Apparently there is a name for this, it's called "fisheyes":

"FISH-EYES

(Crawling, poor wetting) - This paint failure occurs when paint fails to flow in an even and continuous film over its undercoat. it separates or breaks, leaving exposed areas of the undercoat."



The article I found says it's caused by contaminants found in oils and wax. All I can tell you is that it's been a nightmare, and has turned my first painting attempt into a six weeks of extreme frustration. And I had no way of knowing that things were not going right since it was my first attempt.

However, what I can't figure out is, why is this still happening when I try to paint over surfaces that already have 2, 4, 6, or even 8 coats of Rustoleum laid down? You can see in my picture that there is a reflection and the paint is doing the same thing over the already painted area (just not quite as bad).

The smoothest I have ever been able to get this paint to lay down with a roller, even over previously painted areas, is about the texture of an eggshell. No matter how smooth the previous coats of Rustoleum are sanded down.

So this is why I was saying earlier, why not lay down all six coats first and then wet sand at that point. For me, this would have made much more sense.