# Recently painted bathroom wall paint cracking



## hansmike (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi, previously there was a very deep purple acrylic based paint in my bathroom. I washed and dried the walls and then used BINS sealer/primer. The next day (without taking a shower), I painted (2 coats) the bathroom using another benjamin moore acrylic based paint. About a week later, I noticed the paint starting to crack in a spider web fashion. Now the whole wall is covered with cracks. Now I have to scrape and sand but I don't want to make the same mistake painting, what did I do wrong? Thanks for your help.

Mike


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## Bob Mariani (Dec 1, 2008)

wrong paint. Do not use acrylic paint in wet areas, use latex. Best paint for a bathroom is Zinsser's PermaWhite.


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## Faron79 (Jul 16, 2008)

*Hmmmmm...?*

<< ahem...>>

100% Acrylic-resin paints ARE Latex. It's just the best GRADE of Latex resins.
As opposed to Vinyl-Acrylic resins. Not as good, but even this is still "Latex" paint.

Main problem:
* How thick were your coats?
* How much dry-time between coats?
* How deep is your new color?
* How soon after 2nd paint-coat did moisture hit the wall?
* Does primer-layer seem intact?

Faron


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## hansmike (Jan 31, 2010)

* the coats were kind of thin.
* waited a day between primer and paint, and not very long (only a few hours) between coats of paint. This was probably part of my problem.
* the color is light
* it was 2-3 days before moisture hit the wall.
* when I peel off a chip of paint, it also takes the previous purple layer off as well. So I suppose the primer layer is not intact.

Mike


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I am wondering if that purple paint might have been oil based. You should probably have used an alkyd primer before using a latex/acrylic product over it.


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## hansmike (Jan 31, 2010)

I found the old can of purple paint and it said that it was acrylic based.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

Simple answer: moisture content in the walls was too high. Has to be below 12% or BIN will trap the moisture and cause that kind of failure. That's why you shouldn't use it in bathrooms. Oil based stainblockers are best in that environment, if you actually need one.


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## <*(((>< (Mar 6, 2009)

I have the same exact problem as the OP. I used BIN due to really bad smoke smell from previous owners. I used it in the bathroom and both my primer and finish coats are spider-cracking.

Whats the fix for this, step by step?

I'm not a "painter" by any means, its just something I have to do to complete my projects, so any advice is helpful.


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## hansmike (Jan 31, 2010)

Thanks for all of your help. I'll use a different primer and probably a sherwin williams paint next time.

Fish named guy,

As far as I can tell, we'll need to scrape and sand the entire wall, then prime and repaint. It sounds like a lot of work. This apparently also happened to a coworker and she paid $300 for a professional to do all the work. I also heard that Zinsser GUARDZ drywall primer is a good choice for bathroom, don't quote me on that though.


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## jameson12 (Feb 2, 2010)

*You can do this!*

We have even painted over bathroom wallpaper and the paint has never bubbled, cracked or had any problems,even though bathrooms have plenty of humidity. You do have to use the right primer and paint, though!


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