Paint flaking on soffit - why ??

I carried out some painting a couple of years ago on the outside of my house, windows, facias soffits etc. The paint on the wooden windows and facias is still as good as new but the paint on the soffits has all pealed badly and looks a complete mess.

I recall when I carried out the painting that the material of the soffit was not wood, more like a light grey asbestos type material (though i'm positive it's not asbestos as the house is only 8 years old and asbestos would not have been used).

My question is why do you think this has happened, after all one would think that the underside would not take the full brunt of the weather and would last longer than the windows/facias. How can I remidy this, I know I have to get the ladders out and rub down completely the soffit but is there some special sealant I should have used ?? - any help would be much appreciated.

scrape off loose paint.stabilise with pva or conventional stabiliser.float out any ridges with filler and spot these with pva.paint as usual.easy

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:45 pm Post Subject: Paint flaking on soffit - why ??

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I carried out some painting a couple of years ago on the outside of my house, windows, facias soffits etc. The paint on the wooden windows and facias is still as good as new but the paint on the soffits has all pealed badly and looks a complete mess.

I recall when I carried out the painting that the material of the soffit was not wood, more like a light grey asbestos type material (though i'm positive it's not asbestos as the house is only 8 years old and asbestos would not have been used).

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Sounds like the alternative to asbestos = Asbestolux (safe) Sometimes it's left bare. Asbestolux like the old asbestos is highly alkaline and should be primed with an alkali resisting primer if you want it glossed. Otherwise the alkaline salts cant breathe theough the oil based paints and will push the paint off. However we use an acrylic paint aka weathershield masonry paint, first coat thinned as it's thirsty like plaster. I get quite a lot of this.. grrrrr. I just scrape off the loose and touch in bare spots with masonry paint followed by another coat of masonry.. Though if you prefer it gloss, it's ok to undercoat and gloss ontop of the weathershield.
Might be an idea to leave it a bit longer before you rectify, then a bit more may have come off on it's own
good luck .