Painting Tip: Alligatoring
DEFINITION ALLIGATORING : You can almost imagine what this is by the name. If you can’t, it’s basically what happens when the paint cracks in such a way as to form a pattern that resembles alligator scales. It can sometimes just be affecting the top layer of paint and not be reaching the surface.
WHAT CAUSES IT?
There are a number of possible causes and I’ve listed them below:
- You may have painted over a glossy finish and the paint wasn’t able to bond with it properly.
- Using an extremely hard coating, such as oil-base enamel, (this dries very hard eventually), over a more flexible coating. The flexible coating can shift or expand and contract underneath the top-coat and cause the top-coat to crack.
- The effects of extreme climates (freezing and thawing) on oil-base enamels over time.
- Putting another coat of paint on before the previous one has dried. (Yes, I’m sure many of us have done that at some point!)
- Using too much paint per coat.
SOLUTIONS:
- By one means or another (scraping, sanding, paint remover) or a combination, get the paint down to the bare surface.
- Brush or vacuum off all the dust and make sure the surface is clean and dry.
- Prime the surface with a high-quality primer.
- Apply topcoat(s) with the desired finish.
All the best,
Perry
714 721 3050
