Farrow and Ball - Caulk flashing through topcoat - what to do?

16 years ago

Hi,

I have a problem with caulk that was used to repair hairline plaster cracks because it is flashing through the topcoat despite priming. The walls were primed with BM Fresh Start and had 2 coats of Farrow and Ball Modern Emulsion. After a few days of curing the caulk areas were badly flashing through the topcoat. I primed the areas again and we did another topcoat. I think several of the areas are much better but at least one again developed bad flashing after a few days. I am thinking that I will have to spot prime that area again, possibly a few times, and then recoat that wall. Should I prime and wait several days for the primer to seal/cure and THEN topcoat? Also, why is this happening? I am concerned that the other areas will gradually redevelop the problem over time. I would never have thought this could happen and I am thinking it is something to do with the nature of the F&B paint - very disappointing because otherwise I love the finish of that paint.

Any help or suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks!

Tina

Featured Answer

PRO

Mike's Custom Painting

8 years ago

Tina,

I'm surprised at how little many Painters know when it comes to Caulk, and as one colleague recently told me, "if you see a Carpenter with a Caulk Gun in his hand, take it away from him."

Here is the issue: Almost all Caulk has Plasticizers. These plasticizers are what cause the flashing. It has nothing to do with your type of paint, other than the problem being exacerbated by flat paint, where the problem shows up even shinier.

The other problem with Flashing is that it collects dirt, which in turn collects Mold or Mildew.

Now for the solution: You should always use a caulk that does not contain plasticizers. Some of these are: DAP Elastopatch, DAP Alex Flex (available at most big box stores. If you have a PPG (formerly Glidden or ICI Dulux) near by, they have a product called Top Gun 400 that will do the trick. Custom products also has an Elasto patch (they actually got bought out by DAP but retain the Custom label). These Caulks will all do the trick. Unfortunately, Sherwin Williams doesn't seem to carry any Non-flashing Caulk, Be prepared to spend a little more, as this type of caulking tends to for some reason be around $3.75 or so a tube (at the time of this writing - at least where I live in Hawaii).

One final word, do not confuse "Elastopatch" with Elastomeric! Many Elastomeric Caulks contain Plasticizers, even Daps 230 series.

Never use Silicone. You can't paint it at all (and yes, I do know about the exception being Paintable Silicone).

If anyone wants to verify the info I'm giving. Call DAP and ask to speak to a specialist and they will tell you the same thing.

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Comments (10)

buffalotina
Original Author
16 years ago
Further to the above, I spoke with my paint dealer and they agree that it is the siliconized paintable caulk that is chemically leaching through the top coat. They suggest spot priming all the areas with an oil based primer, then recoat with fresh start primer, then recoat the wall.....

Does this sound right?
Michael
16 years ago
That's overkill. If you're going to reprime it, prime it with Zinsser CoverStain. Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then repaint the area.

Question: Why did you use caulk on the wall?

Michael
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buffalotina
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your input Michael - Not me - my painter used caulk to fill several cracks/holes.... I have never used caulk on a wall.... and never will after this.

That said, it sounds like you think the cover stain will seal this caulk - do you think that is a definite fix? I was thinking of cover stain as it has worked miracles for me in tricky situations before. The paint store started talking about digging out the caulked areas... however that is going to be impossible, I might as well replaster....

The reason for fresh start over the cover stain patches was that I used a tinted fresh start primer - recommended by F&B - and I have been using tinted primers everywhere to make sure the topcoat has the best depth of color. Also, my experience with cover stain is that it splats and sprays badly and since the whole rest of the room is completely finished now I don't want to ruin the already painted trim....Maybe if I use masking tape and it gets rolled slowly it might be OK?

This leads me to another concern: I will be removing wallpaper in my dining room and eventually painting with F&B. I read on this forum recently that acrylic primer over any residual wallpaper paste would be a bad no no... and that any residual paste would eat through the top coat. I think people recommended a special primer called Gardz. What do you think of that? Is that what I should use or can I just clean the hell out of the wall with DIFF. Or, should this be another cover stain job? Wondering if the Gardz and/or the cover stain can be tinted?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Tina
pirula
16 years ago
buffalotina, listen I don't know about oil primer. I can tell you that we also used some latex caulk in several areas for hairline cracks and they've been painted with F&B eggshell for the most part (some with Modern Emultion). I used the F&B latex primer and have had no issues with the caulk coming through. It's been almost two years now.

Ivette
Michael
16 years ago
CoverStain comes in quart cans too. :) You don't need to spray it.

It also depends on the caulking that was used. There are many variables and since I can't see the wall or see the tube of caulk, my advice is based on past experience.

GARDZ is the primer for you! It's water based primer that will lock down any residual wallpaper paste. Caution: Do your best to remove as much paste as possible. Even though GARDZ will make the job easy, a short cut is no way to go.

Michael
Michael
16 years ago
BTW...primers are interchangeable. Oil over latex and latex over oil makes no difference. Both paints, acrylic and alkyd, can also be used over ANY primer.

Michael
buffalotina
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you everyone for the great advice. The flashing on the second time round is not as bad as the first and so I think the spot reprimes and recoat did help. However, there is one that is still bothering me and so I have decided to do the coverstain thing - spot prime coverstain, then spot prime tinted fresh start primer, then spot paint the primed areas with the F&B top coat, then full topcoat (one coat) the whole wall section. I hope that the wall recoat will be OK as the top coat has been on for a good 2 or 3 weeks now and will have cured somewhat. I will post the outcome. BTW, the offending caulk was DAP siliconized acrylic paintable caulk - the stuff that is one grade "up" from their cheaper "painters caulk".

Thanks again.

Tina
buffalotina
Original Author
16 years ago
Just to follow up ...... I primed the oily flashing area with cover stain, then two coats of spot prime of the BM fresh start primer, then spot paint with the top coat, then I had to paint the whole wall with another coat. It did cure the problem, but what a lot of work. I think the problem might have been that the caulk was painted over before it was fully cured.

Thanks for all the great advice.

Tina
PRO
Sombreuil
8 years ago
What concerns me is that with all of this coating and re-coating you are going to have about 8 coats applied in a very short timeframe, which can lead to peeling issues because of all of the trapped moisture and gasses.
Before remediating any problems, I'd let it cure for a week.
Casey

Farrow and Ball - Caulk flashing through topcoat - what to do?

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Farrow and Ball - Caulk flashing through topcoat - what to do?

Mike's Custom Painting

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