Poor paint adhesion

Of all the problems that can arise in a painting project, poor paint adhesion is perhaps the worst! When new paint fails to stick, it just sucks! Yet as a San Francisco Painting Contractor, I see plenty of interiors with peeling trim paint. The most common cause of this is the application of a water-based paint over a dense, glossy surface (often oil-based). Much R&D has gone into making acrylic paints that stick and level more like their alkyd (oil) counterparts, but I’ve still witnessed poor adhesion when the surface was sanded and chemically de-glossed, and the finish paint used boasted excellent adhesion. I have found that priming works better than de-glossing and sanding, but have also seen the latter work, in conjunction with a paint product that claims excellent adhesion (such as Dunn Edwards “Permasheen”).
My advise: Always test your adhesion before painting everything with paint that doesn’t stick!!