Finally caught my dumb mistake with paint prep after 10 years

I always just wiped down walls with a damp rag before painting. Last month I painted my living room and the new coat started peeling off in sheets a week later. Turns out I never cleaned the old grease and grime off the kitchen walls that open into that room. Now I use TSP substitute and actually scrub before every paint job. Anyone else learn the hard way that water alone doesn't cut it?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieltaylor1d ago

Three years back I painted my garage and the same thing happened. Grease from the car and old oil stains just laughed at my damp rag. Had to strip the whole thing down to drywall and start over. TSP is the only way to go for any room that sees cooking or cars. Water alone is a joke, you need something that actually cuts through the grime.

sage5210h ago

Felt this one hard. My kitchen walls had years of cooking grease baked on. Did the damp rag thing for way too long. New paint literally slid off in chunks like old wallpaper. Had to use a degreaser and then prime with oil-based stain blocker before it would stick. Now I treat every room like it has hidden grease. Learned that lesson the expensive way.