Do you always use enamel paint in bathrooms/kitchens?

[B4U]

Originally Posted by jctx

It seems "hard" but only if you bumped it with furniture or something. Once you get a hold of an edge of it, you can peel it up like a removable car window sticker.
We had skim-coated our walls with compound to smooth out the drywalls, so there wasnt any paint on them at all. We sealed the walls with Kilz primer b/c its a bathroom and we were told to do this to protect and seal. The paint is a semi-gloss bathroom enamel - does that help?

Did you use KILZ latex or oil? (what did you use to clean it/kilz up? Water or turps/paint thinner)
Is your bathroom ventilated? And how long did you wait before trying to remove the tape?
Even though you felt the paint was dry, it takes a good 7days to "cure", especially in the moist environment of a bathroom. And "scoring the edge, where the wall and tape met was a good idea anyway.
You still didn't say if your paint was latex enamel or oil-based.

3 things to know:
1.) the shinyer the paint the longer it takes to dry (and more expensive too)
2.) the darker the color the longer it takes to dry (usually tint doesn't cost extra - at least in the BIG BOX stores)
3.) Latex breaths - shrinks and expands with moister & heat.
Oil/alkyd dries hard and stays put.
So, if you put latex on oil it's like you putting your hand flat on a countertop and squeezing and flexing it. The counter stays, while the hand moves. NOT A GOOD THING!

I would wait and see what happens in the next couple of days. If all goes well - gold star for you! If not, ugh! Your going to have to prime and redo.
How you'll know is, in a day or 2, in an inconspicious place take your fingernail and see if it scrapes off. If it does, that means moisture can & will get behind it and it will - sooner than later bubble/peel off.
In which case you'll have to scrape it all off, use B.I.N. primer (which is a white pigmented shellac, fast drying and will penetrate into the existing top-coat to make a good bond) and paint again...

AND DO NOT paint with SHINY paint this time. I love these people who either hate to paint, or never do paint, who work in paint stores advising customers on what to use. To me shiney paint should be left to the trim, doors, cabinets ONLY! Shiney paint shows every imperfection on the walls and looks cheesy! IMHO. It's what stores advise for easy clean-up, but to me it reminds me of what landlords use in bulk for their make a good buck$ apartments.
All latex paint is washable now-adays. Just don't wash for at least 7-10 days, and never use a cleaner with amonia in it. There's amonia in the paint (that's part of the reason paint "smells) and it just lifts the paint.

READ the back of the can on anything you're not familiar with. No matter what the person at the counter tells you.
AND.....now that I'm thinking about it, there's a 1-800 # on the back of every can. Call that # and ask for "TECHNICAL SUPPORT". Tell them your story, and see what they advise.
Let me know, please.
And again, good luck. IMO, this is why people hate to paint. All the prep is 90% of the job, which sucks, and then the end result still comes out poo-poo. Which REALLY sucks! Sorry about that.

Next time, ask first. Like with a doctor, always get a second opinion. AND...READ the back of any product or call 800 # before starting your project.

[B4U]

P.S. In the future, if you don't know what the base (water or oil-based) is on an existing area, you can test it.
In an unconspicious area, take a piece of papertowel or rag and wet it with alcohol - denatured or rubbing, and rub the area with the rag. If the paint comes off, it's waterbased.

You can put water-based on top, or oil-based.
If it's oil-based, either stick with oil, or to convert over, use an oil primer with a water-based topcoat or two. I would suggest two.

[B4U]

!

[jctx]

Thank you so much B4U!!!!!!!!!!

[B4U]

You're welcome. But what happened? Are things better?

[whoisjongalt]

I used semi-gloss latex and it worked fine in the bathroom...no problems pulling up the tape either. Initially I tried flat latex because I don't really like any gloss but it just wouldn't work with the steam from the shower.

[noel.moore]

Not necessarily you can pretty much use any non absorbent paint matte peels after some time ....

[BigDGeek]

I had a painter come in and paint all of my doors with oil-based paint. I painted the trim and walls myself with latex-based paint. People say you can't use latex-based over oil-based but I have found that to be a problem only on large areas of wood (like doors). It was not a problem at all on the trim and windowsills. All of the trim and sills got 2 coats.

When it comes to oil-based paint I am happier to let a professional tackle the job because they will usually clean up any spills and the finish will be superior to what I can do. My house reeked for a week when I had my doors painted though, the smell was ungodly. If someone had children I could see how they would be freaked out by the fumes.

To answer the OP's original question, I use latex paint in an eggshell finish on all of my walls because it is more attractive (to me) and is easier to clean. Eggshell does seem to hold up better in wet areas though I have lived in houses with flat finish paint and wallpaper in bathrooms/kitchens and the heat and humidity did not seem to be a huge problem except when it came to cleaning. Wallpaper will eventually need to be covered or replaced no matter where it is hung.

[B4U]

You were very lucky. That is not my rule, but science. Anyone with experience will tell you so.
And probably any paint tech.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by B4U

You were very lucky. That is not my rule, but science. Anyone with experience will tell you so.
And probably any paint tech.

Like I said I had no problems with it at all, the finish still looks great. No chipping or peeling.