How do I repair peeled paint without repainting the whole wall?

[st22]

Old paint. Was exposed to moisture under a window and a few other places. In bedroom. How can this be addressed without removing all paint in the room? The new paint is too white and apparently the peeled off paint had multiple layers.

 

 

 

 ignore the color balance, it is actually white.

I have a bucket of paint,

British Paints Clean And Protect Matt White Interior Paint

Advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi ST22

I feel your pain not wanting to do whole area.  I had a failed waterproofing and went through a week of heavy sanding with an angle grinder gulp. Your photos look like a Concrete wall?  Maybe old style horse hair plaster?  Well the pros  will want you to scrape it back to bare wall in total which maybe  best long term. However you can gamble a bit and try simply patch that failed paint section. But  look for more than one failed  patch just in case. It looks like older paint with dirt/dust layer a good 10 min hand sand before 240 grade sand paper on  paint wouldnt hurt,

All those layers of  paint you mentioned are a sign the this problem has just being repeatedly painted over in the past and if it refailed yet again and the first layers of paint arnt sticking to the wall no additional coating with work longer term if you living there and not selling I would hate to do this job twice so all the old paint needs to come off ideally if all the old paint bad.

Well firstly lets hope  assume the water issue is fixed other wise paint will never  stick and you must remove all paint and use a water proof cement paint made from eg bondcrete mixed with cement powder to stop water coming through the wall as a bi directional  barrier. Cement paint can also be tinted some  basic colours so once applied no painting required. Cement paint will be finished rough like cement. Low skill level required just apply cement paint with straw like brush stiffer bristles than ordiany brushes and slap it on 0,5mm thick approx. or 2 coats dryed in between layers.

Lets  gamble you only need to scrape of all the loose paint and test the paint all over the  wall if only a few patches of paint is flaking you might be lucky and save alot of effort. The  gamble is the new  or old paint fails again. Scrape / sand paint back until you hit paint that is  hard to remove firmly stuck on. You  can use a scraper to apply small tub of ready mixed gyprock finish plaster to fill the void where the paint layers  peeled out of to level the wall flat again. Tip  dont do a perfect filling creating a perfect flat sanded  finish here as wall is  dimpled else where and the flat spot repair will stand out when painted.  Add imperfections to try match  wall texture.   The wall is bumpy so an electric sander will only partially work. A round wire brush on a drill might work better if needed. Wear  goggles and dusk mask.

Ideally use an under coat to help you paint bond matched to the wall type you have. But some new paints are designed  as no under coat required. As you are using a white interor paint you may need more than a undercoat but a stain blocker under coat as darker  stains might  come through new paint even after 5  coats of new paint. dont stress untill this happens. a blocker can be applied any time mostly.

Heres a thought some times to save time and  painting i just used ordinary vinyl self adhesive contact paper roll on walls  100s  patterns out there but  some are cheaper than others  for a  whole wall. Plus you get bored  with a  print  replace it but they  can fall off is paint underneath really flaky or damp.   Wall panelling, tiling or new gyprock may work if there is no water leak any more and may add an improved look but can be more expensive. More out of the box Ideas I would even consider contact glueing vinal floor sheeting or  carpet on the wall as they come in  thin 2mm in nice patterns but not for the beginner for others reading this.

Best look paint the whole  wall section corner to corner top to bottom as it is to hard to perfectly match and blend old  paints using a 10mm furry  roller will give a  more textured look to  blend with old wall. From the  photos the whole wall needs repainting.

If you only wish to try a small repair paint  the centre of the repair and paint outwards all directions allowing paint on  roller/brush to run out feathering/blending/fading the new paint into the old with no clear paint lines/borders

[MitchellMc]

Hi @st22,

It's wonderful to see that you're already received a comprehensive reply from @Jewelleryrescue. They cover many of the issues you might run into and appropriate fixes that you could try.

This damage is pretty standard in older houses. I had this sort of damage on all walls and ceilings of the house I rent. My method was to take a scraper and chip away at the paint until I reached solid and well-adhered paint. I then filled the areas with Poly 310g Bathroom And Kitchen Filler. After the filler was dry, I sanded the areas and undercoated them. Once the undercoat was dry, I painted. As mentioned by @Jewelleryrescue, you'll need to stipple the plaster filler to mimic the wall's rough surface.

Have a look at How to repair a water-damaged ceiling, as the process will be very similar. As long as there is no moisture left in the wall, I'd be inclined to spot repair removing only the compromised and flaking paint, filling, priming and painting over the whole wall. That way, you don't have to worry about matching colours, and if the repair fails, you can look at removing more of the damaged paint. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[st22]

"chip away at the paint until I reached solid and well-adhered paint" that exposes the cement

"filled the areas with Poly 310g Bathroom And Kitchen Filler." This is for dents up to 10mm. Is it suitable for 0.1mm shallow and large areas like the one shown above?

'I'd be inclined to spot repair removing only the compromised and flaking paint, filling, priming and painting over the whole wall' this looks interesting, thanks. 

More details - this is a rental, the previous agent was willing to paint whole room, I would rather not (if possible) as they would use it as excuse to increase the rent and I understand the spot repair would be sufficient?

Thanks.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @st22,

You'll need to scrape and chip away the compromised paint until it's removed, exposing the cement. In my case, it exposed the bare plaster. The clarify my statement above, I removed the paint in an outward direction until that layer of paint became solid. I did not dig down through the paint until I reached a solid layer beneath. You'll be making the damaged section larger by ridding it of loose paint.

The Poly bathroom and kitchen filler is suitable, but you could also use UNi-PRO 500g Smooth Coat Skim Filler instead. The smooth coat is likely a slightly finer particle and is designed more specifically as a skim coat.

It is possible to spot repair and paint only those areas, but they will always be more noticeable than if you'd painted the whole wall.

Mitchell

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @st22 

I am glad you filled the areas in and you project is meeting your goals.

 Ok concrete wall as per your new photo some thing is causing  paint to peel like that or a  poor quality paint used with out under coat. Under the paint looks white almost powdery I would consider using Bondcrete to seal the cement wall binding loose particals giving maximum bonding strength to paint or tile for others just about any thing also providing water barrier (not an official wet area barrier) if needed  . Bond crete is great value for money at bunnings and is mixed  with water . 1 part Bond crete to 4 parts water gives 35 square meters per bondcrete  litre.  A stronger binder  would be 4 parts Bond crete 1 part water giving 8 sqm just slap it on with brush before under coat. wash up soapy water wear gloves.  This is a basic skill level.  If your wall is badly textured you can even add  cement powder to the mix to a tooth paste consistancy and fill smooth the wall for a smoother new wall finish but not recommended for the beginner.  First paint wall with bondcrete  use internet for more bondcrete application instructions. https://www.bondall.com/concrete-additives/bondcrete/

Another approach to your land lord is to offer (neg as they may have similar reno plans) to do certain  house renos for a rent reduction while you are living there probly best to itemise agreed renos as you wish to do and as the owner agrees you have a win win situation. ie you have permission from land lord and  rent reduction.  Not all land lords will be open to this but worth a try to sound them out with a few baisc improvments first.  A pre neg may work best at start of a new rental and in todays tight rental market an offer of live in reno work may see you pip out other rental contenders for a decent property to rent.  Another bonus to you is it will help you practice new skills and grow to do more bolder projects if you wish ready for you new home ideally.  I did this with my flat owner via a real estate agent and  managed a $50 rent per week reduction for 2 years untill i left.  The real estate office said you do handyman work I said yes and they started giving me odd jobs repairs for many properties in there care so it was an interesting turn of  events on weekends and some evenings. But not for every one.  Ps good  work  on your  current project . Some of this info is for other readers too.

[EricL]

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

Thank you very much for the detailed advice on using Bondcrete. Let me tag @st22 to make sure they are aware of your suggestions. I totally agree that using Bondcrete is an excellent way to bind the materials in the wall. 

Eric