Didn't they use primer, going over oil?

You are putting doorknobs on a new paint job? That might explain it. Latex is very soft for a few days, and somewhat soft for 21-30 days to reach full hardness.

Were they supposed to use oil or latex? Was previously painted? If so, what was on there before?

I just moved in. The doors were already painted in a gloss or semi-gloss (from when the addition was done in 2000), but I don't know if the existing paint was oil or latex. As said, i did the alcohol test -- and the brown does NOT appear to be oil because it totally melted in the alcohol. The orange rubbed off in the alcohol a bit. So i'm not sure if the orange is oil or latex.

I didn't communicate with them regarding using oil or latex. It's a residential house job, and they are a professional paint company. I've renovated enough houses to know that a professional paint company is supposed to know how to do the right prep work. Homeowner shouldn't have to explain what kind of paint to use. I don't believe they used a primer on the doors - but again, it's not 100% clear to me that the doors are oil.

Yes, i was reinstalling the door knobs this morning. They finished painting at 5pm last night. Would latex softness explain full sheets pulling away (2-3 inches at a time)?

Any reputable paint company will correct this peeling without a hassle.

Pictures would help a lot. The big question here is whether or not the doors were painted with oil or latex previously.

What year was your home built? Where do you live? (places like California make it difficult for contractors and homeowners to use oil paints, so it is less likely to be oil paint in those regions)

Aside from Alcohol and Acetone (nail polish remover), there are some other tests that might help to identify whether you are dealing with oil. These are little abstract, but can help when in doubt. (disclaimer: I am just trying to help).

Oil paint is hard and brittle, and will usually 'crack' rather than flex. For that reason the areas on a door that expand and contract (such as the panels and corners where wood was joined on a door will be visible). Sometimes you can see the paint film, and can scratch it away with your fingernail. It will feel crispy. Sometimes you can even get a small piece of the paint off and it will feel a little bit like an egg's shell.

Feeling the surface is another way to identify oil paint. Oil paint is hard and smooth, whereas latex has a 'somewhat' rubbery feel to it. This comparison is difficult without some experience.

Just re-read your post...

Painting over gloss or semi-gloss (even a latex paint) could explain a slight adhesion issue. If the areas around the handle had any residual oil from hands the area could be compromised.

It is very possible that the paint just needs time to harden up. Yes. It is very soft right now, and will peel away just like you described.

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update - You might find if you leave it alone for a few days or a week it will be fine. After 3-4 days you could carefully reinstall hardware, but will still scratch easily.

After 30 days if you still have a problem call the painters - THEN it is their fault. Its probably going to be fine.

Thanks Aaron! I was just saying to my husband that the peeling is very bad right around the one foot perimeter by the knobs -- i.e., exactly where you'd put your hands on a daily basis. It doesn't seem to peel as much elsewhere or on the trim. I'll give it 2 days, test again near the door knob areas for peeling, and call the paint company to follow up either way.

What Aaron said. Could be it's not cured yet and you disturbed the film fusing to the doors when you tried to attach the knobs and now there's no going back. Some products take a long to time to cure. As Aaron said as much as 30 days. Dry paint and a cured paint film are two different things.

Or could be they did zero prep and painted over gloss, dirt and oil from hands.

Probably should have waited to attach the knobs but what's done is done and now you and the painter have to figure out how to fix it.

Brush is right and I swear it doesn't matter how much you pay them either. Highest bid or lowest bid, you still have to get it spelled out what they're doing for prep. I've had the lowest bid do an excellent job of prepping and I've had the highest bid painters roll dust bunnies into the bucket and onto the trim because "no one told them they had to clean the trim first" (SMH).

And you always have to do your homework about primer. Do you need it or not and what kind. Ask the painter, of course. But you should ask around at the pro paint stores too and see what they say. At some point you do have to trust your painter, but I feel better trusting them when I'm well-informed first. #jaded

Even when I'm hiring the same crew, I still don't trust them 100%. Sad but true. Been burned one time too many and as a result I treat every project as a brand new start and part of that process is ruthlessly hammering out the details and over-communicating to the point it's annoying.

I can't stress enough how correct Brush & Fun-C are here!!!!

I've been in paint for 15+ yrs now. There are SO many misconceptions about paint, prepping, etc. HALF of this is from "professional" painters, etc.

I wouldn't even THINK of painting trims, doors, or cabinetry without a slight "dulling/scuff-sanding"!!!! Why?!!?! The slight abrading of a surface that will receive paint, creates a microscopically rough surface that primers and paints can latch onto very well.

Unfortunately.....your situation is a CLASSIC example of painting on a slicker surface that wasn't cleaned of hand oils, dirt, etc. Plus.....your WAY too premature pulling of the paint layer, before the paint (& probably no primer........) has even REMOTELY begun to cure-through.

Even on Zinssers 123 primer's TDS....it states that full bonding developes in a few DAYS time. As stated by some here, latex paints can take 2 WEEKS+ to fully cure-THROUGH. Notice how I phrased that.....twice.

Faron

Having grown up in the days of oil paints (the 50's and 60's), it was heresy to put "latex" paint over oil paint, as they would not bond. However, today's 100% acrylic based paints have amazing adhesion. I keep door casing samples with a coat of a high gloss oil paint and a coat of 100% acrylic semi-gloss paint over half of it. Absolutely no prep was done to the oil paint as I wanted to see the worse case scenario. A couple hours after application, the acrylic could be scraped off with the fingernail. A couple DAYS after application and it is tight as a drum! I show these samples to customers daily and invite them to try and scrape off the acrylic paint. They can't! I point out that those white wood glues over in the glue department are basically acrylic based.

Part of the problem is that most of those "contractor grade" house paints ( as were the early house paints) are mixtures of lesser resins and pigments. It would be interesting to know exactly what they used. And no, just a major name like Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams is not enough. All the major paint manufacturers make very good products, and very poor grades for the mass building market. The best "latex" paints have acrylic as their resin and only titanium dioxide as their white pigment.

I was wondering why these "pro" painters didn't put the door hardware back themselves? It was certainly part of the total service during my 4 decades of paint contracting.

Best way Primer oil Base before any latex, Second way direct Industrial alkyd paint

This is a tough one, and you should approach it delicately. It's not the painters fault since you pulled the paint off yourself before full cure, but at the same time it is the painters responsibility to communicate with the customer about the fragile nature of freshly applied paint. There is also the possibility that they didn't sand or that cheap paint was used, both of which could affect adhesion.