Hello I have studied and researched no wax shellac such as (seal coat) you can get by the gallon! It not only adheres to any surface oil or latex but you can also paint over it with either latex or oil so it is a fantastic universal primer to use in your house with your problem! They also say if you have a peeling problem with paint on the exterior of your house due to no vapor barrier on the inside of you house all you have to do is putty all cracks and calk seams on the inside of the house paint over it with no wax shellac such as seal coat and in acts as a 100% vapor barrier no more vapor is allowed to pass thru the shellac it is sort of like a plastic vapor barrier but what is fantastic is you can paint this shellac over the inside wall of your house after properly preping it all loose pait gone and fill voids paint on the shellac it will also be act as a primer for latex or oil based paint great stuff make sure you get the gallon container of shellac that says seal coat cause it has no wax in it or hardly any what so ever or get plain old no wax shellac but seal coat is cheaper and easier to buy ask around and this should eliminate all your problems plus nothing bleeds thru it such as nuts ,or other such things that is what is in the expensive products they sell you they just do not want you to know all you need is the seal coat shellac to solve all your interior problems be sure to put it on in a couple or few thin coats it dries extremely fast denatured alcohol is the thinner or you can get pure grain alcohol from the package store that is 190 prove or better that is more pure and better if you wish and it does not have the poison added to it all denatured alcohol is is 190 or greater prove pure grain alcohol with poison added so they do not need a liqour licence to sell it good luck if you apply you will have great success!! usually it dries so fast it is only 15 to 30 minutes between coats but be sure to wait aleast 24++ hours before you paint over it with what ever paint you choose!!

To answer your question, you can use an oil-based primer under an acrylic paint.

But I would want to try to figure out why the paint is peeling. Does the drywall seem wet? Give that the location is next to a water source in the house, there are all sorts of possibilities. Or maybe it is just time to repaint.

I don't quite understand what the poster above has written, but I think that putting some sort of water barrier on the ceiling is a bad idea. If there is moisture in the ceiling drywall, you don't want to block it in there with a sealer.

It sounds like lack of ventilation in the bathroom has spilled over into the hallway.

If you are sure it's not peeling because of a lean in pipes or roof, scrape it, prime it and paint it with paint meant for a high-moisture area.

There is a medium sized window in the bathroom. Is there any special type of primer is should be using i.e. oil vs latex? Is a shellac based primer useful in this situation. I don't want to deal with peeling paint for a long while?

Zinsser's Cover Stain

This is pretty common to have peeling paint on the ceiling outside the bathroom if your moisture is not being routed out of the bathroom via the fan and you are talking long hot showers and the moisture is coming out in the hall and sitting on the ceiling right outside the door. After taking one of these showers, go in the hall and look up...I guarantee the ceiling there will be wet. You probably don't need an oil based or shellac based primer unless there is a water stain. An acrylic primer should be fine. You may want to resolve the issue with the moisture though to prevent this from happening again.

Unless there is a roof leak you need a vapor retarding paint on the bathroom walls and ceiling so the water will condense there and you can wipe it off. Better yet add an exhaust fan. The window is not adequate