Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

October, 2008

Paint Adhesion

Q. We have repainted wooden doors in a hotel in NYC. Several of the doors are peeling very easily and the preparation of the surface is being questioned. How do we test if the new paint is properly adhering to the original doors?

A. A simple adhesion test is to take an X-Acto knife or sharp box cutter, and scribe an "X" through the paint layers into the door. With the point of the knife try pry the paint loose at the apex of the "X". If the paint lifts, you might be able to pull it further away with your fingers. If this happens you have poor adhesion. In the ideal case, you will not be able to lift the paint from the apex of the "X".

Regards,

Ron Joseph