Over five weeks of work...

[solarbird]

...and today the trim paint peeled off in narrow stripes when I removed the masking tape, some of the stripes being three feet long. It looks like TOTAL ASS.

It's not the new paint's fault; the previous owner's paint that we painted over came off with it, meaning it wasn't adhesed properly to the previous coat. I knew it was crap paint applied badly - that's why why tinlail and annathepiper and I sanded and scraped it all for seemingly forever. But it wasn't enough. We apparently needed to scrape back to bare wood, or at least completely down to the previous layer.

Some rooms are better than others. The hallway is the worst, I think, both in terms of rate of failure and resultant look. It's really bad.

Oh, and where one of the tenants and her friend finally helped (rollering on the wall colour) they splattered little dots of paint all over the trim wherever the tape wasn't. You don't notice that until you get closer to it - say a foot away or so. So you've got your choice; torn off paint, or little dots. I'd mind less if I hadn't made a big point about not doing exactly that, and giving a demonstration. I'd also told them about wiping it off with water immediately if it happened. But - little dots.

Venting about that part is probably churlish of me. I mean, it did save me a good solid day of labour, if you don't count the splatter repair. But I'm too depressed right now not to. So there it is. If the tape hadn't ruined everything, I'd never have said a thing.

Fixing it will require probably two additional coats of trim paint, only without the luxury of using tape. Very careful application along all the trim edges with a small brush.

{sigh}

I don't mind pouring labour into things, even when the people who are going to be the main beneficiaries don't really care. (They've damaged it already, moving stuff around - badly enough to gouge into the wood one place) But I really, really hate working my ass into the ground and having it come out sucking right from the start.

{oh; the pictures from the previous post are from the living room, where this mostly didn't happen. Mostly there it was the wall and ceiling paint that peeled away. So at least one room came out somewhat well. It's just all the OTHER rooms that crapped out.}

Comments

[tinlail.livejournal.com]

I guess I can head over and help with some more painting then.

Since I didn't make it clear...

[solarbird]

...I want to mention that this is IN NO WAY A RESULT OF a poor job of sanding and scraping. You and annathepiper did a good job and it was both no fun and hard work. I just underestimated how monumentally crappy that previous paint was, and how badly it was applied.

Stupid paint.

Re: Since I didn't make it clear...

[tinlail.livejournal.com]

Next time We bring out the belt sanders

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

how about getting one of those metal things that block the parts you don't want painted? i don't know what they are called, but my parents had one. Looks like a big blind slat (curved metal) with a small handle on it. i know it was used for painting trim and not painting the wall near it.

Paint shield

[amethyst-dancer.livejournal.com]

The metal thing is called a "paint shield". They don't always work perfectly, because sometimes the paint can seep under the edges. It helps to wipe paint off the shield frequently, but doesn't prevent the problem. Ours isn't curved, it's just a straight piece of metal with a handle on it. Maybe the curved ones work better.

[princessheacock.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Sorry.

[dianala.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear things aren't going so great for you. I know you love to get everthing done so perfectly, and I can totally relate. I hope things brighten up a bit for you soon!