Can I Paint Over Hairline Cracks On Wall?

Can I Paint Over Hairline Cracks On Wall? Wear and tear is unavoidable in your home. The same is true for the walls of your home as well. One of the most common signs of wall wear and tear is the hairline cracks.

Usually, when a home undergoes the same, they might think about painting over the cracks to conceal them. However, is it an effective solution?

Can you paint over the hairline cracks on the wall? We will answer that below. Before that, however, we will help you understand what hairline cracks are. Read on!

What Is Hairline Crack?

Hairline cracks are nothing but small and minute cracks in the walls similar in thickness to your hair. That is how the name hairline cracks evolved.

Before we help you understand whether you can paint over them or not, it is time to find out the reasons why they occur.

How Does Hairline Cracks Happen?

There are five reasons hairline cracks might appear in the walls of your home.

1. Wear and tear:

As highlighted above, every part of your home can suffer from wear and tear. The same is true for walls.

With wear and tear, the seamless finish off the wall might deteriorate. When that happens, hairline cracks can appear in the wall. At the start, the cracks are pretty thin. However, if you do not do anything about them, the width of cracks and the number of cracks will increase.

2. Faulty tapping:

If the wall you’re referring to is drywall, faulty tapping can also lead to cracks in and around the drywall. When the drywall is often adjacent to the brick wall in which the cracks appear, the drywall might be at fault.

While drywall reduces construction time, it must be installed carefully to prevent such cracks. In between panels of this drywall, gaps are filled with a sealant. If the quantity or the type of sealant is improper, the sealant will develop cracks.

3. Leak:

There are numerous sources from which water can seep into the walls. The sources include:

• Leaky pipes
• Door Frames
• Windows
• Cracks on the exterior side
• And so on

Continuous exposure to water means that the walls will suffer from wear and tear, resulting in hairline cracks.

4. Foundation damage:

The foundation of any building is pretty important. If the foundation is improper, the effects might not be immediately noticeable. However, in the long run, it can mean that the walls shift around a bit. They can shift in either direction depending on the defect in the foundation. Such hairline cracks might appear when they shift even by a fraction of an inch.

5. Weather damage:

You cannot ignore the effect of weather on walls. As the temperature changes, the walls can expand and contract. Sure enough, Singapore doesn’t experience such extreme temperatures, but it experiences heavy humidity. Because of the same, the sealant or the binding agent used in the wall might get affected. In this case, too, hairline cracks might appear.

These are the most common causes of hairline cracks. Now that you are aware of the causes, one of the most common questions you might have is, can you avoid them? We will answer that below.

Can I Avoid Hairline Cracks On Wall?

You can only avoid hairline cracks on the wall when you completely control the construction process. Most of the faults occur in the wall during the construction process. You can even minimize weather effects when the construction quality is up to the mark.

So yes, you can avoid hairline cracks on a wall only if you construct the wall in the right way.

Can I Paint Over Hairline Cracks On Wall?

Yes, you can paint over the hairline cracks. However, a few things should be kept in mind before painting over them.

• The crack will still exist below the coat of paint.
• In case it causes leakage, that will also persist since the crack is still present.

Apart from painting over the cracks, there are two other ways in which you can fix the hairline cracks as well. We will cover those below.

How To Fix Hairline Cracks?

There is another way to fix hairline cracks in the wall rather than just painting the wall. We will highlight that below.

• Applying a sealant:

If you just paint over the crack in the wall, it will still exist but only underneath the coat of paint. A better approach is applying a sealant to fill in the crack. If you have a different color sealant, you can apply paint over that. Most of them are white and therefore paint is not necessary.

Another advantage of applying the sealant in the hairline cracks is that if there is leakage, you can prevent that. You can also prevent mold and mildew growth since the cracks will be filled up.

• Retapping:

In case you’re wondering how to fix hairline cracks in drywall, you need to think about retapping the same. However, for this, you might have to hire a professional to retape the drywall.

How Do You Paint A Cracked Wall?

Painting over a cracked wall is pretty easy. There is only a single step that you need to undertake before painting your home.

• Step 1: Prime the surface:

Priming is important if you want to paint over any surface. It will ensure that the surface is smooth enough for painting. Not only that, it will help you remove the contaminants from the wall as well so that the finish of the paint is not affected.

• Step two: opt for multiple layers:

A single layer of paint will not give you the desired effect. A much better approach is to apply a single layer of paint, let it dry, and then apply the second layer of paint. Once you take this approach, you can cover the hairline cracks completely.

Thus, when planning to paint over the hairline cracks, follow a couple of steps to get the right finish.

Can I Paint Over Hairline Cracks On Wall? – Conclusion:

So yes, you can paint over hairline cracks on the wall. However, before doing so, it is a good idea to find the cause. Once you eliminate the cause and paint over the hairline cracks, you will no longer have to worry about the problem.