Painting horror - interior wall.

[Steven L Umbach]

Much to my objections my wife and daughter thought it would be cool to paint one of her bedroom walls deep dark red. Before I knew what was going on she went to the HI store and bought some Pittsburg Paint that was apparently branded just for them because Pittsburg Paint does not show it on their website but the "guy" told her it was their best stuff they carried at the store and my believes anyone but me. My wife also bought some white primer and rolled it on the wall before deciding that I should finish the job.

Just to start off I want to say that I have done a LOT of interior painting in the past and never had a problem and never had to put on more then two coats of anything but our colors were all in the neutral color range.

Well I started to roll this stuff on and it was like painting waxed paper. I got done and it looked like crap with some places locking light and others dark but their was nothing more I could do until it dried and applied another coat. I came back a while later and much to my horror there were more than a few places where this stuff ran and globbed down and in spots. Now it looks really bad. I have never seen anything like that before and when I roll paint I don't glob it on but put on a consistent medium coat and closely examine my job as I go along in the light at an angle to look for problem areas like too heavy application so I can smooth it out. Interestingly she bought the same exact paint brand in a medium brown color and it went on fine?? Another thing about the red stuff is that it took me forever to stir and shake to get it to be one color.

Has anyone else experienced anything like that. Do you think the paint may have been defective or that when they mixed it at the store they did something wrong such as using wrong materials or wrong quantities?? At this point I am going to go and get some Benjamin Moore or Pratt and Lambert in a close color, in a non custom color if possible and paint until the color looks consistent at least. I don't know what to do about the paint that ran and dried. Maybe I should try to get it off with goof off and a scraper or would that make matters worse? Any other suggestions are highly appreciated.

I have told her 100 times to buy Benjamin Moore paint but I guess that is too inconvenient for her. She always gets what the "guy" tells her is best at whatever store she is buying the paint at. Last time she got Behr at HD and I showed her how drippy it was and then she says well it was their best paint. By now you are probably saying why don't you go get the paint your self stupid ass. I would but my wife spends dozens and dozens of hours shopping for paint and can't make up her mind and then asks me what I like but then does not like what I pick out so I avoid the whole shopping end of buying paint and just do the production part. Anyhow the good news is I think she is finally going to listen to me about what brand paint to buy and where to get it at. --- Steve

[siralfred]

As the previous reply said, red pigmented paint is especially transparent and requires more coats than other colors. Even the best red paint will require extra work, but what you're describing sounds like it's defective (or is Pittsburgh as bad as I've heard?). The most important thing for red (and other dark colors), which "the guy" should have told your wife, is to use a dark primer - either gray or tinted with the red you're using. For removing the drips, scrape first - but gently - and then try to smooth with a moist sponge, rinsing often. Let dry at least 24 hrs before starting over. Try finding a paint specialist in your area and direct your better half there next time. At least "the guy" will be more likely to know what he's talking about, and selling a decent quality product. Good Luck!

[Prometheus]

It may have been partially the paint's fault, but that's a problem I've experienced almost every time I've used red, regardless of brand. I generally expect to apply 3-4 coats minium to get an even coat of that color.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 10:30:27p, Steven L Umbach wrote in alt.home.repair:

Either make your wife do it, or hire a painter and forget about it.

[Steven L Umbach]

Thanks for that info. I was not concerned about the color coverage as much as the running. I was able to get off the dries runs with a single edge razor in a glass scraper. I did not push into the dried paint but instead scraped across it at different angles and that worked pretty good since it was still soft. I am still going to get a different paint today! --- Steve

[Norminn]

You poor darling....being outnumbered by females is a dreadful fate. At least you have the good judgement to buy decent paint :o) I don't know about removing globbies....hot soapy water will remove dried latex paint, but it may make a worse mess in your situation. I would let it cure, then shave or sand down the globbies and repaint. Dark red (and some dark blue) paints are made with pigment that is rather transparent and require more coats. Where did I learn that? At the Benjamin Moore store, of course :o) Good luck. BTW, it takes us so frigging long to shop because our mates gripe so much and we want to pick out the RIGHT THING :o)

[No]

[Steve the Sauropodman]

I think it was already mentioned here, but use a tinted primer. If you're buying BM paint at an BM store they can tint the primer so its compatible with the wall color. Painted the dining room a deep terra cotta over a tinted primer. It took three coats but looks great. It also helps that my sister works for BM and I'm always getting these little helpful tidbits.

Cheers, Steve

[Joseph Meehan]

Was that white primer compatible with the paint???

[Steven L Umbach]

Thanks for that info.

I was able to remove the drips for the most part with a single edge razor blade in a holder that you use to scrape glass but instead of cutting into the drips I scraped over them at different angles.

My wife went to the Benjamin Moore paint store. The first thing the "lady" said was that we must be using Behr paint from the description. My wife said no that it was Pittsburg paint and she was surprised because she said they rarely get a complaint about Pittsburg paints. Then she said we could have gotten a bad batch or incorrectly mixed at the store where we bought it.

We got some BM primer that went on like a dream, completely covering the old mess and leaving a dark pink color. I will be trying the BM paint in a couple hours. They told my wife to expect to take up to four coats for the color we are using. --- Steve

[Steven L Umbach]

The primer was called Zinnser FastPrime 2 and it said that it for use over and under latex wall paint on drywall. Maybe my wife did not bother to shake or mix it properly?? --- Steve

[Steven L Umbach]

The primer was Zinnser FastPrime 2 from Menards which is supposed to work over or under latex paint on drywall, etc. The paint was called Pittsburg Distinction with lifetime warranty from Menards. I could not find any info about it on Pittsburg Paints website so it must be a store brand. My wife went to Benjamin Moore paint dealer and they said they rarely have complaints about Pittsburg paint. Maybe my wife did not mix the primer enough? I had a hard time mixing the paint and spent over ten minutes stirring it like a crazy man [could not find my drill stirrer]. So I am not exactly sure what happened but I was able to clean up the paint drips or "mini paint sildes" failry well and the Benjamin Moore primer went on like a dream completely covering the old mess and leaving a dark pink color. They said to expect to use at least three coats of paint over the primer for that red color. Hopefully things will go smooth from here. --- Steve

[Cindy]

Hi Steve,

I saw the exact same situation on "Weekend Warriors" on HGTV. Red wall, drippy, etc. It ended up being the paint. They returned it, got new stuff and it worked fine. Glad your wife is listening to you :-)

Cin

[Norminn]

It should be mixed immediately before use, even though it was mixed at the store.

[Prometheus]

Zinnser has always worked well for me... no compatibility issues that I've ever run across. But the thing that stuck out at me was your mention of "mini paint slides". I used to have a problem with that, if it's what I'm thinking of, and it was because of not waiting long enough for the first coat to dry to recoat, or overworking the surface by trying to touch up areas after the paint had begun to set up.

It's really worth waiting a while, even as long as an entire day, between coats. Seems simple and sometimes unneccesary, but it really makes a big difference in the finished product.

[Steven L Umbach]

Thanks for that info.

I did notice the problem right away on the first coat though I may also have applied the second coat to soon. I still think there was a problem with that particular gallon of paint. I used three coats of Benjamin Moore after using their tinted primer and it looks great now. They did suggest to give the first coat 24 hours to dry and then 8 to 24 hours for coats after that. This is the first time I have ever had problem with painting [53 years young here] and it was a good but expensive learning experience. Anyhow daughter is happy with the new look of her room and that is worth a lot more. --- Steve

[Steven L Umbach]

[Prometheus]

Yep- Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams are great products. I gave up on the cheap junk after repainting the entire interior of my house, and *then* using the good stuff at work. Difference as dramatic as night and day, to be sure!

[Cindy]

Same here, Prometheus. I've painted almost the entire interior of my house with only Sherwin Williams and love it. Their Duration line is absolutely incredible and although pricey ($40 a gallon) is worth it in busy areas of a home. I was at Big Lots the other day and saw "Long Life" paint for $4.99 a gallon and my husband and I cracked up.

Cin

[Cindy]

I always wondered what symptoms cheap paint would display and I think you just answered my question!

Cin