Kyle wrote in
:

Just bought a foreclosure house, and came to learn that Fannie Mae
hired some drunken chimpanzees to repaint the house before they put it
on the market (my apologies to drunken chimps for insulting them),
gave them some paint and rollers from the dollar store and said "have
at it".

Besides the fact that there were all sorts of runs and drips, and
paint on the stained window trim and stair bannisters, AND the fact
they painted everything the same flat white, I've noticed a problem in
the lower level bathroom (this is a bi-level).

The paint over the tub has started to slough in two spots near the
ceiling, and there is a stain on the ceiling directly over where one
would stand in the shower that looks like a water stain from upstairs
but there's no water or sewage line in the ceiling at that point.

I suspect they painted flat over semi-gloss, which is why the paint is
sloughing. I am planning on re-painting this bathroom with designated
bathroom paint - am I going to run into problems? Will my new, good
paint end up sloughing because of the crappy flat paint underneath?
Any thoughts as to what I should do about what looks like an old water
stain on the ceiling, to ensure that won't show through the new paint?

By sloughing, I'm assuming that you mean peeling.

They used flat paint because it hides imperfections better than shiny
paint. Little cracks and bumps show up better with shinier paint.

Use fine sandpaper on the runs.

Denatured alcohol (that's ethyl alcohol, not isopropyl) *might* remove
the overspray of flat paint from glossy trim paint. If not, try
Goof-Off.

For the peeling spots:
They obviously didn't prep properly (or at all).
* Use a scraper to get off the big stuff.
* Use coarse sandpaper to get rid of as much of the flat paint as
possible. A Random Orbital Sander (ROS) will save your arm. Hook it to
a shop vacuum to minimize the dust.
* Follow up with fine sandpaper to get rid of the sanding marks and
smooth out the edges where one type of paint blends into another.
* Go to a good paint store, not one of the big box places, and tell
them what you're facing. They'll sell you the right kind of paint. Buy
the middle grade.
* Put on a coat of primer. Primer is good at sticking to stuff.
* Put on a coat, or two, of paint.

I recommend shiny paint for baths and kitchens. Flat paint is hard to
clean, dust sticks to it, and it rubs off easier when you wash it. I
always tell my clients to use the shiniest paint that they can stand.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX