How to Fix Paint on the Walls With Alligatoring

Many common paint problems are caused by improper surface preparation or painting techniques. Alligatoring occurs when the outermost layer of paint on a surface cracks into a pattern that resembles alligator scales. Alligatoring may be caused by adding additional coats of paint to a surface that has not yet dried or by painting a glossy surface that has not been sanded and primed beforehand. The fix for alligatoring paint is to remove the cracked paint completely and prepare the surface before applying a new coat of paint.

Things You'll Need

• Hand scraper
• 180-grit sandpaper
• Paintbrush
• Primer
• Paint

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Remove the cracked paint. Choose the method that works best depending on the size of the surface area and when the paint was applied. Use medium-grit sandpaper to sand the paint off of older, larger surfaces. If the paint has been recently applied, scrape it off with a scraper and then lightly sand the area.

   • 2

     Brush off the surface to remove minute particles of sand and paint.

   • 3

     Apply a coat of quality primer to the wall and allow it to dry thoroughly for the time specified by the manufacturer.

   • 4

     Repaint the surface. Allow each coat to dry thoroughly before applying additional coats of paint.