Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Newly painted cabinets bubbling :(

Ok this is what I did.

I sanded the cupboards where i had to put the new handles after filling and drilling. I primed (2 coats) the next day I put on the 1st "real" coat of paint. About an hr later I went to check it out (how dry etc) and i noticed that on 8 of the 19 cupboards there were bubbles below the surface. Ok i figured id better take it off so i took a paint scrapper and carefully took the paint off..it peeled off in big strips very easy (only did it to the ones that had bubbles). all the paint came off including all the paint the previous owners had put on down to the original..looks like primer (whitish over a yucky bright green) The one cupboard it came off nicely right to the wood (that compressed crappy type wood). Ok so what happened and what do I do now?

Do i sand those cupboards lightly and wash them with that tps..tsp or whatever u call it again and then reprime and paint, or what? I was so happy to finally be done and just had 1 more coat of paint to do and put handles on..this so sucks..help!

the pro's will want to know:

why 2 coats of primer? what kind of primer (& paint)? and how long drying time in between primer coats? oil? latex? etc?

as well as temperature - paint will bubble if it's too hot or too cold.
Did you just sand where the handles are, or the whole thing?
JC

I sanded just where the new handles were to go to smooth it out and washed it down after..seemed to stick better around the new holes.

I used 2 coats of primer..no real reason why just thought 2 coats would be better and waited overnight for it to dry. I used Debbie Travis interior acrylic latex primer and the same DT in paint in satin for the kitchen which was where i painted.

Just asking so many questions 'cause I'm stumped on the exact answer. Seems I do remember, years ago, old paint bubbling when new was applied. Something like the chems in the new paint "deactivated" the hardeners in the old paint. By the time the new paint had soaked in, then hardened, the old paint was not able to re-harden. I don't remember the exact details though, maybe an old painter on here might know.
One more question... what did you wash them with?
JC

What type of paint was on the cabinets before you got started?

Sometimes new paint will bubble and then lay back down later but that doesn't cure the underlying problem.

I don't like using TSP inside, it must be rinsed well - piece of cake on the exterior with a garden hose :D I doubt that they need cleaning since all the paint peeled off. You do need to sand and wipe off dust before priming.

Since all the paint came off your latex primer might be ok but a solvent based primer would be a lot better. Paint stores are always a better place to find quality paints than a big box paint dept. Annette is correct that you only need 1 coat of primer - as long as everything is coated - doesn't matter if you can see thru some of it.

Paint labels will tell drying times. Cool temps or high humidity will lengthen drying times.

I washed them with the tsp and rinsed them off like 3xs to make sure it was clean good. Im thinking it was the paint the old owners had on before and when u wiped ur hand over the cupboard (after i had peeled the stuff off that was bubbling) i had a white film on my hand.

So i recleaned it good and put on primer again. Today im going to put on a coat of paint and see what happens. I realize that paint may bubble nd settle down but this wasnt doing that, as painting is one of the things im really good at but this stumped me since i never had that problem before. I dont know what was on them before since i just bought the house in Nov, but im thinking JC is right about whats going on.

So I will see what happens today when i repaint them.

Well I put the 1st coat of paint on the ones that had bubbled and they are fine now. Doing everything i did worked so im thinking there was a problem with how it was done when the previous owners painted. Yaaaaa I'm almost done..What a PITA!

Thanks ev1 for help/suggestions.

It has been my experience that when paint fails in that manner, the paint or primer did not bond to whatever layer remains after the paint peels off. If a surface is dirty or otherwise contaminated, the next coat of primer or paint may stay on without bonding. Subsequent coats may stay on as well, but the original unbonded coat is still unbonded. Eventually, it will all fail in the manner you have described. This is especially entertaining when using a roller and the second pass takes off the paint down about three layers.

Not being fond of band-aid fixes, I usually scrape or strip the finish to the stable layer or bare surface as needed, clean with mineral spirits, and seal with a top quality primer-sealer. Then I paint as usual. This solves the problem.

Hope this helps.

I'm cheering w/ you. It's so frustrating when things go wrong in a project. Unfortunately, you can almost guarantee something will come up in every remodel. A testament to DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. In your case, whoever painted the cabinets before, it sounds like.
JC

if they're raised panel cabinet doors, in about a year or so, you can watch all the paint crack at the joints, from the wood expanding & contracting!!!!! :rolleyes: (my current nightmare)