LESLIE: Ray in Florida has an issue with some peeling ceiling paint. How can we help you today?
RAY: I have a little problem. I had painted my bath – the walls and the ceiling – a few years ago and also put on a border. Well, the ceiling paint is peeling in big spots. And when I painted it, I used KILZ. And I don’t know why it’s peeling.
TOM: So there must be moisture behind it or – how old is this house?
RAY: Well, the house was built in ‘78.
TOM: Because the other thing that can happen is if you have multiple layers of paint, sometimes you’ll get delamination of an older surface of that paint. So what might be peeling off might not be the paint from the KILZ or the KILZ from the prior paint. The peeling ceiling paint could be a layer several layers back. And when you have such a severe adhesion problem, the best thing to do is to strip the old paint off of the ceiling, then apply an oil-based primer like KILZ or really any other brand that’s a name brand. And then apply a flat ceiling paint on top of that.
RAY: Yeah. I did use a ceiling paint. But now that you mentioned it, looking at where it’s peeling, it does kind of – it’s a – let me think here – yeah, like a grayish color underneath the paint.
TOM: Yeah. So, you see, it may not be what you painted that’s the peeling ceiling paint. It might be a prior layer that’s peeling.
RAY: Right. I follow what you’re saying. Yeah.
TOM: Yeah. So you need to get all that old paint off and start from scratch, unfortunately.
RAY: So now, do you have to just scrape it or sand it or do you have to …?
TOM: Well, no, you’re going to need a paint stripper. You’re going to need a paint stripper because you’re not going to be able to scrape it. You’ve got to get that loose stuff off.
RAY: Wow.
TOM: OK?
RAY: That’s a lot of work.
TOM: Look, the other thing you could do is you could put another layer of drywall right on top of that and just skin it. You wouldn’t even need to use ½-inch drywall; you could use ¼-inch drywall. You’d have a seam or two to tape and spackle but then you’d start from scratch.
RAY: Alright. Well, I appreciate the help on that.
TOM: And I think we just filled up a couple of weekends for you, too.
RAY: Yeah.
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