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Painting & Decorating

Small round bubble shapes after painting wood stairs

Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 3.25 PM

We had to re-paint our wooden staircase as it was looking quite old and wasted. So, first I sanded the wood as much as I could (manually with the paper). Then i cleaned it up with paper towels and water. Then I applied the paint (Dulux metal or wood paint). It was drying up and I noticed that on some parts there are bubble shaped marks now. I think it could be those spots that I didn't sand as well. It doesn't look horrible and it's only really visible when you are very close, but I wonder why this happened? Does anyone know if I should re-sand and re-paint those areas? I want it to be long lasting and not start chipping off.

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4 Answers

The Rose Squared

Rating: 5 out of 5

Norwich

Hi John, It sounds like you put a lot of good effort in to preparation so bad luck about the bubbles. I would suggest undercoating the wood first and then painting with a quality eggshell or gloss for durability and a good finish. Best of luck!

Answered1 July 2019

Timothy David Interiors

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tonypandy

Hi. It's difficult to know what these bubbles are from a description, there is no substitute for actually looking at the problem, before being able to give accurate advice. But most paint problems like this are caused by surface contamination. Your prep of sanding was good but esp in the case of any woodwork that hasnt been coated for a long time, i wash it with a sugar soap solution, then clean water, and often a final wipe over when dry with a clean cloth and methylated spirts ensures any residue is fully removed. Also any task of painting such woodwork is always made a better and more lasting job by the application of a primer or primer/undercoat first. Many of these available now are classed as 'supergrip' primers.

Answered1 July 2019

John Ellis

Rating: 5 out of 5

Slough

As above it’s difficult to provide an accurate answer without further information, was it water based or solvent based paint used? Solvent based will not adhere to any damp patches that may have occurred during preparation. Also the type of wood being painted may cause the issue, natural wood will have knots that need treating with solution to prevent any seeping through in the future, you will know this is the problem if the circles may look stained.

Answered1 July 2019

Anonymous user

I would of applied a coat shellac based zinzer first, as it holds back knotts as well as rusty proud nail heads then a decent undercoat and two coats of eggshell or two undercoat and one gloss

Answered3 July 2019