Exterior Painting Anchorage, KY: 3 Common Paint Failures and How to Fix Them

Exterior Painting Anchorage, KY: 3 Common Paint Failures and How to Fix Them

If your home exterior in Anchorage, KY, is looking a little worn out and dated, you might wonder how to correct the paint failures.

Even the best quality paint applied by the most experienced painting contractor in Anchorage, KY eventually degrades naturally, and because of exposure to harsh external elements.

In today’s article, we will discuss some of the most common paint failures and how to identify and fix them.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Paint Blistering

Blistering paint is identified by small to medium-sized bubbles or blisters under the paint film and is most common on siding and woodwork.

Potential causes:

Painting in direct sunlight on a warm surface, which traps solvent vapors because the paint dries too quickly.
Painting when the surface is wet, causing moisture trapped to expand the paint film.
Dew, rain, or very high humidity after drying the latex paint – if the latex paint is of poor quality or if the preparation of the substrate surface is inadequate.
The humidity of the house escaping through the walls due to high humidity and poor ventilation of the house.

Possible Remedies

Scrape off the puffy paint and sand to the bare surface/wood
Let the wood dry completely.
Sand, prime, and paint away from direct sunlight and in non-humid conditions.
Use high-quality latex paint.
Properly ventilate walls, roofs, and eaves, bathrooms, etc.
Check and repair any loose or missing caulk around windows and doors.

Alligatoring and checking

“Alligatoring” is a failure in the paint film, which leads to a deep cracking pattern resembling the skin an alligator.
The “checking” is a similar failure, but is less severe and is characterized by long, evenly spaced cracks in the paint film having shallow depth.
Occasionally, the checking may become severe in certain areas, resulting in a deeper crack in the paint.

Potential causes

The second coat of paint was applied to the first coat of primer or base coat of paint before it dried.
The second coat of paint was applied an incompatible paint, such as oil enamel over latex paint.
Oil-based paints age naturally and lose their elasticity, leading to cracks due to temperature fluctuations.

Possible remedies

Remove the old paint, then sand, prime, and repaint with flexible latex paint.
Use high-quality latex paint.

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is identifiable by deposits of crisp white salt, which bubble through the paint film of a masonry structure.
The salts in brick or concrete dissolve in water, then seep onto the surface as the water evaporates.

Potential causes:

Inadequate preparation of the paint surface where the previous efflorescence was not completely removed and washed before the surface was repainted.
Heavy humidity migrates through the exterior masonry walls of the interior of the house.
Insufficiently waterproofed basement walls allowing the penetration of underground water.
Cracks in the masonry wall or improper wedging allow water to infiltrate behind the masonry wall.

Possible remedies:

If moisture gets into the masonry wall, eliminate the source of moisture by properly repairing cracks or missing mortar in the wall.
Clean gutters and downspouts and caulk joints around windows and doors with butyl rubber caulk.
If moisture sips through the wall from the outside (for example, the basement wall), apply waterproofing to the outside of the wall.
Remove any loose efflorescence, scales, and chalking paint with a wire brush or by heavy washing before repainting.
Clean the area with a trisodium phosphate cleaning solution and rinse with clean water.
Allow to dry completely and paint with high-quality latex paint.

Need Help with exterior Painting in Anchorage, KY?

If you need any help identifying paint defects and repainting your home’s exterior, Serious Business Painting can help.

We are serving the areas of Louisville, Shelby County, Oldham County, Anchorage, Prospect, and Jefferson Town, Kentucky.

Book a FREE estimate below or call us on 502-641-7969 if you need any more information.