repaint?

[bhnumbers]

It has become obvious that the chucklekf*ck contractors who did our renovation used the wrong finish of paint in our master bathroom. I never get these paint type names right, but in all of our existing bathrooms we had paint with a slightly shiny finish and if water got splashed on it, it was easy to dry and wipe off. In our new master bath, it's more of a chalky-ish finish and when water gets splashed on the wall (like below where we hang the hand towels) it leaves streaks even though I wipe it off. 

Do I need to repaint the whole bathroom? Or is there some clear coat I can put over it? It seems stupid to have it all repainted, when it was all painted barely a year ago, but there are certain spots on the walls that look pretty bad already. 

[Susie]

Sounds like you need to repaint, sorry. There isn't anything you can put over it to change the sheen now.

It sounds like they used flat paint rather than something like satin that you might have in other bathrooms. Flat is generally not a good bathroom choice for all the reasons you're experiencing.

[k3am]

Agreed, you'll need to repaint.

There actually are flat/matte paints designed for high moisture environments. But my guess is based on the issues you're having and the fact that it costs $$$ compared to flat, your contractor probably didn't use it. Benjamin Moore's Aura line is one and I love it.

[Susie]

Yeah, Sherwin Williams Duration and Emerald are also $$$$ paints that work fine in matte in bathrooms and high humidity environments. That's what we use, but OP sounded satisfied with higher sheens, which gets the job done for less $.

[cuadrado]

Mar 2, 2020 13:57:28 GMT -5 bhnumbers said:

It has become obvious that the chucklekf*ck contractors who did our renovation used the wrong finish of paint in our master bathroom. I never get these paint type names right, but in all of our existing bathrooms we had paint with a slightly shiny finish and if water got splashed on it, it was easy to dry and wipe off. In our new master bath, it's more of a chalky-ish finish and when water gets splashed on the wall (like below where we hang the hand towels) it leaves streaks even though I wipe it off. 

Do I need to repaint the whole bathroom? Or is there some clear coat I can put over it? It seems stupid to have it all repainted, when it was all painted barely a year ago, but there are certain spots on the walls that look pretty bad already. 

I don't know the backstory but could you contact the contractors if you have documentation that they used the wrong paint? We had in our contract with ours that they had to use a specific type of paint in the bathrooms. 

[tripleshot]

Our whole new build was painted in cheap flat paint. I didn’t realize it would be an issue but it was horrible. There were water stains everywhere. We had to have the whole house repainted and used SW Duration in matte. I waited until a 40% off sale and bought the paint and hired a painter. It’s been 6 years since we repainted and it’s held up really well and is easy to clean.

[icedcoffee]

You need to repaint. Matte is the worst. Painters like it because it's easier to paint with (hides imperfections better), but it shows every water mark. Our basement was done in matte paint because the drywall down there is AWFUL so it does hide that a bit, but the marks and water stains are so bad. I can't wait to repaint down there eventually now that some of the drywall has been patched better.

[bhnumbers]

Mar 3, 2020 10:07:42 GMT -5 cuadrado said:

Mar 2, 2020 13:57:28 GMT -5 bhnumbers said:

It has become obvious that the chucklekf*ck contractors who did our renovation used the wrong finish of paint in our master bathroom. I never get these paint type names right, but in all of our existing bathrooms we had paint with a slightly shiny finish and if water got splashed on it, it was easy to dry and wipe off. In our new master bath, it's more of a chalky-ish finish and when water gets splashed on the wall (like below where we hang the hand towels) it leaves streaks even though I wipe it off. 

Do I need to repaint the whole bathroom? Or is there some clear coat I can put over it? It seems stupid to have it all repainted, when it was all painted barely a year ago, but there are certain spots on the walls that look pretty bad already. 

I don't know the backstory but could you contact the contractors if you have documentation that they used the wrong paint? We had in our contract with ours that they had to use a specific type of paint in the bathrooms. 

it's a whole messy cluster. we had to fire them, took them to mediation and they settled (instead of going to arbitration and then court) and paid us for work that they completely messed up (there was so much). unfortunately, this wasn't part of that, but that ship has sailed, so this is on us. in the big picture of the shit we have had to get fixed, something like this pretty small.

[bhnumbers]

Thanks for the feedback, all. repainting the bathroom shall be added to our never ending to-do list