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Our hall bathroom walls are giving me fits. It was wallpapered when we moved in (most of the house was, in fact) and very dated. We tore it down to bare walls and floor, and completely re-did it five years ago. In the process, an old one-piece tub/shower surround was cut into pieces and taken out, replaced with a whirlpool tub and tiled tub surround. New drywall was installed above the tub surround, and I taped and mudded, and sanded (several times to achieve a perfectly smooth finish) all the seams before painting with latex-based paint.
Above the surround in a several spots, (and on another wall where a particularly large chunk of drywall came out when I removed the wallpaper), I cannot seem to get the paint to stick to the joint compound. There are three or four places around the perimeter of the shower surround where it has cracked and/or peeled away.
I'm willing to whatever prep work it will take to re-do it. I figure it will entail scraping away everything that's loose, and re-spackling and sanding the areas to smooth them out - then repaint the entire room. But before I do, I need some advice.
What would have caused this, so I don't repeat the same mistake? Do I need to give the spackled areas more time to cure before painting? I wasn't terribly patient when we did this room - it's the main bathroom, and when it's out of commission, I want to rush things along. However, I will force myself to wait longer if letting them cure will avoid a repeat situation down the road.
Or is it just the nature of a humid bathroom, and I need to DEMAND that my kids run the fan while they're in the shower, and/or leave the door cracked open? (It's like a sauna in there after they shower.)
I have a similar problem on a ceiling I patched in the third bathroom, but it's very minor compared to the hall bath's problems (I'm not nearly as worried about it - I'll do it whenever I'm psyched up to perch on a ladder for hours and have drywall dust raining down on my head while I sand it smooth.)
Our "master" bathroom doesn't have this problem - but it opens onto our bedroom, and when we're showering, so we close our bedroom door and leave the bathroom door open. (Tiny bathroom = dressing takes place in the bedroom ;o)
Terry, Two points.
If your plaster patches were not completely dry before painting, the paint will not stick for long. Do not shower for a day before painting fresh plaster in a bathroom.
The second point is to prime the fresh plaster before painting. You need a product that penetrates, Primer. Let that dry then paint.
Andy P
Good points, Andy - thanks! Down here in the always-humid south, it's impossible to expect plaster to dry fast, so I probably need to exert more patience, and plan for the tub/shower to be out of commission for at least a week or longer during the project.
And primer - yes - that will be the first coat ;o)
Terry, A small fan set on low to blow air into or out of the room will do wonders.
I'd like to mention an ultra-light plaster by DAP called Fast 'N Final. I use it all the time in place of joint compound. BUT it takes some getting used to and it's expensive.
A 1 gallon tub is about $17.
On the other hand, it makes almost no dust when sanded and dries in minutes. You can even prime it before it's dry, in a pinch.
A lot of contractors don't like it because they treat it like joint compound and that doesn't work. I can get into more detail if you want.
If you only have a little to do, joint compound may be easier.
Have fun.
Andy P
Andy, please more detail about this stuff called Fast 'N Final. I like the part about "almost no dust when sanded." I have a piece of drywall that needs to be taped and mudded over my stairway and I've been dreading doing it because of the inevitable dust it will create. Can this be used in place of drywall mud?
We also have a host of problems with the real plaster walls downstairs, but that's a whole nother thread. :)
Diann, Yes Fast 'N Final can be used in the place of 'joint compound'.
The key, which is not mentioned on the container, is to dampen the surface before application, especially before a thin layer. I wipe a damp sponge over the area immediately before application. There is so little moisture in this stuff that it may not stick to a dry surface. It will not shrink or crack, even with a thick coat. I sometimes add a bit of water to it when it's on the joint (Putty) knife. Too much water can lead to cracking, however.
When a second coat is needed, be sure to wipe a sponge over the dry first layer first. Don't pile it on because it is harder to sand than regular joint compound. It's easier to skim coat low spots.
This product also requires one extra coat of paint, so spot paint/prime before the final coat.
It takes practice to get it to work. Has a dryer texture and may generate foul language at first. If it's a small job, go ahead and try it. Remember to dampen the surface first.
Good luck.
Andy P
Terry,
I feel for you, that bathroom being needed all the time can put a major hurtin on giving things a chance to dry...I used a dehumidifier and it helped greatly.
I would think with 3 bathrooms that maybe the other 2 could be used more of the time. Also, there is a reason we put fans in. Insist on their being used. Maybe the length of the showers should be cut down also. Being a sauna in there suggests to me some pretty long showers. Unless of course the room is small.
Now I also have a problem. 10 or so years ago we put in a moulded fiberglass shower, no tub. It was almond. It now is a lot lighter in places. I am trying to figure out why certain places but can't. We are on well water so don't have the chemicals. We haven't had the water tested since the first time required when the well was drilled and it was good then.
What to we do with this to make it look good? We have tried all kinds of cleaners. Also a buffer. I know there is a paint for plastics out now, but in very few gaudy colors.
Couldn't tell you what's causing the problem, but it's possible it's something in your water, well water may not have all the unnatural chemicals that regular city water would have, but it could have higher concentrations of various minerals, etc than what you would find otherwise. Could the spots be mineral deposits, like hard water? Those can be very tough to remove sometimes, many cleaners will not do the job. You could try vinegar on it, if that's what it is then you should notice an improvement.
The paint for plastics that you mention would not be appropriate for your shower even if it came in good colors. If you want to paint it, Klenk's is one brand (there may be others) of epoxy paint made specially for refinishing sinks/tubs/etc, they make one for porcelain and one for fiberglass, so make sure you get the right one. It comes in white and almond, so you could either paint it almond like it was originally, or paint it white and then if the spots come back they won't show up as much!
Trust me, I ask, please, beg, nudge, nag...harp even...for them to leave the door open a crack and run the fan during their marathon showers. Since only the 10 YO and 18 YO use this bathroom for bathing, it's not like anyone is going to barge in on either of them. (The rest of us use our own bathrooms, pretty much exclusively.)
However, they're both paranoid about having the other one walk in on them, so they refuse to keep the door slightly ajar.
I'm hoping the problem will abate this fall when one of them takes over the third bathroom (after their big brother moves to an apartment closer to campus.) And when we're down to four people in the house, I'll temporarily shut down the use of this bathroom for showers while I scrape, patch, sand, prime and repaint the room.
