Paint Peeling From Outside Walls

[monsieurhappy]

My house is 3 1/2 years old, it was new when we moved in. The paintwork wasn't too great and they didn't come along to touch it up as they said they would do before we paid over the money. Not to worry as we got a good deal! In the next 3 years there were patches of paintwork on the lower parts of the outside walls that seemed to bubble and flake off. This year I decided to get the outside painted. The guy who I contacted I'd known for some time and had done good jobs for me in the past. He used his family to do the work. I told him I wanted a "good" job done and I bought ICI paint and also ICI Masonry sealer. The work looked OK and was done as well as any work by Thais seems to be. Now I find there are patches on the lower walls that are bubbling, mainly in long thin strips. I scraped one of these off and the sealer came away too. What is the problem? A friend says it could be damp but it doesn't look like that to me. As the sealer had an effect on the cement? Can anyone think of what may be my problem and what I can do to cure it? Thanks in advance.

[Sir Burr]

After the cement sealer, did you use proper undercoat, or, did you just apply the top coat?

[lopburi3]

Normally this seems to be a wet wall (and the reason it is worse down low) but not sure why the sealer did not seal. Believe most of us just use paint directly on the cement. I would try when ground is dry and make paint very thin so it can absorb into the cement and use multi coats. Not an expert by any means but seems to have helped when I did it.

[Dragonman]

Agree with lopburi3. Normally damp found on outside, but not inside of property. We have it on our estate due to topography of site. Do you have gutterings and downpipes? Most people around here tile the bottom of the wall. Tiles do not come off, and looks better than the flaking paint.

[CGW]

For what it's worth:- I have been told that the best paint made in Thailand is Jotun, and have used this and had no problems.

I work in the Marine industry, Jotun in not considered to be the paint of choice for quality, but for some reason here it is # 1 They do advise painting an anti bacterial coat prior to 'top" coat.

Cheers

[monsieurhappy]

I must admitt that after the sealer, the top coat went on without an undercoat but as this is masonry paint as opposed to gloss I thought that was OK. Like I said, some of the paint was flaking before we got the house repainted but I thought it was down to the fact that the original paint job was cr@p. This was the reason I got them to use sealer. Now the flaking seems to be in more places than before but it does only seem to be around the height of the internal concrete floors and in thin horizontal strips as against big patches. But where the paint is coming off the cement looks dry underneath. Looks like tiling might be the only way to go!

[Thaipwriter]

Well, three and a half years is not a bad life cycle for an exterior paint job here in Thailand. the paint has to endure some horrific temperatures and UV baking.

The preparation is the key to sucess. sealer and proper undercoat are essential.

After observing the like of top Thai construction companies work ( Windmill / Land and Houses etc) it would appear that TOA is the best paint....dont select some of their entry level priced products though.

Thai's tend to water it down to a near milk like constistancy and im not convinced this is a good idea UNLESS you are sure they are doing 4 or 5 coats. If they just do one coat and have watered the paint down for the purposes of saving money on paint then this means there is trouble ahead.

[gburns57au]

You have a moisture problem, moreso as it is upto the floor levels and not above...try taping a 3-5 inch square of clear plastic in the area (exposed to the sun) in the morning and check it during the day....if moisture is evident under the plastic...that will be the problem.....Next thing to look at is ...is it all around the house or only in cetain areas...near the bathroom or toilet areas...if it is near those areas you may need to look at waterproofing those areas. If it is all around then the moisture is probably coming up through the pad. Either way, until you locate the source and rectify it then no paint will stay on it.

Once rectified, there is no problem with using a sealer or even a watered down top coat as a sealer and then applying a top coat on to that....it is not necessary to use an undercoat with a sealer.

[dsfbrit]

I am about to paint the outside of the house including the outside walls.

No wood painting just the concrete walls.

I will probably do this work myself, so I was interested in the best paint to use.

It seems a choice between TOA and Jotun ?

In the UK I always used Dulux.

I would rather use the best paint so I dont have to paint again for several years.

I will just use white. Nice and easy and looks clean and tidy afterwards.

The current paintwork has not peeled, just looks a bit 'tired' so can I paint straight on top of the current paint?

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

[Moonfruit]

ICI Dulux is considered the best paint here in Thailand, with TOA being the most popular, and Jotun being an overpriced TOA.

Bear in mind that all paintwork here has a max lifespan of around 3 years. If its exterior it will be filthy enough for a repaint after that time, and interior walls, as they are not plastered attract the dirt and grime.

With this in mind, i dont see the point in spending 300 or 400% of the cost of a TOA classic sheild, or TOA Sheild 1. Also, the most expensive paints such as Supersheild tend to be much more watery and therefore give less coverage.

In answer to the OP's question, i think that gburns has nailed it. Theres o such thing as damp proofing here, so damp prevention is the name of the game.

[dsfbrit]

ICI Dulux is considered the best paint here in Thailand, with TOA being the most popular, and Jotun being an overpriced TOA.

Bear in mind that all paintwork here has a max lifespan of around 3 years. If its exterior it will be filthy enough for a repaint after that time, and interior walls, as they are not plastered attract the dirt and grime.

With this in mind, i dont see the point in spending 300 or 400% of the cost of a TOA classic sheild, or TOA Sheild 1. Also, the most expensive paints such as Supersheild tend to be much more watery and therefore give less coverage.

In answer to the OP's question, i think that gburns has nailed it. Theres o such thing as damp proofing here, so damp prevention is the name of the game.

Thanks for the advice moonfruit - Dulux it is then.

[dsfbrit]

Bought the paint etc...

The 'black stuff' on the top of the walls - see it all over the place on outside walls - what is it?

Is this just the damp?

Can I just wash it off and get painting or do I need to do something else first?

Thanks for any advice.