Encapsulating paint on garage walls?

[davegerard]

As mentioned in my intro post, my garage went thru years of neglect before I bought my house, and is mostly held together by hope. It also needs to be repainted, but a lot of the paint that is on there now is flaking off (cheap paint job). Can I get away with only scraping off the paint that is flaking, or do I have to scrape it all off? I don't want to paint the whole thing only to have the paint underneath start to flake too and ruin my paint job. I also don't want to have to scrape the whole garage if I don't have to, but I want to do this thing right.

Thanks.

 

[fefarms]

Try a pressure washer, if you have access to one. Easier than scraping. You need to get most of the loose paint off, only small flakes could possibly be encapsulated by something, and the "something" with enough film strength to accomplish that will likely be spendy.

 

[davegerard]

I don't have access to a pressure washer, unfortunately, looks like a weekend with my nose to the grindstone. As long as I get the loose stuff off though, I should be alright, right? I don't need to scrape the paint that isn't flakey or loose, right?
Thanks

 

[PAToyota]

Renting a washer is going to be cheaper in the long run than the time it is going to take to do it by hand.

 

[christian]

Also, buying a cheap pressure washer may be a good idea. I haven't looked recently, but a lower PSI one is probably less than $100.

edit-just did a quick HD search

1800psi Husky
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...earchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+5521&pos=n18
$169

1500 PSI
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...earchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+5521&pos=n18
$99

 

[davegerard]

Those aren't bad prices. Maybe I can sell the wife on one because I could also do the siding of the house and the concrete with one. It will definitely **** if I have to scrape paint by hand, unless they sell a 10 ft wide scraper, ha ha.

 

[D-Cal]

Don't buy a cheap pressure washer. I've been through several. Garbage. Save up and buy a decent one, or rent it when you need it.

 

[davegerard]

Damn, you just took all the frosting off my cupcake. If they are garbage I will have to pass, how much does a quality one cost? Any brands that are good?

 

[burger]

The electric ones are junk. A low-end gasoline one will do everything you need and set you back about $300.

 

[justinmc]

One thing to remember/consider is the age of the garage and its paint. If its lead based stuff make sure your wearing a mask and not just tossing the scrapings into the garage can.

 

[christian]

I've had 2 low end Karcher and Husky models. They both died. Now I have a nice gas powered Karcher 2500 or so PSI and it works well. The electric is just a cheap option that may not be bad if you won't use it too often.

 

[Abodyracer]

If you repaint you'll need to scrape the loose paint off. The new coat of paint is only going to be as good as what you paint over, I.E. if the base coat is crappy the top coat will be crappy, it just looks better. After you scrape use Zinsser Peel Stop http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=66
To seal the edges of the unscraped paint down. Also make sure you use a quality exterior primer on the entire surface. That is probably why it peeled in the first place. If you think you can get away without primer think of it this way. Would you paint a car without using primer first?

On the pressure washer issue. If you use one to remove the loose paint make sure you gise the siding pleanty of time to completely dry. You can't paint a wet/damp surface. Actually you can but your paint job WILL FAIL. Also use caution on how much pressure you use and how close tou get with the stream. You can actually gauge the surface. You might be able to justify the purchase of a pressure washer buy using it on other projects around the house. I use mine to clean just about everything; mower, wash cars, wash driveway, wash house siding and outsides of the windows (that last one will make your wife happy ) wash the deck, patio furniture, etc.... you get the idea.

Hope this helps.

 

[davegerard]

All of this helps alot, especially the peel stop. That will work inside the house too, I have a room where they used cheap paint before me and it's all peeling off.

 

[Abodyracer]

That will work inside the house too, I have a room where they used cheap paint before me and it's all peeling off.

Is it coming off in sheets? Does it leave bare drywall exposed. Sounds like poor prep to me. I've seen people try to paint right after sanding drywall mud without wiping down the surface or even using primer and had the same problems. Just remember that if the paint isn't sticking to the wall at all the Peel Stop won't do any good as it just helps the edges stick down.

 

[davegerard]

It's just comng off in flakes. We bought our house from a company that flips them, and they did a really cheapo renovation job, and the house also sat for about 2 years, and they didn't really do any maintenance. There is paint underneath, probably from the original owners, but it looks really old. The garage looks to be just a coat of barn red on the bare wood, also probably from the original owners.