We all know how even a tiny ding on a newly painted wall can make us cringe, and rightly so. No one likes imperfections, especially when it comes to painting one’s house. To help house owners get rid of the typical paint problems, we’ve prepared a list of the most common painting problems along with tips to get rid of them.

Peeling

Peeling paints is a common sight in most houses, caused by improper prep and poor paint application. Additionally, the excessive moisture makes things worse. If you’re encountering paint peeling problems in your home, you need to improve interior ventilation to control your house’s moisture content. Exhaust fans and wall vents can help you in enhancing interior ventilation.

For exterior wall paint peeling problems, you have to remove the peeling paint by sanding. Follow it with cleaning and priming steps, and then apply a fresh paint coat. You can choose a vibrant exterior wall colour combination when applying a new paint coat for enhanced aesthetics.

Blistering

Ever found small bubbles emerging from a fairly new painted wall? These tiny bubbles are also known as blistering or bubbling. These are caused by either heat or moisture or both in exterior and interior wall paints. For example, painting on overly hot surfaces and moisture passing through interior house walls can be responsible for bubbling. For the latter option, using wall waterproofing solutions might help.

Additionally, you can burst a few paint bubbles to identify whether the underlying blistering cause is heat or moisture. Identifying it will help you take the necessary course of action. If the bubbles only affect the previous paint coat, it implies the underlying causing factor is heat. You can fix it by removing the underlying paint, primer and then using sand to smooth the wall surface. Once done, clean the area, apply a good prime, and repaint with your favorite color. Make sure the surface where you’re painting is below 90º F.

If the bubbles have affected several coats of paints and bursting those leads to a bare substrate, it implies blistering is caused due to moisture. You have to look after the plumbing issues, increase ventilation, and replace caulking in such cases. Once done, remove all the paint bubbles, sand smooth, clean, and apply a good quality prime before finally repainting the wall surface.

Cracking, Flaking, & Clumping

 Vein-like lines are common on most exterior and interior walls. Caused by insufficient surface prep and application of overly-thin paint layers, the light vein-like lines tend to become dry, jagged flakes over a period of time. Applying paint with a rigid or heavy hand can also contribute to cracking, flaking, and clumping when the applied coat of extra thick paint results in a clumpy, swollen look.

If the surface is full of cracks, flakes, and clumps, you may have to repaint the entire surface. Else, you can repair the area where cracks or flakes are visible. First, begin removing the cracked or flaky paint using a good scarper, wire brush, or chemical application. You can also use a good quality heat gun if you have one. Once done, sand the area, feather the edges, clean, and prime the surface. You can then reapply the paint. Just be sure not to apply an overly thin or overly thick layer.

You can either fix these common painting problems yourself or hire a professional to save time. To avoid taking risk, it will be best to let a professional do it for you. He can also give you additional tips to keep the paint as good as new for an extended period, depending on your wall conditions.