Wall paint bubbling up - how to remove

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About 18 months ago when I first moved into ny house I painted one room with dulux silk. The paint already on the wall was matt. 3 of the 4 walls were no problem at all, but one bubbled up badly, it was as if the paint just wouldn't stick to it.

Wishful thinking I thought it might dry out and the air bubbles would go but they didn't and I'm only now looking at sorting it. When the heating's on and especially when drying clothes in that room, the air bubbles get worse, like a teenager breaking out in acne! (see pics)

I've resigned myself to the fact that the paint is going to have to be stripped off the wall but how? I've read elsewhere about using a sanding pole or even an orbital sander but what do you guys recommend? And once sanded, what would be the procedure for repainting successfully? The house is a 1980's build, the wall in question is a downstairs load baring wall so it's a proper wall not a drywall.

 
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I suppose finding out the cause could be useful first.

That's a lot of bubbles.

Can you remember if there was anything on the wall before you painted?

For example, sugar soap solution that wasn't cleaned off properly?

You will need to scrape the bubbles and any loose paint off first. And fine surface filler over to make the surface even.

Possibly an oil based undercoat over the blemishes to seal anything that's causing these bubbles.
 
I suppose finding out the cause could be useful first.

That's a lot of bubbles.

Can you remember if there was anything on the wall before you painted?

For example, sugar soap solution that wasn't cleaned off properly?

You will need to scrape the bubbles and any loose paint off first. And fine surface filler over to make the surface even.

Possibly an oil based undercoat over the blemishes to seal anything that's causing these bubbles.

Sparkwright, thanks for the response. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the wall before I painted it. As I say, the other 3 walls have caused no problems.

All of the paint is going to have to come off. I won't be able to just sand off the bubbles, the reason being, you can 'push' the bubbles about to some extent, particularly when the wall is warm. Plus, bubbles crop up anywhere and everywhere! It's like the paint hasn't really adhered to the wall at all. So.... any tips of stripping the whole wall of paint would be appreciated.
 
Hello,
Bubbles can form on a freshly painted surface shortly after you've painted, while the wall is still tacky, or days later. Bubbles (or blisters) indicate a problem with the bond between the paint and the painted surface, most commonly caused by dirt or dust that's behind the new or older layers of paint
What to do if paint bubbles pop-up?
If paint blisters do appear, don't touch them. Give the wall time to completely dry and cure before addressing the problem by scraping, patching, sanding, cleaning and repainting.
 
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I had the same experience several months ago. I just put some patching plaster on the spot. Before you paint, just sand with sand paper on a sanding block.
 
The wall is dry alright. I did it over a year and a half ago!

Basically I need to get the whole layer of paint off the wall. Bubbles are appearing anywhere and everywhere so just sanding each one off is a fruitless task. Am I looking at sanding the whole lot? Paintstripper? Can it be peeled off at all with heat/moisture?
 
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All of the paint is going to have to come off. I won't be able to just sand off the bubbles, .

Sure you will, just get a cork sanding block and some 40 grit paper and some elbow grease. The 40 grit will chew those bubbles off in a jiffy provided you're not afraid of a bit of work.

I think those bubbles are due to damp in the wall. I say that because the previous emulsion gives a porous finish whereas the silk paint is impervious so the moisture has to 'push' the paint off. The fact it gets worse when you dry the washing in there should tell you something.....

I'd sand off the worst of it and go back to a matt emulsion IIWY
 
Do not prime/paint the wall if it's unclean. If the surface is covered with oil-based paint, you better use oil. Heat expands surfaces. Latex and oil paints behave differently. The latex may take the oil clean off the wall.
 
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All of the paint is going to have to come off. I won't be able to just sand off the bubbles, .

Sure you will, just get a cork sanding block and some 40 grit paper and some elbow grease. The 40 grit will chew those bubbles off in a jiffy provided you're not afraid of a bit of work.

I think those bubbles are due to damp in the wall. I say that because the previous emulsion gives a porous finish whereas the silk paint is impervious so the moisture has to 'push' the paint off. The fact it gets worse when you dry the washing in there should tell you something.....

I'd sand off the worst of it and go back to a matt emulsion IIWY

You reckon I could do the whole wall with a cork sanding block and some 40 grit paper? It's about 3 metres wide and 2.4 tall, and I gave the wall a couple of coats so there's a lot of paint to sand off. Wouldn't I drown in the dust?

I agree damp must be getting into the wall somehow, drying washing, steam from the kitchen too I guess. I just can't see why it's this one (interior wall) that's a problem and the others (mix of interior and exterior) are fine.
 
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You reckon I could do the whole wall with a cork sanding block and some 40 grit paper? It's about 3 metres wide and 2.4 tall, and I gave the wall a couple of coats so there's a lot of paint to sand off. Wouldn't I drown in the dust?

.

Well I'm not sure I'd not be taking every scrap of paint off, maybe just sand the bubbles and 'key' the rest?

I guess a decent random orbit sander with a vacuum hose may be an option.
 
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You reckon I could do the whole wall with a cork sanding block and some 40 grit paper? It's about 3 metres wide and 2.4 tall, and I gave the wall a couple of coats so there's a lot of paint to sand off. Wouldn't I drown in the dust?

.

Well I'm not sure I'd not be taking every scrap of paint off, maybe just sand the bubbles and 'key' the rest?

I guess a decent random orbit sander with a vacuum hose may be an option.

The bubbles keep appearing all over the place though, which is why sanding the current bubbles is a waste of time as they'll only appear elsewhere.
 
But maybe they won't if you 'key' the paint with the 40 grit?

There's only one way to find out I guess.....
 
From http://www.dulux.co.uk/help-advice/fixing-problems/

Cause

This may be due to any of the following factors:

Moisture trapped beneath the surface of the paint film.
If the paint is applied over a powdery or friable surface.
Surface contamination such as dirt, oil, and grease.
Polish residues on the surface, which impair the adhesion of the paint.
Excessive movement of the substrate, such as joints, imposing stress on the paint film which can result in cracking which in turn lets in moisture, ultimately resulting in a flaking paint film.
Resins present in knots causing light coloured paints to discolour or even flake. Resin bleed and flaking is a common problem where dark colours are used on south facing elevations. This is because dark colours absorb more heat than light colours.
Putting it right

All loose material will have to be removed back to a firm edge, spot primed with the appropriate Dulux Primer, and then recoated with the appropriate product. If large areas are involved it will be best to totally strip the surface back to a bare surface and start again.

Also http://questions.house-painting-info.com/category/peeling-and-cracking-paint.html#.Ut7WMhDFLcs
 
Cheers, I like their advice on 'remove loose material back to a firm edge' without any advice on how to achieve it.

And what's this primer paint? Is it very thick?
 

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