Emulsion Paint gone off?

[firsttimetom]

Hi,

I finished some painting last night with a tin of Dulux Matt Emulsion paint that is about 2 months old.

I opened the tin, and there was a layer of water on the top - I have had this before, just mixed it in and all was fine. I was cooking at the time and painting in the adjacent room and now and again I got a funny waft of something, but wasn't too worried.

Anyway, we sit down and eat our tea and watch England. 2nd half and we are on edge as you just know that when England are 1 up they usually bloe it. The smell of food disappears and a foul smell takes its place and we keep getting whiffs of it. The girlfriend is having a good sniff of my feet, but they are fresh in comparison. I manage to trace it to the wall I have painted, which is still just wet, but smells. I open the tin and nearly throw up, it stinks.

How do I proceed from here? Shall I recoat in some fresh stuff and hope it covers the smell? I really don't want to strip the wall off - I only did that last week as the previous owners had not prepped it properly adn the old paint was coming off as I was rollering over it.

Any advice is gratefully received.

 

[dcdec]

It shouldn't normally go off in a couple of months although storage could affect it. The other thing is it could have been old stock from wherever you bought it. There should be a batch number on the lid, make a note of it and ring dulux technical.

There was an issue with crown paint stinking and without reading the article again i think the bods reckon its some kind of problem that happens in X amount of homes and its not the paint, so theoretically it could happen with dulux as well, here's a link anyway

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/05/crown_paints.html

 

[dcdec]

Just to add, i wouldn't do anything until you've spoken to Dulux as they may if they feel at fault send you vouchers and advise you on the course of action

 

[firsttimetom]

Thanks for your reply.

It is definitely the paint that is off rather than the wall - I just opened up the tin and I was nearly sick - that is no over exaggeration, it stank, I was gagging.

I actually have 3 tins of this colour, it is a colour in their 'hints' range which I imagine is popular, so would have fast turnover. I have 1 2.5l which I bought from a local retailer, it is in a white tin. There is a little bit of paint left, but not enough, this smells fine.

Then there is a 5l tub in one of the new black '25% recycled tins' purchased from B & Q. This is 3 months old. This one really stinks, this is the one I have just opened above and was nearly sick. This is about 1/4 full.

Then there is a second 5l tub also in a 'recycled tub', this is 2 months old and was the one I originally posted about, this one smells but not as bad as the 3 month old tub.

All 3 tubs have different batch numbers.

All these tins have been kept in my paint cupboard which is in the middle of the house. I have just opened up the other 13 tins of paint which I have in there - I have a 5l soft stone which was mixed into a metal tin last November which we are yet to touch and this smells fine - it certainly hasn't been frost bittne. There are then other 5l'w with about 1/4 in, which are fine, 1l tins which are fine and tester pots which are all fine.

It's most bizarre, I am going to get in touch with Dulux now and see what they say.

Between the 3 tins I have enough left to finish the job (1 small wall, which is what I started, and then one bigger wall, which i was going to mix the 3 together and finish), so if they would be prepared to give me vouchers for a 2.5l I would be more than happy, as long as there is no lasting smell from the wall I have done.

 

[dcdec]

So if i've got this right you have a tin from a local retailer thats fine and then two 5l tubs from B&Q that smell but have different batch numbers. This could put the blame at B&Q as they often store gear outside and its possible its been in stock a long time. Dulux will be able to trace the batch numbers so do have a chat to them.

By the way always get the same batch numbers as there can be variations in shade of the same colour from different batches

 

[firsttimetom]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply - yes you have understood that right.

I have spoken to Dulux this morning - very helpful chap on the phone who is going to send me a voucher for another 5 litres, which is very good of them.

My other problem is how do I proceed with this wall, the chap on the phone couldn't help with that.

Its in our main living room and I have taken all the paint tins outside and am getting a waft now and again, so it must be coming from the wall. It's probably going to be a week before I get the voucher, the paint and am ready to finish off, but I want to try and get rid of the smell if I can. Do you think a couple of coats of good emulsion will cover it, or should I put on a coat of oil based undercoat first to try and seal the smell in. My understanding of water based paints like emulsion is that they are 'breathable' so could allow the smell to find its way through - I may be wrong in my thinking though.

 

[dcdec]

Zinsser have some products, i'm pretty sure coverstain seals in odours.

 

[Megalo]

Hi FTT,

It's interesting as I have had a very similar experience with some Dulux Natural Calico Matt paint. I bought two 'tins' of 5 litres from B&Q - the first was fine, no problem. The second, for use as the final coat, when I opened it I instantly thought it smelt a little strange - sour/bitter really. Still, I mixed it up and noticed it was a bit thicker than the last tin - even the bubbles weren't coming out of the paint which were in there since I had shaken it before opening.

Still, being an idiot, I thought it was just me and proceeded to roller it onto a wall. I then googled smelly paint and gave Dulux a call. Spoke to a really nice chap who talked through the options and told me to leave it until it was dry and call back.

Called back and told him the smell was still present and he didn't question sending me out a voucher for some Diamond Matt and a sealant called Seal Block. I have yet to receive the voucher but was told I can pick them up at my local Dulux Trade Counter. In the mean time, he told me to light sand paper the wall which I did - kinda messy but the thinking behind it was to release as much of the smell into the atmosphere. I'm currently sat here, knowing that the smell has partly gone and contemplating just painting over it again with a different tin of paint which doesn't have the odour.

This new tin of paint, I got as I went back to B&Q to swap what remained for a new can. They agreed it didn't smell like paint, and to cut a long story short, went through 15 cans of the paint in B&Q to find one which was fine. Out of the 15 we went through, only 1 or 2 were fine. The other 13 had ammonia on the top and some stank, and you didn't even need to sniff, just open the lid (smelt of rotten eggs). It seems to me this stock of cans had been exposed to the air and turned.

What did you end up doing in the end? Did you seal it off and then apply a couple of coats or did you just paint over it again?

Thanks

 

[neilstowe]

Opened a can of paint today only to find a thick chalky mass with a 2-3 inch layer of water on top , which had been sat for several years. Wondering how to mix this concoction i grabbed the plasterers whisk and worked away. the paint looked great so i carried on and painted my hallway.
Well the next day there was a horrible smell, on par with, well,,, ****. right through the hallway and straight away i knew it was the paint.
After pondering over it for a while i decided that it was the water which had separated from the solids and had been sat around for years had gone bad.

So! note to ones self...if you find emulsion paint separated; drain the water and replace with fresh.

Hope this anwsers the question

 

[Jugs]

Same happened to me.So does anyone know how to get rid of the smell?

Opened a can of paint today only to find a thick chalky mass with a 2-3 inch layer of water on top , which had been sat for several years. Wondering how to mix this concoction i grabbed the plasterers whisk and worked away. the paint looked great so i carried on and painted my hallway.
Well the next day there was a horrible smell, on par with, well,,, s**t. right through the hallway and straight away i knew it was the paint.
After pondering over it for a while i decided that it was the water which had separated from the solids and had been sat around for years had gone bad.

So! note to ones self...if you find emulsion paint separated; drain the water and replace with fresh.

Hope this anwsers the question