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paint comes off when it's wiped down

16 years ago

Help! I had my bathroom painted (half bathroom- no tub or shower) a year ago with a satin based paint. It's a darker blue and when I wipe the walls from the kids dirty hands the blue paint wipes off a bit. There is blue paint on my rag and you can see my "marks" on the wall. This is driving my crazy!! Can I do anything other than paint over the smeared marks? The paint is a Laura Ashley color - it shouldn't be doing this right?!? Someone said something to me about it not curing... it's been a year! Any advice would be helpful!

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Michael

16 years ago

Gasps...when I hear that nomenclature.."contractor-grade"..:)

Michael

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Comments (8)

paintguy22
16 years ago
It could be not cured or it could just be a crappy paint. Do you have to wipe fairly hard to get the paint to come off or does it come off easily?
Arapaho-Rd
16 years ago
I'm having the same problem with BM-Eggshell that was put on in 2004! I wipe with a damp rag-water only and I get paint on my cloth.
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fishers2008
Original Author
16 years ago
It doesn't take much for it to come off. Also if water drips down the wall it will leave a blue tint on the baseboard along with the trail of a drip mark down my wall. It's ticking me off - any suggestions on how to fix it or do I just have to repaint the bathroom?
Michael
16 years ago
Here's what I recommend.

1. Wash the walls with Dirtex.
2. Lightly sand the walls with #180 grit sponge or sanding screen. Wipe clean.
3. Prime with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1 2 3 OR..skip the primer and apply two coats of Zinsser PermaWhite (in white or pastel colors) Bathroom paint in satin finish.

Enjoy the project.

Michael
Faron79
16 years ago
Hi Fishers,
It's a "Laura-Ashley color" you say...
* What did the painter have it matched into??
* Did you see a can they used?
* Were you given a CHOICE of brand??
* What ACTUAL paint-brand/base/series was it mixed into?
* Do you know the actual prep-history???
Meaning...
* Were the walls washed?
* What sheen of paint was on the walls b4 this color?
* Was it primed after any of this prep??

Bottom-line...with a decent Satin paint, this shouldn't happen at all!
NORMALLY...a paint is fully cured in a month for light washing.

(I have a hunch they had it matched into a "contractor-grade" paint....)

Faron
Faron79
16 years ago
Zounds!!

Michael, I apologize...I meant to say "entry-level"!
(or maybe "Speed-Hide"-like....aaaauuuggh!)
;-)

Faron
Mary
9 months ago
Same thing happened to me. Like the person posted at the top, it's the contractor grade. I bought egg shell and weeks later it was wiping off with water

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