How to Know if You Have Future Bubbling Problems

The mysterious bubbling paint.
How did this happen?

I just had my house painted!

The painters must have done a poor prep job!

It’sa sunny afternoon and we just got done Painting the back side of Mrs Smiths 1950 ranch. It was a dark red color over an off white color. The surface was washed, cleaned, checked for peeling paint and primed. It was ready for paint, or so we thought. Once painted bubbling started soon after, I mean like 45 minutes after! We started scraping the bubbles off and noticed it was going all the way down to the wood! We had just prepped this, how did it happen?

What causes paint to bubble on my exterior?

There is an adhesion problem between layers of paint or between the siding and original paint. Moisture coming through the siding and trying to escape out the face through the paint.

Is there a special primer that can stop the bubbling paint from happening?

I wish there was! If someone knows how to do this please let me know, we could be extremely wealthy! The only way to remedy the bubbling paint is to remove it or remove/replace the siding. Adding more paint is not the answer and will usually cause and increase in bubbling (because of tension as it dries and weight of the new paint).

Will a dark color increase the amount of bubbling on my house?

Yes and no. Dark colors absorb more heat (black car on a hot day… thank you leather seats!). As new paint dries onto the prepped surface, it grabs the last layer of paint applied. It can take up to 30 days for this to actually cure out. If you have a darker color, it takes longer to cure and moves more as it dries. As the paint dries, it grabs onto the previous paint layers and can cause bubbling as well!

So whose fault is it? Shouldn’t my painter have know this? No blame is needed! Just a simple test will tell you everything you need to know.

• Get a sample quart of paint in a dark color
• Clean a southern exposed side of your home (approximately 1 square foot)
• Apply 2 coats of the paint over the cleaned surface (please make sure it’s dry before applying the paint!)
• Let the sun and exposure dry out the paint for a week
• If no bubbles you should be good to go. If you have bubbles, proceed with caution!

Red Sample showing bubbling problems.