Painting disaster

[django47]

I recently moved into a one bed bungalow and intend to decorate everything myself nice and slowly, at a pace to suit both my stamina and my pocket. The front room had this hideous wallpaper, when I first saw it, I thought the wall had damp patches all over until upon closer examination I discovered it was part of the patern/design.
Although I had no time limit, stripping the paper was out of the question so I decided to see what it would look like to just paint it. Anyway, I ended up putting on three coats of 'Johnstones' interior emulsion in a colour they call 'Seashell', a medium beige.
Anyway, it looked really good and I was pleased with the result, UNTIL, about 2-3 weeks later, it has all become so patchy. It actually looks like the walls have been plastered and they are still drying out, it looks horrible. It's not damp though, in fact it's bone dry.
I was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and what they did in the end to correct it. I know I've got to give it another coat, but will just one more coat put it right and do I need to apply another type of paint. I know now that it's the wallpaper I shouldn't have painted over, but whats done is done. An expensive lesson, and it's still costing me.

 

[misterhelpful]

If the initial results were fine for 2-3 weeks then there is likely to be some underlying cause for the patchiness. It's possible that there are water stains bleeding through from previous leaks etc, or it is still feasible to have damp without it actually feeling damp.
If you could possibly post a pic it would help greatly in trying to identify the problem rather than any of us just saying yes or no to applying more paint.

 

[TheDec]

Judging by your description what you have done is painted over a wallpaper without first sealing the surface, some papers including the prints have within them water based dyes and colourants. these will become activated when any water based coating is applied upon them.

What you should have done is to first seal the paper with either an oil based primer sealer or undercoat before you applied your emulsion, so apply a slightly thinned coat of either of the above allow to dry and then carry on with your emulsion. It really does sound like a classic case of colourant bleed.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

Dec,

Do you think it could be colourant bleed after 2-3 weeks?
I thought it usually occurs immediately.

 

[TheDec]

What I believe would have happened here is when the first coat was applied it activated the dyes, these would have fanned out and thus becoming slightly weaker. When the second coat was applied the same reaction would occur only now even weaker, the same again with the third and final coat. If the op had only applied one coat the stains could have reappeared within the first week, the second coat would of mean't longer and so on.

I would doubt very much for them to reappear straight away because they would have dried and in sense become trapped within each coat of paint whilst each coat was drying. In this instance two to three weeks sounds about the time they would have taken to reappear.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

Ah, I see your point, , which could well be right.

I was just thinking of the type of bleed that occurs on contact with the emulsion, in which case you would normally stop painting immediately and use a primer sealer.

 

[TheDec]

Even the op has stated that she knows it's the wallpaper, If you were to apply an emulsion paint over an old water stain the stain would'nt reappear straight away and the same would occur with the wallpaper.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

Even the op has stated that she knows it's the wallpaper, If you were to apply an emulsion paint over an old water stain the stain would'nt reappear straight away and the same would occur with the wallpaper.

Dec

Er, beg to differ there. Water stains reappear in minutes!!

Also, why do you assume the OP is a woman??

 

[TheDec]

Really, well that is'nt straight away is it, water stains can also reappear on plaster skim after the appllication of a mist coat in perhaps a couple of hours or more. We were both involved in offering advice on that thread.

Yet we are not talking of water stains here are we, It is obvious what the op's problem is, your not understanding it is coming across as strange. It really is'nt rocket science is it.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

It's hardly weeks though is it!?

I don't misunderstand the bleeding part only the fact that the OP said it appeared fine initially whereas I would have expected them to realise straight away that the dyes were bleeding. I always would.

If you want to take my simple question to you as some kind of attack, then it is you who misunderstands. And not for the first time!

 

[TheDec]

Not for the first in your opinion, with regard to the op him or her would not have realised straight away because the stains would not be there, in your own words even water stains can take minutes?

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

 

[TheDec]

Yes!!

That just about sums it up, on my part you have taken away the guesswork. Now I know my thinking was correct.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

When you sober up and start trolling first thing in the morning you will realise this isn't quite the conversation/competition you currently think it is.

 

[TheDec]

If the initial results were fine for 2-3 weeks then there is likely to be some underlying cause for the patchiness. It's possible that there are water stains bleeding through from previous leaks etc, or it is still feasible to have damp without it actually feeling damp.
If you could possibly post a pic it would help greatly in trying to identify the problem rather than any of us just saying yes or no to applying more paint.

Firstly I don't consume any form of alcohol throughout any working week,
please take note of your opening sentence regarding this thread.

Dec