Exterior paint problems… The original paint was done I. 2011 and there have been bubbles in the paint since. The owner of this place wanted to fix it and thought we could pop the bubbles and paint over with minimal prep. The Paint is a latex acrylic paint … And the project is getting worse . What has to happen ? If we sand it gums up, here are some pics…
Popped bubbles
Painter over bubbles
Sanded scraped and some areas painted , top area painted
Will the paint fill in the areas eventually ???
@fidalgo_vapes, I am by NO means a painter, but have tackled other similar issues. Popping ALL bubbles, scraping up the surface really good, using top shelf primer before painting, or even Kilz at times as needed. All in the prep work, and looks like you’re going behind someone who didn’t prep right.
Do you think all those scraped areas should be saned down more ??? Or will the primer fill the areas in ??
When I sand the paint just gums up , it horrible. I really feel like I should strip it all the way down ??? Unless the primer is the fix all
Sanded down as much as you can, and you want a nice clean (if possible) and RUFF surface, so the primer, then paint can take hold.
So if the primer isnt used its just going to look like shit ??? The ownet of the building thinks the paint is of such good quality primer isnt needed… So in your experiance primer is a must and will help significantly
This is has been horrible btw
Well, again, I’m NOT a painter, but I have thoughts. I was always taught, EVERYTHING comes from the prep, whether it be taping off, masking, or priming. Good primer will cover almost anything (except when you need Kilz primer), and provide a good tacky surface for the paint to adhere to. Now the top coat (paint) shouldn’t be necessarily be cheaped out on either because it’s got to withstand the elements (this is exterior paint right ?).
Yes exterior paint … And ty , your advice sent me in a quest and i am on my way to go get some High Build Primer… Crossing fingers
Without reading all replies, let me start by saying that I owned a house painting business (interior/exterior). Idk the history of the house but when you sandwich oil based paint with water based paint (latex/acrylic) it creates a chemical reaction causing off gassing. Hence the bubbles.
Oil paint dries hard and is easy to sand. Water based paints tend to gum up from the friction which causes heat. Which is best to use is 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other. Oil feeds and penetrates wood but dries hard and tends to crack over time from weather exposure. Latex lays on top but expands/contracts with temperature changes.
The best advice I can give you is to call the company’s tech help (phone number should be listed on the can). I had a situation once and out of desperation called tech help. I was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge and professionalism of their tech team. At the time it, it happened to be Benjamin Moore paint. A paint that contractors often use around these parts. Even if it’s not Ben Moore you can call them for help. Good luck and let me know what happens. The worst case scenario would be grinding off the paint and starting over. Hopefully, for you, a proper primer will do the trick.
Thank you … Sanding it completely was my initial thought , but like you said its latex and gums up , I’m gonna try a primer which Sherwinn Williams suggested . Will let you know if it does the trick …
As @SessionDrummer mentioned most time spent on painting should be the prep work and worth more in the end then putting down expensive paints 'cpecially if ya dont know what u are painting over. let the ocd take over and go to town scraping seems like a waste but as ya now know its better then having to redo the whole thing again. Gl to u!
Would a sand-blaster be feasible? Eh, probably too messy.
Its an bed and breakfast / day spa so noise is frowned upon , but at this point if the primer doesn’t help ill try anything …
Sand & feather bubble edges,clean/TSP all intended surfaces to paint, fill broken bubble pits with exterior grade filler (spackle) over primer where required, sand spackle flush, oil prime all intended painted surfaces, then paint with a high solids quality latex finish coat (brush/roller).
Not professional but this has worked for me.
The more time and attention to detail, the better the results.
I’ve a lot of experience with paints even if I’m not a painter, painted walls in my houses so many times for myself and friends, did venetian plaster, and did antiques furniture restoration as a hobby since I was 18 (60 now).
My first thought looking at the pictures is exactly what @muth said, reaction, acrylic over “something else” probably oil or chemical paints.
Paint can be as expensive as you want but where is the paint gong to stick to?? Oil??
Prime is a must and a good one too! That’s why @muth said ask the techs.
What do you need to do? Renovating and look new? Simple answer, sand it down… completely! Anything else it’s not going to make it look perfect, then, wash it and clean it thoroughly (no dust!), prime and paint.
If you need just to patch it up, looking at your pictures, before any primer you’ll need to sand the cracks, bubbles or whatever, as far as they go (otherwise they’ll open up again) as @SessionDrummer said, I’d use a wood filler and sand everything even, then, you can wash, clean, prime and paint.
From my point of view (but it’s a Restorer point of view…) I’d try to sand it down (I know it’s a lengthy process) as much as possible and do it all up again, by the look of it, it’s already been patched up a few times… so you just might as well, then clean, prime, paint and add a final hand of transparent finish with one of those (expensive) transparent UV rays wood protection paints but it’ll save you time in the future, you won’t touch it again for years.
Done it in my house years ago and never touched the wood beams again and I’ve got a lot of them…
I’ve handscraped many a latex paint jobs then feathered the edges by hand sanding because it doesn’t generate enough heat to melt the latex. If the surface was acceptably smooth we’d then use a low lustre paint as to not reflect any imperfections. Sure, you can get ocd and smooth everything out with filler, sanding and priming. Any bare wood must be primed too. If it was my own house and I was 25 yrs old I might go through all the trouble. Otherwise I’d have it resided, lol. Idk any professional exterior house painter who would do all of that unless they were getting paid for a restoration. And that’s a whole other line of business.
You said the original paint was applied in 2011? I haven’t seen drop channel siding like that in recent years. When was the house built? Some of the older homes around here were painted with lead based paint. Ugh! I had a boss once who was in the Navy and he called it battleship paint 
That stuff did not budge for anything. Forget the scrapers and sanders, you needed a bazooka! But he made a good point. If not for the toxicity and state regulations he’d use lead paint on his own house because he’d be dead before the next paint job.
All Restorers have an OCD !! (and mixers…)
Can’t argue with that! I just feel happy for you that you don’t have to paint your house again until after your funeral 
I had a small (1x3 ft.) exterior wood area that I could not even get primer to stick. I think at one time the wood got wet. While dry now I would have to go well beyond light sanding. I asked a pro friend of mine what to do. He told me to scrap off any remaining loose primer and add a coat of varnish. Prime then paint.
Worked for me…
