# Peeling paint- interior trim



## Painterboy (Dec 18, 2009)

I am looking at a job that has peeling paint on almost all of the trim in the house, base, crown, chair rail, and door frames. Doors are fine (factory primed) . Approx. 8000 lf of trim, this is a very large home. As best as I can tell, no primer was used and oil base was applied directly to bare wood about 12 years ago. HO says paint started peeling after about 2 years. I am thinking lots of scraping and sanding to expose as much bare wood as possible then applying a coat of primer and 2 finish coats. My question is has anyone else ran into this before and what type of primer did you use? I am concerned about the paint peeling again where bare wood was not exposed before priming. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## czimcharopaints (Feb 4, 2009)

i have run into that problem. i just sanded the areas and primed them with either zinnser 123 or and underenamel primer for semigloss. SW is what i prefer.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

I have not seen oil base paint peel from woodwork cause it had no primer, now latex on the other hand I have seen it peel from non primed wood, cheaper grades of latex will do this, I would figure on sanding it and then prime it, I like BM Freshstart covers real well, also if you two coat it, it looks good. I had a custom ask if it was puting the finish paint on, I told him no just the second coat of primer.


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## Mellison (Aug 3, 2008)

Sounds like it could be latex paint over oil based.
Try to peel some paint off.
If it peels of without problem, this is probably the case.
Sand, prime, paint and test.


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## Jeffrey Watson (Oct 12, 2009)

*oil based paints*



Painterboy said:


> I am looking at a job that has peeling paint on almost all of the trim in the house, base, crown, chair rail, and door frames. Doors are fine (factory primed) . Approx. 8000 lf of trim, this is a very large home. As best as I can tell, no primer was used and oil base was applied directly to bare wood about 12 years ago. HO says paint started peeling after about 2 years. I am thinking lots of scraping and sanding to expose as much bare wood as possible then applying a coat of primer and 2 finish coats. My question is has anyone else ran into this before and what type of primer did you use? I am concerned about the paint peeling again where bare wood was not exposed before priming. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Its too late now but the problem was/is oil based paint. It dries out and cracks and peels to lot higher degree than latex. Having a primer underneath would not have stopped this from happening. I painted my garage with an oil based primer topped with an oil based topcoat. I failed t o repaint it in a timely fashion and it cracked all over. I spent a lot of time prepping and repainting but it continues to crack from the original oil based paint job. I do not used oil base paint ever because of this and other jobs I've been on.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

Jeff,
If you used oil in your garage where do you live that would cause oil base paint to peel, the only time I have ever seen oil base crack and peel is if theres water getting behind the paint, or when someone uses latex over oil base paints. but oil base on raw wood wouldn't make it peel. oil base paint will be drawn into the wood. so unless there was something else on the trim you got me stumped. The only other thing is the temp drops below freezing then oil base will crack and peel. or if its exposed to the direct sun, but this takes years to happen. Jeff your a nail banger


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## Painterboy (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your replies. This is an oil-base paint for sure. I agree with possible moisture behind the wood or moist at time of being painted. Upon closer examination in different areas I found what appears to be water stains on the wood and they are on different levels of the house. So my guess is wet wood prior to painting.


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## Jeffrey Watson (Oct 12, 2009)

Frankawitz said:


> Jeff,
> If you used oil in your garage where do you live that would cause oil base paint to peel, the only time I have ever seen oil base crack and peel is if theres water getting behind the paint, or when someone uses latex over oil base paints. but oil base on raw wood wouldn't make it peel. oil base paint will be drawn into the wood. so unless there was something else on the trim you got me stumped. The only other thing is the temp drops below freezing then oil base will crack and peel. or if its exposed to the direct sun, but this takes years to happen. Jeff your a nail banger


Yeah I'm a termite but I've been around a while. For years now going back to the seventies and eighties they talk about children eating paint chips that contain lead. These paint chips are from OIL BASED Paints that contained lead. The key here is OIL BASED PAINTS. If you've been around you know how these old oil based paints DRY OUT and crack. Latex paints will not dry out and crack period. They may peel and blister but not crack with resulting chips. Now granted the newer oil based paints are a lot better and applied in a professional fashion and maintained you won't have that problem.(The big IF) But i f , as in the case of thread we are responding to you get Cracking and paint chips which is the hardest thing to repaint and look good especially with glossier paints. Just give it time. you"ll see. These oil based paints are making a comeback and some twenty years from now its your kids who will be dealing with the problem Oil based paints have some nice features but they have huge drawbacks. Cracking and paint chips being the worst.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

Jeff, 
When I started out as a Painter I work 2 years with guy who was a Painting Contractor for 48 years, all we used was oil base paints. and I have customers who still want oil base paints but the Government stopped the Industry from making Acetone so now oil base paints are changing for the Environment cause people get sick and don't like the smell oil gives off. So now we have VOC's, also if you really knew about paints you would know a oil base finish will out last any latex paint on a interior surface, latex paints will need to be repainted every 5 to 7 years where oil base paints will last 20 years, cause oil base paint finishes can be washed where latex will break down after so many cleaning with different cleaning products, oils wont. now using oil on the exterior of a house oh yeah, they will crack and chip, cause the oil base paints keep getting harder with age, latex will flex with the house. but the thing is the wood will lose the oil in it over time, were oil base keeps the oil in the wood, that's why you use linseed oil to give wood some oil back if it's dried out. and that you should know being a carpenter:thumbsup:


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## Dorman Painting (May 2, 2006)

I've never seen oil based paint crack and peel on the interior of a home, exterior, absolutely. The sun and weather will eventually get the best of all paints, especially old oil paints, they start to lose their grip and alligator. But this is exterior problems, not interior problems. 

I'd say Frank is right, you've probably got major moisture issues in your garage, which certainly could pop paint off trim. I personally love using oil base paints because the final result makes me look better and the customer is happier. Latex just flat out doesn't look as good on trim as oil does. And for the record, oil is more durable than latex in many regards.


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## Jeffrey Watson (Oct 12, 2009)

*Bottom Line*



Frankawitz said:


> Jeff,
> When I started out as a Painter I work 2 years with guy who was a Painting Contractor for 48 years, all we used was oil base paints. and I have customers who still want oil base paints but the Government stopped the Industry from making Acetone so now oil base paints are changing for the Environment cause people get sick and don't like the smell oil gives off. So now we have VOC's, also if you really knew about paints you would know a oil base finish will out last any latex paint on a interior surface, latex paints will need to be repainted every 5 to 7 years where oil base paints will last 20 years, cause oil base paint finishes can be washed where latex will break down after so many cleaning with different cleaning products, oils wont. now using oil on the exterior of a house oh yeah, they will crack and chip, cause the oil base paints keep getting harder with age, latex will flex with the house. but the thing is the wood will lose the oil in it over time, were oil base keeps the oil in the wood, that's why you use linseed oil to give wood some oil back if it's dried out. and that you should know being a . carpenter:thumbsup:[/QUOT E]
> Thanks for the reply, Yes it looks better For Sure. Yes it last longer for Sure. I wish you could have the best qualities in one paint. I guess the point I'm makin g is when or if it does fail then what. I painted my garage in 1995 thinking this was the way to go. (As an example.) It failed. I have sinse repainted the garage. First I grinded and meticuously scraped every corner of the garage. I applied polurethane caulk whereever possible. I prime painted with a top of the line primer. I sealed every possible crack before top coating. I then painted with a top line Benjamine Moore Paint. Mind you this is my garage not my customers, I do not want to do this any time soon. I have better things to do. I am still having problems with the paint cracking right down to the bare wood be cause of the hardening of the oil based undercoat. This was a new built garage with fresh based clean and ready wood. It was not a humidity problem I live in Colorado. Don"t worry Its notlike I will never used oil based paint. Probably interior only


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

Jeff, I don't know that is a strange one. Maybe the base had something spilled on it before the painters primed it, I don't know sure don't make sence to me why your having such a problem. Good luck, Hey maybe it would be cheaper to pull all the base and install new.:thumbsup:


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