Paint flaking on 15 year old emulsion paint

[talkingcats]

Hi, I painted my kitchen with emulsion paint about 15 years ago. In the last few months paint has started flaking from one localised area over the window. The paint elsewhere is fine except behind the large hot radiator where it has flaked at little. The plaster seems to be in excellent condition and quite dry to the touch. The house is 35 years old and I shall be replacing the original rather cold wooden windows with UPVC in January. Please see photo below. I plan to sand it down in a few days as it looks rather unsightly now and repaint in the new year. I would appreciate any thoughts about the causes. Obviously I fear damp but there is no staining and no marks on the ceiling and the plaster is dry if cold. All the external walls are cold near the clapped out windows. I would appreciate any thoughts as to what my next steps should be. Many thanks

 

[Wayners]

Looks like damp salts pushing the paint off but I doubt that with age of house..
No mould that I can see so maybe just a little condensation causing the issue.

 

[JohnD]

You say it's a kitchen. Does your extractor fan work? How often do you use it?

 

[talkingcats]

Looks like damp salts pushing the paint off but I doubt that with age of house..
No mould that I can see so maybe just a little condensation causing the issue.

Thank you very much for your reply The affected patch is quite close to cooker and hob and I am a very active cook. It is also on a line from the hob to the window I open to dispel steam in the kitchen. In the absence of any other evidence, do you think I should just sand down and repaint with anti-condensation paint and see how it goes? Many thanks for your input.

 

[talkingcats]

You say it's a kitchen. Does your extractor fan work? How often do you use it?

Thanks for the reply. I do use the extractor most of the time but I am a very active cook so I also open the window to dispel steam in cold weather. The affected patch is pretty close the the pane I open! Do you think I should just sand down and repaint with anti-condensation paint and see how it goes?

 

[michealangelo]

Thank you very much for your reply The affected patch is quite close to cooker and hob and I am a very active cook. It is also on a line from the hob to the window I open to dispel steam in the kitchen. In the absence of any other evidence, do you think I should just sand down and repaint with anti-condensation paint and see how it goes? Many thanks for your input.

It's very common for condensation to activate plaster


This causes it to attack the paint on top of it , the cracking , crumbling etc you see

It's called efflorescence

I would open the windows ....and in the long run it's good to do this more often ....xx

Then get some alkali resisting primer ....zinser guardz , dulux , crown .....its expensive so get a small tin

Scrape away all the obvious loose stuff

Then apply two coats of the primer above .....allow 3 hours between coats

After that fill the area with powder filler or ready mixed is OK.....either way put a first layer in then build another one on top when the first is dry

Sand the filler back ....then when you have a flat surface or as best as you can get then get your paint that you want to put on the area....thin it slightly with water ....an egg cup amount in say a pint of the paint is fine ....just "ease " it ....and put a few coats on , making sure you leave a drying time between coats

It's a nice little project

 

[michealangelo]

Looks like damp salts pushing the paint off but I doubt that with age of house..
No mould that I can see so maybe just a little condensation causing the issue.

I think you are spot on

Condensation in the kitchen is definitely able to activate the plaster and force paint off the walls

Deal with condensation by opening windows regularly , priming area with alkali resisting primer then filling , finishing with chosen paint and from then on not allowing too much condensation to settle with regular ventilation via windows and wiping down walls where it appears with simple rags

Some very heavy use kitchens have a mini dehumidifier for this reason

 

[talkingcats]

It's very common for condensation to activate plaster


This causes it to attack the paint on top of it , the cracking , crumbling etc you see

It's called efflorescence

Thanks so much for your excellent detailed advice. It is much appreciated. With luck I might be able to get the old paint off without ruining the smooth surface of the plaster. If not I will use filler. The windows and all others are being replaced in early January so I'll leave most of the work until the kitchen window has been installed. But will get rid of the loose bit this week so it is not flaking onto my work surfaces .

 

[opps]

If you are happy with a slightly shinier finish, after using the alkali resistant primer, go with waterbased eggshell for the walls. Downside is that any condensation will literally run down the walls.