level, and repaint.

When I looked the original paint where it came off completely, it was simply put right over the drywall and there was no primer at all.

of course the walls always had sanding marks in the paint, and in sidelighting you could see every joint, but the owner just never cared to complain, or gave up.

It's not really the fault of your painter, but poor wall preparation/painting years ago, that is just showing up now.

While the paint is fresh it will should be easy to fix and match though.

Is your house still covered under any "builder/new home warranty" you may be able to get some help if it was never done right. As the only long term solution may be to strip everything to the drywall and start again.

Or you can just live with patching every once in a while.

AMUN

[Dumbo]

... and they lived happy ever after?