Paint peeling off coving in bathroom

[emmaamme]

I'm in a 3 year old house & over the last few months the paint on the coving in the en suite bathroom has been peeling mostly just on 2 sections of the wall by the shower & window. I tried dulux bathroom paint which lasted for a wee while then it started again. After a bit of research I used zinsser peel stop then zinsser perma white paint which I thought had nailed it but it's started peeling again.
We do everything such as opening window during shower then leaving it open for hours until room dries out & leaving extractor fan on for 20 mins after shower but doesn't help.
The tiles only go up as far as the coving so even if we removed it there would be a gap.
Wondering if we should get someone in to remove it, lower ceiling by 5 or 6 inches & put pvc panelling in? Is there any potential problems with this or does anyone have any other solutions? Happening to a lesser extent in main bathroom too (room is a lot bigger).
Thanks.

 

[blup]

Try sanding it so the paint adheres more easily.

However it might be a more fundamental problem with condensation, or its efficient extraction.

Blup

 

[Burnerman]

Hi Emma, hope alls good with you!
Keying the existing paint as Blup says is vital - that alone should prevent most of the peeling which is, of course largely due to moisture.
At this time of year I keep the bathroom window shut, to avoid the blast of -7 degree air we have had of late and rely on the extractor alone. I also have a fan heater blowing through the open door just now which helps......but there again I’m soft I run the extractor for 20 mins after.
Lowering the ceiling isn’t such a bad idea so long as you insulate the void above but PVC cladding is notorious for holding condensation as its non absorbent so I wouldn’t use it.....others may differ.
Is your extractor fan in a suitable position, do you think? Not that it’s particularly simple to do something about it!
John

 

[emmaamme]

Hi John, all good here thanks. Hope you're doing well too & nice to hear from you again.
The fan is central to the room (which is quite small anyway) so think it's positioning is probably fine.
With regards to pvc holding condensation do you mean on the surface of it?

 

[Burnerman]

Yes, that’s about it really.....many surfaces have a degree of absorbency but sadly that doesn’t apply to PVC so unless it’s really warm moisture is sure to collect on it.
I suspect the fan is maybe dispersing steam or whatever but ideally they need to draw air in through a gap (open door) and that air is pulled across the room to exit high up on a wall.....in this way they extract as much moisture as possible.
It will help to squeegee or wipe the walls of the cubicle when you’re done.....any remaining water will evaporate and add to the moisture content of the room, but you probably do that anyway.
John

 

[emmaamme]

Thanks John, just a pain how it starts peeling again every few days. I've just been sanding down the peeled bits then reapplying peel stop & then the perma white paint. Not sure if that's for the best or not.

 

[Burnerman]

At this stage I’d consider a thorough sanding followed by a coat of Zinsser BIN.....it must be getting rather tiresome if its peeling after just a few days!
John

 

[emmaamme]

It certainly is! Wish I'd said to the builders not to put coving in the bathrooms. Hindsights a wonderful thing! Thanks for all your help

 

[JohnD]

is this the semi-gloss blow-mouded hard plastic coving? Not the polystyrene or fibrous plastr moulding?

If so, I wouldn't trust emusion to stick, I'd sand it down and use a satinwood (I prefer oil-based if there is any chance of wet). Or gloss if you like.

i've cleaned too much emulsion off plastic switches and sockets (using water and detergent, very easy). It's very hard to remove gloss.

Same as for exposed plastic waste pips or meter cabinets. Mine lasts very well.

No need for primer or undercoat for oil paints on plastic.

 

[emmaamme]

It seems to be plaster coving as far as I can tell.