Large spots appearing in latex paint - with runny gunk coming out! (seriously!)

[MrC1]

I painted a large room with Behr Premium interior eggshell paint a few months ago. I didn't like the sheen of the eggshell, so I threw a coat of flat on top and it looked much better.

After about 2 months there are now light areas forming that look extremely flat (no sheen) and there are noticeable drool lines coming down from them with little droplets of goo at the end. What's going on??

The weird part is, it's only doing this on one wall. The rest of the room looks fine.

Lastly, a few notes: All walls had flat builder's paint before I painted. The walls were clean. The wall with the spots has not been exposed to anything different than the other walls. There have not been any patches made to the wall.

[m Ransley]

On an exterior wall that is cold? or interior. What kind of gunk

[xrongor]

how many coats?

was it primed first or just painted?

did you put latex over oil?

randy

[MrC1]

It was primed first, and all layers were latex. Probably a good 4-5 coats on there (went from white to a dark burgundy).

It's an outside wall, but one that is somewhat insulated with a small attic next to it. This is also in Texas, so I wouldn't think being cold would be the problem. Then again, I have no idea so I'll consider that!

The goo is almost like resin, but is clear and slightly white where it makes a bead at the end of each run. It's a bit greasy and sticky.

I'd shoot some pics, but my digicam died on me last week.

[xrongor]

hmmm... well im out of ideas...

sounds like you're going in the right direction.

randy

[Norminn]

I know that some exterior latex/acryllic paints will leak resin, but don't recall the mechanism/reason. That which I have seen was amber color, small amount. What brand/line of paint? How long between coats? Was the wall cold when you painted? Cleaned/rinsed/dried before you primed? What primer?

I would call the paint store. If you bought it at a home store, email the paint company with precise info.

[John B]

Although your claim that the drips are resinous, I can't resist asking you if you could possible be seing the effects of a water leak somewhere. Rainwater could enter the wall. Air-conditioning condensate, fresh-water leak, or sewage seepage. You might even have a bathroom countertop that has a crack in tile, allowing water to enter a wall, only to run out below. You didn't say if your house is two-story, and if your damage is downstairs or upstairs.

I might suggest you place "humidity sensors" (like paper towels with felt-pen writing on them) in various locations, to detect any unusual, or localized, humidity phenomena.

But I more suspect that your undercoating of paint, or wallboard, was contaminated with something, and it is leaching through the outer layer of paint.

[Ross Mac]

Is the exterior wood? I have seen unseasoned lumber leak sap through the paint.....Just a thought....Ross

[MrC1]

It's definitely not a water leak. This is on the second floor, nowhere near any water source (plumbing) and the spots are randomly spaced, all at about the same height on the wall (weird stuff, huh?) over a distance of about 20 feet!

I can't imagine that there was any contamination (although I understand that's really what it looks like) since it was clean, dry builders flat latex that I painted over.

[MrC1]

it was primed with Behr Premium primer and then painted (after a few days of curing time) with Behr Premium interior enamel. Coats dried over night. It was approx 75-78*F when painting.

At least I now have heard that resin CAN leak out of paint. I never knew that. The weirdest part now is the fact that it doesn't appear to be contamination-related, BUT all the spots are in about the same height on the wall over a long distance. Spacing of the spots appears to be random though.

[Norminn]

clipped

Sounds pretty weird - is this more than one wall? Along a taped joint? Surface, as well as the room, was over 50 degrees? Did you do some patching prior to the primer? A wild guess would be that four coats might require more dry time than just one or two, didn't stir the paint sufficiently each time, or that you primed over uncured patching compound.

[Suzie-Q]

-> I painted a large room with Behr Premium interior eggshell paint a few

-> months ago. I didn't like the sheen of the eggshell, so I threw a coat of

-> flat on top and it looked much better.

->

-> After about 2 months there are now light areas forming that look extremely

-> flat (no sheen) and there are noticeable drool lines coming down from them

-> with little droplets of goo at the end. What's going on??

->

-> The weird part is, it's only doing this on one wall. The rest of the room

-> looks fine.

->

-> Lastly, a few notes: All walls had flat builder's paint before I painted.

-> The walls were clean. The wall with the spots has not been exposed to

-> anything different than the other walls. There have not been any patches

-> made to the wall.

Call the Jesuits. You need an exorcism.

[Noozer]

Are you sure the kids havent been tossing their food at the wall?

Anyone in the house with a REALLY bad cold?

[MrC1]

The "exterior" to this wall is actually an attic space, so this wouldn't be possible.

[John B]

What's wrong with putting latex over oil? If the undercoat were to leach through the outercoat, what difference would it matter what kind of outer coat was used? Latex is surely as impervious as any oil-based outercoat.

I just think the OP has defective paint somewhere. It should be stripped, or the wallboard replaced.

[Matt]

The wall has VD. Paint it with Penicillin for 2 weeks. Very important not to stop painting it after 1 week.

[Duane Bozarth]

John B wrote: ...top posting fixed...

Far more likely defective preparation or mismatched products (top coat over a product not compatible, not cleaned properly, not primed properly, etc.)

Latex over oil isn't recommended for many. There are oil-based primers for use under either oil or latex topcoats, but that's not universally true.

Latex typically is as impervious as oil. Some latex enamels may be close.

As another poster has noted, there's almost nothing that can be generalized about a paint , likewise there's not very much that can be completely generalized about "oil-based" vs "latex-based" other than the solvent/water cleanup. There's just too much difference between various products to make all-encompassing generalizations.

[Duane Bozarth]

MrC1 wrote: ...

Sounds to me like there was something on the wall that wasn't compatible w/ the paint. I'd follow up w/ Behr and see if they have any suggestions regarding cause based on appearance and your prep and product used.

I'm thinking I'd wait a while and see what develops. If it stays constrained in the one area I'd almost wager there was something either drug along or hung on the wall at sometime that left a residue. Now that it's repainted it may well require taking it back to bare wall to get it cleaned up and re-prep'ed.

[1_Patriotic_Guy]

[Duane Bozarth]

...

The restriction to a horizontal line doesn't sound like a trapped moisture problem to me...that would tend to be much more generally located, imo.

Like so often, would be interesting to know what final resolution turns out to be, but OP will probably never return to tell... :(