Causes of Buckling Kitchen Ceiling Paint

Lack of Ventilation

• Kitchens, along with bathrooms and laundry rooms, are high in humidity, especially if they are not properly ventilated. Moisture enters the air as steam from cooking, from the dishwasher and from the sink. If the moisture works its way underneath the paint, it can push the paint off as it evaporates out. Oil or alkyd paint is more likely to have problems with moisture than latex or water-based paints, because the latter have allow water vapor to pass through. Oil-based and alkyd paints don't. Using range vents when cooking and fans to circulate the air between the kitchen and other areas of your home can help prevent a moisture problem from ruining your kitchen ceiling paint.

Moisture

• Moisture can cause problems if it occurs before the paint dries. If you paint over a surface that is too high in moisture, the paint may fail. This may occur if you paint the ceiling too soon after washing it or too soon after applying the previous coat. Paint cans list a "recoat time" that gives the time paint needs to dry before you can paint over it. This is assuming the humidity in the room is less than 50 percent. If it's not, the paint may need more time to dry. High humidity can delay the drying time and cause the paint to fail on its own. Using fans to circulate the air or placing a dehumidifier in your kitchen while the paint is drying can help prevent this problem.

Improper Preparation

• The reason paint "sticks" to a surface is because it creates a bond with it as it dries. In order for it to create this bond, it must be able to grip the surface. If the surface is dirty or too smooth, the paint can't grip the surface. When the tension in the paint builds up, instead of clinging to the surface, the paint buckles and peels off. Cleaning and sanding a surface before painting will prevent this problem from occurring.

Older Homes

• In older homes, ceiling paint can fail for any of a few reasons. If you recently painted the ceiling, there may be too many layers of paint on the ceiling. When paint layers get too heavy they can cause a layer to lose its grip to the surface. It is also possible that your ceiling contains calcimine, a powdery substance frequently used on walls and ceilings in the late 1800s and early 1900s. If you didn't recently paint the ceiling and it's starting to buckle, it's likely that the paint has passed its useful life. Paint jobs do not last forever. There is no hard or fast rule on how long a paint job will last, but it is not uncommon for an interior paint job to last 20 to 30 years.