Peeling Paint

Every time I purchase a piece of furniture

that is covered in latex,

 I strip it down to bare wood...

Every time I say I'm going to do this

I get the genuinely interested folks that ask why...

and I love when people are genuinely interested

and ask questions

But I also get the folks that act like paint detectives 

who "caught" me red handed!

I've actually had this said to me;

 "I thought ASCP was SO great you 

ould paint over ANYTHING.

Guess that's just not true, huh?" 

I can just hear them...

"AHA, I KNEW IT!"

Sorry to disappoint those folks...

 

I'm not stripping off the latex

because ASCP won't stick to it

I'm stripping it off because  latex WILL, in all likelihood, fail

Someone once told me they've never seen latex peel...

This started as a little TEENY bubble...

 

It's the paint that was already up on the walls at our studio

The previous owners painted the room almost four years ago

 

I'm sure it was applied wrong, and they probably used cheap paint

 

but once I started, there was no stopping it...

it literally just peeled away

 

Of course, I had to sit and peel it off the entire section of wall

right up to the window...

(sort of gratifying, in a weird way)

It went pretty quick, because as you can see,

it is totally NOT sticking to the drywall

 

 

So, this is exactly why I strip latex off

before I paint a piece of furniture.

I have no way of knowing if the previous owner

used quality primer and paint...or if they applied it too thickly

without letting each coat dry completely...

might hold up....might not

My nightmare is that I paint over latex that appears fine, and years from now

a little bubble appears...

and soon, the piece looks just like this wall! 

I don't want to spend all that time, energy, and expensive paint

only to have the crappy paint underneath start to bubble and peel

down the road...

This isn't an anti-latex post...

as I mentioned, this complete failure probably has to do with

poor application of low quality paint...

but I think it perfectly illustrates why you should 

remove existing latex paint before painting

a piece you'd like to have around awhile

and DEFINITELY if you are selling it!

And while I'm on the topic of the folks that are always

telling me how there are products out there that compare to ASCP

but are less expensive or that latex is just as good

I say this:

Use what works for you. 

If you have a product you love, great.

No need to be disgruntled

or upset with us

because we prefer a different product

We use what WE love.

If you ask me what I use, I will tell you.

Ask me why, and I'll tell you...

We prefer Annie Sloan Chalk Paint products

because based on what we HAVE tried,

we've found them to be superior.

Have we tested every single option out there?

Of course not. 

Have a product YOU love

and think we should know about?

By all means, share the details with us!

We stick with what we know works.

I'm not going to spend my time, money, and energy

seeking out potential alternatives.

If they arrived on our doorstep, 

of course we'd try them.

If we loved them after we tried them, 

we'd tell you all about those, also...

 

If you don't agree, that's fine...

It's not a contest to see

who's favorite products 

are the most popular

USE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!