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Peeling Paint? How to Diagnose, Correct, & Prevent Paint Failure on Buildings InspectAPedia®  -     List of clues assists in diagnosing paint problems on building indoor surfaces Paint failure diagnosis checklists for the building interior How to diagnose the cause of failing paint on a building exterior or interior

Here we discuss building interior surface painting mistakes, listing clues that help diagnose paint failures on building indoor surfaces. This article series reviews common building exterior & interior painting mistakes, describes how to diagnose paint failures on buildings, and outlines a procedure for diagnostic field inspection & lab testing of failed painted surfaces. We include photographs of paint failures on buildings and more photos of forensic paint laboratory examination of samples of failed paint useful to assist in diagnosing the probable cause of each type of paint failure.

Although outdoor sun and weather exposure are not a significant factor in indoor surface paint failures, many building interior paint & coating failures are similar to other causes of exterior paint failures in their origin and cure, including bad surface preparation, incompatible paints, etc. Readers should also see Paint Failure Case Photographs-SITE and then Paint Failure Case Photographs-LAB. and see PAINT & STAIN GUIDE, EXTERIOR for a guide to the selection and proper application of paints and stains on exterior wood surfaces.

Our page top photo shows popcorn-style ceiling paint in good condition. Textured ceiling paints, including the spray-on "popcorn" type coatings that were used into the late 1970's may contain asbestos and should be handled accordingly if the surface is being stripped or demolished.

Readers should also see Paint Failure Case Photographs-SITE and then Paint Failure Case Photographs-LAB

The diagnosis and cure of paint failure on building interior ceilings, walls, floors, trim, and other surfaces is quite possible if there is a careful and thorough inspection of the building, its history, its surfaces, and the actual points of paint failure. It is diagnostic to compare the same coating on the same type of surface at different locations on a building and in areas of failed and not-failed paint. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

PAINT FAILURE CHECKLIST: INTERIOR CLUES - Interior Observations Related to Paint Failures

• Signs of leaks or water entry from all sources, at all locations
• Relative humidity, use of humidifiers, dehumidifiers, hot air heat
• Construction details, air movement in the building
• Sources of water, leaks, moisture
• Sources of exfiltration - indoor air moving out through the building envelope
• Sources of infiltration - outdoor leaking into the building or into building cavities
• Information about insulation, ventilation, vapor retarders, water and air barriers
• Presence/absence of mildew, moisture stains, other signs
• Type of heating/cooling equipment installed (forced air, humidifiers, etc.)
• Fan placement and usage and effect on air movement
• Relationship of leaks or high humidity, vapor barrier defects, absent insulation, or other contributors, and areas of paint failure
• Placement and type of vapor barriers in building walls and ceilings
• Mapping of failed and not-failed paint on various building areas, overlaid on the above list of possible causes.

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PAINT & STAIN GUIDE, EXTERIOR
PAINT FALURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION
PAINT FAILURE CHECKLIST
  PAINT FAILURE - EXTERIOR CLUES
  PAINT FAILURE - INTERIOR CLUES
  PAINT FAILURE - SITE HISTORY of
  PAINT FAILURE INDICATORS
COMMON PAINTING MISTAKES
  PAINTING MISTAKE - BAD SURFACE PREP
  PAINTING SHORTCUT ERRORS
  PAINTING OVER MOISTURE
  INCOMPATIBLE PAINTS
  PAINTING in SUN or WIND
  PAINT on STUCCCO, FAILURES
PAINT FAILURE DICTIONARY
PAINT FAILURE ANALYSIS LAB PHOTOS
Paint Failure Case Photographs-SITE
Paint Failure Case Photographs-LAB
PAINT LAB SAMPLE PREPARATION
PAINT REFERENCES
PORCHES & Sunrooms
ROOFING DIAGNOSIS INSPECTION & REPAIR
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
SIDING, ASBESTOS CEMENT SHINGLES
SIDING EIFS STUCCO
SIDING HARDBOARD
SIDING VINYL
SIDING WOOD
SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors
SIDING WOOD
STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Building Exteriors
STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Indoor Surfaces

• Paint and Surface Coatings, Theory and Practice, R. Lambourne & T.A. Strivens, Ed., Woodhead Publishing Ltd., William Andrew Publishing, 1999 ISBN 1-85573-348 X & 1-884207-73-1 [This is perhaps the leading reference on modern paints and coatings, but is a difficult text to obtain, and is a bit short on field investigation methods - DF]
• Analysis of Modern Paints, Thomas J.S. Learner, Research in Conservation, 2004 ISBN 0-89236-779-2 [Chemistry of modern paints, overview of analytical methods, pyrolysis-gas chromatography signatures of basic modern paints and their constituents, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for paint analysis, direct temperature-resolved mass spectrometry, and analysis in practice - technical reference useful for forensic paint science, focused on art works -DF]
• Seeing Through Paintings, Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies, Andrea Kirsh, Rustin S. Levenson, Materials in Fine Arts, 2000 ISBN 99-051835 [ forensic science, technical reference, focused on art works - DF]
• Paint Handbook: testing, selection, application, troubleshooting, surface preparation, etc., Guy E. Weismantel, Ed., McGraw Hill Book Company, 1981 [Excellent but a bit obsolete paint theory and practice, also a bit light on field investigation methods, out of print, available used-DF]
• Art, Biology, and Conservation: Biodeterioration in Works of Art, RObert J. Koestler et als. Eds., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003, ISBN 1-58839-107-8
• Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF]
• Understanding Ventilation, John Bower, The Healthy House Institute, ISBN 0-9637156-5-8, 1995 [General building science-DF]
• Dampness in Buildings, Diagnosis, Treatment, Instruments, T.A. Oxley & E.G. Gobert, ISBN 0-408-01463-6, Butterworths, 1983-1987 [General building science-DF]
• "Moisture Control in Buildings: Putting Building Science in Green Building," Alex Wilson, Environmental Building News, Vol. 12. No. 5. [Good tutorial, "Moisture 101" outlining the physics of moisture movement in buildings and a good but incomplete list of general suggestions for moisture control - inadequate attention given to exterior conditions such as roof and surface drainage defects which are among the most-common sources of building moisture and water entry.--DJF]
• "Paint Failure Problems and Their Cure," Daniel L. Cassens and William C. Feist, National Forest Products Laboratory, online via Purdue University, http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/NCR/NCR-133.html
• "Why House Paint Fails," Mark Knaebe, US FPL, http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/finlines/knaeb95a.pdf
• "Why Paint Jobs Fail," http://www.bennette.com/pdf/whyfail.pdf
• "Supplemental Guidelines for Removing Paint From Interior and Exterior Wood Surfaces," US General Services Administration, http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/Hptp.nsf/0/40aff5a115b6a9e5852565c50054b4f4?OpenDocument
• "Common Paint Problems," http://www.parkerpaint.com/Common%20Paint%20Problems.html illustrates common paint failures - though their images and text appear to have been stolen from PPG - see http://www.ppg.com/getpaint/etraining/solver/exterior.html which catalogs paint failures and causes
• "Paint problem solver" from Lowes, http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/PntPrbSlv.html&rn=RightNavFiles/no.html
• "Mill Glaze: Myth or Reality," R. Sam Williams, Mark Knaebe, US FPL, http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/finlines/willi01a.pdf
• http://www.paintlab.com/failure.html is a lab offering paint chip failure analysis
• PPG Exterior Failures http://www.ppg.com/getpaint/etraining/solver/exterior.html
• "Weather-Resistive Barriers", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE

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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Exteriors, Landscaping, & Siding - Inspection, Repairs, Product Failures

• Quotes in the opening text of this document are from the encyclopedic but not quite complete paint website: PPG Exterior Failures http://www.ppg.com/getpaint/etraining/solver/exterior.html

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