Although satin paint is very beginner friendly and easy to use, we have noticed a number of commonly asked questions about a few issues that people seem to be having when using it. Due to this, we have decided to publish our article going over the seven most common satin paint problems that we see as well as a solutions for each problem.
We hope that this will allow us to quickly and easily help any of our readers who are having any of these problems with their satin paint. Some of them are relatively easy to fix where as some of them are rather complicated depending on your specific situation.
As we are covering so many different satin paint problems, we have added our table of contents below. This will allow you to navigate the article with ease to get to the specific problem that you are having with your paint as well as workout how to fix it too.
Why Does My Satin Paint Look Glossy?
Although satin paint should only reflect between 26-40% of light once dry, it can often have a glossy look to it when still wet, especially if it is an oil based satin paint. Once the paint has fully dried then the glossy look to the satin paint should fade and dim down to what you would expect.
Although this problem can occur with the more common water based satin paints, it is rarer due to most of the water base satin paint formulas drying much quicker than their less popular oil based counter parts. This usually keeps the knowledge that the paint is freshly painted in your mind and prevents people from worrying.
If you are using one of the rarer oil based satin paint formulas then in some cases they can take as long as a full week to dry due to needing to go through a full oxidisation process. In addition to that, the oil in the paint adds to the glossy look of the paint often making people worry but once the paint is dry, this should fade out quickly.
Why Is My Satin Paint Not Drying?
Water based and oil based satin paints dry in different ways and many people expect an oil based paint to dry as quickly as a water based paint. This is not the case and it is common for an oil based satin paint to take more than double the time of a water based satin paint.
This is due to a water based satin paint formula just needing to evaporate the water out of the formula and dry with it often drying in as little as a day. An oil based satin paint formula will need to oxidise the oil out of it and this will usually take between three and seven days depending on the conditions in your home.
As many people often overlook if their satin paint is water based or oil based, they may use two different colors of satin paint in the same room with one water and one oil based. The water based paint formula then dries much quicker than the oil based one and people reach out to ask why their satin paint is not drying when in actual fact it is normal for any oil paint formula to take longer than a water based formula to dry.
Why Is My Satin Paint Sticky?
It is common for oil based satin paints to feel very sticky during the drying process while water based satin paints will be sticky for a day or two after drying. This is totally normal and expected and due to oil based satin paints taking longer to dry, the painted surface will feel sticky for longer.
Although we have seen some people recommending that you use talcum powder on your paints to reduce how sticky they are, this can cause long term issues with the color of the paint. Due to this, we usually just recommend that you wait for the paints to dry and the sticky feel of them to naturally fade.
If you do need your satin paints to dry as quickly as possible then we have this article on how you can get your oil paint to dry as quickly as possible. This is able to help you dry your satin oil paint considerably quicker than you would be able to otherwise and thus, stop them from being sticky.
Why Is My Satin Paint Peeling?
The main reasons that your satin paint may peel is due to either moisture in the air or the paint having been applied to a dirty surface. Both of these can be avoided with a little planning prior to the application of the paint but can be a pain to fix once your satin paint has been applied.
High moisture levels is a constant pain for satin paint and we usually recommend that you avoid using it in the rooms of your house with high levels of moisture such as the kitchen or bathroom. The moisture really can take its toll on the paint formula and cause it to peel quickly so a gloss or semi gloss paint is usually recommended instead.
A surprisingly large amount of grease and oil can naturally build up on the surfaces of our home and if they are not cleaned off the surface prior to applying your satin paint, it can cause the paint to peel. This is why we always recommend that you run your hand over any surface that you are wanting to paint to see if you can feel any grease or oil build up prior to applying your paint as it can cause it to peel once dry.
Why Is My Satin Paint Bubbling?
Lack of adhesion to the surface is the most common cause of your satin paint bubbling. This is usually due to the surface the paint has been applied to not having been cleaned correctly prior to applying your paint to it causing the paint to bubble.
If there is dirt, grease or oil on the surface that you want to paint at the time of application then there is a considerably higher chance of it loosing its adhesion to the surface and bubbling. Another common cause is if you apply your satin paint directly to plaster that has not dried fully with both problems being easy to avoid.
We always stress that our readers do everything in their power to ensure that the surface they wish to paint has been correctly cleaned or is dry and ready for paint to be applied prior to actually applying the paint. This will drastically reduce the chances of your satin paint bubbling after the application process but once applied, there is unfortunately very little that you are able to do.
Why Is My Satin Paint Streaky?
Satin paint tends to streak if you do not load up your paint roller correctly with paint during the application process. This results in different levels of thickness of your satin paint on the surface making it look streaky once dry.
Thankfully, in many cases, this is easy to fix and you can often correct the issue by applying a second coat of satin paint to the surface. Just be sure to correctly roll your paint roller in the roll tray to apply an even coat of paint around the whole roller prior to applying it.
When actually applying the paint to your surface, try to use long rolls with the roller rather than short rolls to get a nice consistent layer of paint applied. Not only will this stop your satin paint from streaking but it can also allow you to paint large surfaces considerably quicker.
Why Does My Satin Paint Look Flat?
Although rare, satin paint can look flat if it is painted onto a new surface that has never been painted before without you using a primer. The primer essentially preps the surface and ensures that you will get the best possible final result out of your satin paint without it looking flat.
An even rarer cause of your satin paint looking flat and not reflecting any light is due to a high dust count in the room during the application process. The dust bonds with the paint when wet and changes its color as well as its ability to reflect light making it look flat.
Using a primer on your surface prior to applying your satin paint should prevent the first cause of your satin paint looking flat. There are a number of ways to remove dust from a room but the easiest option is to simply let the dust settle prior to painting the room and not to disturb the dust in the room while the paint is drying to prevent the second cause.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over the seven most popular satin paint problems and solutions that we see time and time again to a close. We hope that you have found it helpful and that we have been able to help our readers prevent themselves from having any of the problems that we have listed below as many of them are easy to prevent totally with some being easy to fix too.
