I’m not sure how to describe this. We live in an apartment and we painted an accent wall in the living room a hunter green. The wall was originally white and it had taken 3 coats of paint to cover up the ‘bleeding thru’ of the white. The problem we’re having now is that the paint is being smudged or comes off if we touch the wall. It’s been almost 2 weeks since it’s been painted. Last night I walked by the wall and the back of my hand brushed against the wall. The paint was smudged. This will be the 6th touch up I’ve had to do to the wall because of accidental touches. How do I fix this or stop this from happening? Thanks
The Practical House Painting Guide
One Response
It's possible the paint still needs more time to cure and stick. It could also be a problem with the paint or the lack of priming (surface prep) before painting.
1- You didn't mention the sheen of the original wall paint or the brand and sheen of the new paint. If the original paint is a semi-gloss latex and the new a satin then it will take up to a month for a good cure to form and stick down the new paint. A slick surface slows down this process plus the new paint will have a hard time getting a good bond.
2- If the old paint was an oil base and the new is a latex then you will always have this problem. All shiny and slick surfaces need a good bonding primer prior to painting. It's also possible that your new paint is either low quality or defective.
At this point I recommend waiting 2 more weeks and see if the bond is improving. If not, the only way to fix this is to remove all loose paint, lightly sand (non-textured walls only) and prime before repainting.
Removing the new paint could be as easy as using hot water to loosen it and a scrub rag to help get it off the wall.
There isn't any quick easy fixes for this problem. Sorry.