That quart of shellac primer solved my 3 year paint peeling problem

I repainted my hallway three times in as many years. Every time, the paint bubbled and peeled right off the old stuff underneath. Tried two different brands of regular primer. Nothing stuck. Then my buddy who does cabinet work handed me a quart of shellac primer and said "just use this on the worst spots." I rolled it on the whole wall, waited 45 minutes, painted over it. That was 14 months ago. Not one bubble. Why did nobody mention this stuff exists? Has anyone else fought adhesion issues with old latex paint and found a fix that actually holds up in our dry climate?

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diana15528d agoMost Upvoted

Did you try cleaning the wall with TSP before you primed? In my experience that's usually the real culprit with old latex, not the primer itself. The shellac is great because it seals in all the oils and grime that water-based primers just sit on top of. I've had the same thing happen in my own place, and once I started wiping everything down with TSP and then using shellac on any suspicious spots, my paint finally stayed put. The dry climate here makes it worse because the old paint gets brittle and almost dusty, so nothing grips it. Your mileage may vary, but I'd bet the shellac saved you more than the TSP would have, though doing both is the real magic trick.