Remedies for Common Paint Problems
Burnishing
What Causes Paint Burnishing or Marring?
Often occurring with the use of flat paint, burnishing is typically seen in high-traffic areas that require frequent cleaning, such family rooms, hallways, stairs and doors.
Common causes of burnishing or marring include:
- Frequent washing and spot-cleaning of painted surfaces, especially with an abrasive cleanser
- Using flat paint in high-traffic areas
- Using paint with minimal wettability and scrub resistance
- Objects rubbing against the paint (furniture against walls, for example)
How to Prevent Paint from Burnishing or Marring
Here are some solutions to help you prevent this problem on job sites or in your own home:
- Make note of where furniture and other objects are rubbing against painted surfaces
- When necessary, clean painted surfaces with non-abrasive cleansers using a soft cloth or sponge, and rinse with clean water
- For maximum durability, wait at least two weeks after painting before washing the surface
- Paint high-traffic areas with a higher sheen: eggshell, satin, pearl, semi-gloss
- Avoid using a flat sheen in high-traffic areas
- Use a quality acrylic or latex paint: Regal® Select for a 100% acrylic engineered with washable, stain-release technology, or Scuff-X® for a latex formulated with breakthrough scuff resistance restore paint paint finishes paint works
Surfactant Leaching
How to Identify, Prevent and Fix Surfactant Leaching
Despite its name and appearance, surfactant leaching is an aesthetic concern and is not harmful to the paint or the surface it is on.
Surfactants are necessary ingredients of latex paint. These water-soluble components migrate over time to the surface of the paint. When newly applied latex paint is exposed to high moisture or humidity while it’s drying and/or curing, the surfactants can rise prematurely to the film’s surface, producing a residue or splotches. This residue can be sticky, discolored, glossy or soapy in appearance. Surfactant leaching frequently shows up in bathrooms and other humid environments on ceilings or walls. While unattractive, surfactant leaching does not harm the coating.
When newly applied exterior latex paint is exposed to high moisture or humidity while drying, the rising surfactants can produce stains. Also known as weeping, these stains can appear as an oily or sticky sap-like substance. It is important to note that the discoloration from surfactant leaching is not the same as water stains or spots and should not be treated as such.
What Causes Surfactant Leaching—and How to Prevent it
- Paint drying in cool, humid conditions—Especially common in the early fall, when frost can form overnight. Using a premium product like Aura® Exterior Paint helps to combat this issue.
- Condensed moisture—Common on outdoor surfaces and in bathrooms. A high quality latex paint like Aura® Bath & Spa Interior Paint is designed for optimum performance in high-humidity interior environments, and will help avoid surfactant leaching from the outset.
- Deeper tints—Common when using deeper color paints tinted with universal colorants which contain extra surfactants.
How to Fix Surfactant Leaching
- Do not paint over stains
- Rinse the surface with water or wipe with a damp cloth as soon as you notice stains
- On exterior surfaces, normal weathering will usually remove surfactant stains naturally restore paint paint finishes paint works
Blocking
Paint blocking occurs when two freshly painted, uncured surfaces bond when pressed against each other, frequently in settings such as a door sticking to the jamb or windows sticking to the sill. When separated, the surfaces show paint transfer or peeling.
Why Does Paint Stick or Block?
- Not allowing the paint to sufficiently dry or cure before closing doors or windows.
- Using low-quality semi-gloss or gloss latex paints that have poor blocking resistance, especially in warm, damp conditions, as sometimes paint sticks due to humidity.
- Old coatings on the surface are too thick, not giving the moving surface enough space to shift.
How to Prevent Paint from Sticking
- Adjust doors and windows to open and close properly.
- Sand down any existing coatings if they appear to be thick.
- Use top-quality interior semi-gloss or gloss latex-based paints. These coatings develop superior block resistance over time.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding dry time. Thoroughly dried paint will have less risk of peeling due to sticking issues.
How to Fix Paint Sticking or Blocking
- Remove all loose paint and sand the surface (glossy surfaces should be sanded dull).
- Clean the area and allow it to dry.
- Use a top-quality primer and apply topcoat and allow to dry thoroughly according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Make sure to paint in a well-ventilated area to optimize drying and curing time. restore paint paint finishes paint works
Paint Blistering and Bubbling
Mildew: Black, grey, or brown spots or areas found
on the paint film or caulk bead.
Possible Cause:
• Forms mostly on areas that tend to stay
damp, and receive little or no direct Sun
light. Walls with a northerly exposure and
the underside of eaves are particularly
vulnerable to mildew growth.
• Painting over a substrate or coating on
which the mildew has not been properly
destroyed.
• Use of a paint which has an insufficient
amount of mildewcide.
Remedies: Test for mildew by applying a few drops
of household bleach to the discolored area; if the
stain lightens in color or disappears, it is mildew.
Remove all mildew from the surface by scrubbing
with a diluted household bleach solution (one part
bleach, three parts water); wear rubber gloves and
eye protection. Power washing is also an option.
Rinse thoroughly with clean water, prime any bare
wood, and then apply one or two coats of high-
quality exterior paint, which typically contains the
correct amount of mildewcide.
Cracking and Flaking
cracking/flaking
Cracking/Flaking: The splitting of a dry paint
film through at least one coat, which will lead to
complete failure of the paint. Early on, the problem
appears as hairline cracks; later, flaking of paint
chips OCCurs.
Possible Cause:
• Older substrates with multiple layers of paint.
• Overthinning the paint or spreading it too thin.
• Poor Surface preparation, ie. when the paint
is applied to bare wood without priming.
• Painting under cool or windy conditions
that make latex paint dry too fast.
• Use of a paint that has inadequate
adhesion and flexibility.
Remedies:
• It may be possible to correct cracking that
does not go down to the substrate by removing the loose or flaking paint with a scraper or wire brush, sanding to feather
the edges, repainting.
• If the cracking goes down to the substrate,
remove all of the affected area by scraping
and sanding, then prime and repaint with a
quality latex exterior paint.
WARNING: If you scrape, sand or remove old paint. you may release lead dust. LEAD IS TOXIC. EXPOSURE TO LEAD DUST CAN CAUSE SERIOUS ILLNESS, SUCH AS BRAIN DAMAGE, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN. PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD ALSO AVOID EXPOSURE
Mildew
Mildew: Black, grey, or brown spots or areas found
on the paint film or caulk bead.
Possible Cause:
• Forms mostly on areas that tend to stay
damp, and receive little or no direct Sun
light. Walls with a northerly exposure and
the underside of eaves are particularly
vulnerable to mildew growth.
• Painting over a substrate or coating on
which the mildew has not been properly
destroyed.
• Use of a paint which has an insufficient
amount of mildewcide.
Remedies: Test for mildew by applying a few drops
of household bleach to the discoloured area; if the
stain lightens in color or disappears, it is mildew.
Remove all mildew from the surface by scrubbing
with a diluted household bleach solution (one part
bleach, three parts water); wear rubber gloves and
eye protection. Power washing is also an option.
Rinse thoroughly with clean water, prime any bare
wood, and then apply one or two coats of high-
quality exterior paint, which typically contains the
correct amount of mildewcide.
paint Lapping
lapping
Lapping: Appearance of a denser colour or higher
gloss where wet and dry layers overlap during
paint application.
Possible Cause:
• Failure to maintain a "wet edge" when
applying paint.
• Failure to use a primer over a porous surface.
Remedies: When painting, maintain a wet edge
by applying the paint starting from the unpainted
area and going back into the just-painted area. This
technigue (brushing from "dry to wet", rather than
vice versa) will help produce a smooth, uniform
appearance. It is also wise to work in manageable-
size areas; plan for job interruptions at natural breaks,
such as a window, door or corner. This is especially
important when applying stain to bare wood. If the
substrate is very porous, a primer/sealer should be
used to provide an optimal surface that will prevent
the topcoat from drying too quickly and reducing the
wet edge time. Alkyd paints generally have superior
wet edge properties.