I worked with paints all my life and I joked that the only thing I haven’t painted yet is submarine. 1-So, to help everyone understand easily, try thinking of all coatings as glues. Primers, paints, stains, concrete coatings, clear coats, stone sealers, epoxy, ceramic....... they all are nothing but glues. When dry, the dried glues offer protective surfaces. 2- Almost all surfaces that need protective coatings are porous : wood, drywall, metal, concrete... are porous in different degrees. Extremely dense surfaces don’t need paints. Hence stainless steel, glass, crystal, diamond, politician ‘s thick skin require no coatings. 3- Since applying coatings on porous surfaces will get ‘ sucked in ‘ ( try painting Coke on bare cedar ) and will always sag and run and drip, therefore some tiny particles are added into the glues, to fill all those tiny holes on the to be painted surfaces, thus stop the next coatings from being sucked in. The added particles are most likely limestone, that drywall stuff, cheap and heavy but works. The more expensive added particles are the toothpaste stuff, very expensive but bites really well. The added particles / minerals also provide hiding power. The more hiding power, the fewer coats needed. 4- All in all : primers are glues with lots of added particles to prevent suck in. Paints are protective coatings with less added particles for hiding power. More expensive paints / coatings use more of that toothpaste stuff because it bites better and, of course, better agents, dry better, last longer, prettier... Try getting a can of $15 Gliden or no name paint vs something $60 and thou shall see $15 will never get the job done right. Yes, paints / coatings manufacturers are humongous cooperations who tested their products extensively over the decades on their larger than anyone could imagine labs / grounds / fields. They do know their products, including the military coatings. Trouble is, with all the marketing gimmicks with so many different bands, different lines and price ranges, even a lifer such as myself can only rely on experiences to gauge paint A to paint B. As for home owners, go medium prices, and test paint, test paint, test paint before going full tilt. Thou shall trust the honest old painter if you are lucky enough to find one ( not the orange apron who was hired two weeks ago and will only be there for one summer, who thought cutting is done with a knife. ) As for the primer / paint all in one thing, it was only a marketing sweet spot between 2 and 3 mentioned above. But that sweet spot was a humongous billions dollars opportunity as seen by Behr. So huge that Behr could afford to fly all the gatekeepers to a resort, treated they like royals, wined and dined them, then filled them with seminars until after those gatekeepers came back, they couldn’t remember their spouses’ names but all they could say was ALL IN ONE. But does it work ? Test, test, test.
Thank you, Decom!! An incredibly insightful rundown. I’ll get to a lot of these topics eventually, but you nailed do many of them in one go. I’ll pin this comment!
@@TheHonestCarpenter Really excited for this new series. When I bought my place and was doing a remodel I could only afford a basic "white" for everything. After a half decade the paint looks very tired, but unfortunately the prices for painters are even higher so if I want to make my rooms look nice then I'll have to DIY :)
As a fellow life long painter, I found this the best, easiest to understand explanation if painting I've ever heard! I'm screenshotting this so I can commit to memory. I've had more customers ask why I recommend priming EVERYTHING, your explanation should click with everybody. Thanks 😀
As a painter with ~20 years in the trade I can affirm everything from this video. When the paint + primer first came out it really wasn’t worth it but it has gotten better in the past decade. For raw material I still prime regardless of what the product claims because in my experience I’ve never gotten good results otherwise and I’ve had to repaint behind other painters who tried to cut those corners. Excellent video as always, sir!
In the maintenanse field I stumble upon a can with the name of Kilzn.. a primer paint to fix things like paint a ceiling with two cans to get rid of the fade in the popcorn drywall filling. Is this primer at its peak?
Just finished repainting my front door that peeled down to the metal. The Lowes worker said that while I could get away with just the P&P product. That I should do a primer coat on the bare metal for better color results. He was right. The red of the door really pops red. Normally I would have went with a white primer, but he suggested grey so that the red doesn’t appear pinkish.
I think that was all good advice, Fyr! A good primer coat, though tedious, really sets you up for better, long lasting results, especially on a substrate like metal 👍
Grey primer is the key. The dark pigment of grey hides other colors better than just white. As an old painter taught me, primer is like a glue. It sticks well to things, and things stick well to it. When painting bare materials, always use a primer. When repainting, you might get away with just a high quality paint.
My wife's uncle is a painter and he always told me to use primer because it's much cheaper than paint and if your going to need extra coats to cover something you might as well use more primer especially when your painting new drywall which is going to absorb quite a bit of whatever you paint onto it
Have owned and painted four homes. Will use only Sherwin Wms or Benjamin Moore as I think the quality is worth the price. As for primer, I just tint the primer with the top coat paint color and get excellent results. No P+P for me.
honestly after painting my house in Sherwin Williams Solo - its completely turned me off their paint line. Extremely bad coverage imo. I had to do 2 primer + 3 coats on new drywall in the basement and it was still patchy. Behrs premium is cheaper and has a much better coat, but actually dulux's premier line is my favorite so far
@@husher5142 I think Solo is good for trim like Crown Moulding. We painted our door with it and it's not that great. We used Behr Scuff Gaurd Eggshell finish for the walls and are very happy with theappkucation and finish. I used Purdue White dove 18" and 9" roller covers.
My painter strongly urged me to use Sherwin Williams to paint the interior of my house. I really am sorry I followed his advice. It chips so easily! Just bumping the wall with something causes paint loss. Next time I'm going with my first choice - Behr.
@@husher5142 - All paint lines have good and bad paints. I'm a Behr contractor and you'd never see me using their 'Contractor' level paints - total junk. Sherwin is the same way - the lower end paints just don't do it and some painting contractors want to keep the price to a minimum so they use the low end stuff with a flat finish - looks great for about 1 season and then it all goes down hill with UV and scuff damage. Although I love Behr for its price point, durability and ease of use, I will stick by SW, BM, PPG, etc so long as you buy their higher end stuff... which is why people love Behr so much - $35 - $45 / gallon for premium paint sure beats the other guys stuff priced at double or even triple that. Cheers!
I worked briefly for a professional painter back in my early 20s. Since then, I've always sanded walls, then used a primer first, then sanded, then painted two coats with sanding in between coats. I've personally never given much credence to so-called paints with built-in primer. Interestingly enough, anytime a friend asked me to help them paint, I've never had them ask me again! Lol! They usually get frustrated with my "if you're going to paint, we're going to do it the right way!" Lol! Usually, they just want to throw one coat of paint up and call it a day. I get it paint isn't cheap, and painting 3 coats is annoying, but at the end of the day, it's how it is supposed to be done!
I fell for the self priming paint when I painted my hideous red living room and hallway. 3 coats of self priming paint later and I could still see the red ever so slightly. The 4th coat finally covered it. For another room that was a hideous dark olive drab green, I primed first, all it needed was 1 coat after the primer.
Red is tough - even going with an oil based or BIN primer doesn't always work with 1 or 2 coats. When I have to cover a dark red wall and the owner wants to take it back to white, I plan on 4 coats - usually it works with a solid BIN primer and 2 coats of regular paint & primer stuff, but sometimes the 4th coat is necessary. Never buy cheap paint and roll it on thick and consistently to reduce the coats to the bare minimum. Cheers!
@@akdrywallguy60, I don't know why I didn't get notified of your reply, but I did get notified of a reply from today. It wasn't just that nasty burnt brick red I had issues with, there was also a gross olive drab in the kitchen and a weird tan/grey mix in a spare bedroom I had issues with. We didn't use cheap paint, we went with the more expensive recommendation of the Home Depot employee.
We bought a house last year and my dad was our "primary contractor" for a few weeks and helped with painting and other odds and ends. We used the Behr Marquee which was okay and in our experience didn't live up to the "one coat" name. It was also a paint/primer so we were lazy and didn't prime over the spackle, of which there was a lot since the previous homeowner wasn't kind to the walls, and you can pretty easily notice the spots since they're flat. I replaced the drywall on one wall when redoing the laundry room and used some primer followed by some leftover paint, a huge difference in results. Appreciate the insights here, going to need to watch again and follow the references.
Paint and Primer In One,does not mean that you don't need a "prime" coat, but rather that you can use the paint where you would have used a dedicated primer. Over bare substrates and spackling, you still must do two coats!
I have used behr paint and primer several times and have always had the drywall mud for a patch flash through. Even with multiple coats. This video explains why lol. Thanks as always.
Thanks for the insight, Assemblee! Behr really insists that it can handle new drywall, but now that I think of it, they don’t mention much about mud 😅 it really seems like a drywall primer is the best bet for new walls and patches though!
@@g1x4 it’s not available at Lowes, they sell Valspar instead. Not sure about Menards as we don’t have them where I live unfortunately. I always thought Behr was a Home Depot brand, or at least was a partnership.
My boyfriend and I, both in S Florida, painted our homes around the same time. I bought a paint from one of the big box stores and he bought Sherwin Williams. Ten years later his house, even though on the beach, looked like the day it was done. Mine had faded and needed to be repainted.
My experience as well. Never cared for any of the Behr paints...they just don't cover as advertised. Even the Behr primers leave a lot to be desired...they just don't cover. Even though its more expensive, I stick with Sherwin Williams "Emerald".
@@photog1529 they will give you an account if you ask and give a discount. ❤️ The only paint I buy now outside of SW is Behrs ceiling paint. Not the tinted one. It’s the whitest ceiling paint of any. I spoke to the owner of Sarco putty. Their products are required by the national historic people. (Not sure what to call them 🤷♀️). Anyway, Sarco is a top shelf product. He said they had tried to get into HD but they wanted them to lower the quality of the product so they could lower the price point. I was at a plumbing supply. I mentioned I could buy the same faucet for less at the big box stores. She explained the interior parts are plastic and not brass. Same exterior, just rigged down to be cheap.
@@Dbb27 I had tried other brands. including SW,. and I had a good experience with the majority of them, but I like the quality of Behr for the price range, especially on a limited budget. and the performance, for me, has been similar to SW,. Both are good brands in my experience. I am a person that goes by performance rather than brands or much hype about them, as some can be a bit overrated, because of fame or whatever, and give a chance to impress me from lesser known brands. I had been pleasantly surprised usually.
Having owned a few houses, this speaks true. I've had to go from dark to light and self-priming is a life saver for that. I've had my best results with Benjamin Moore paints. I pay the extra dollars to get the low odor and far less coats but either way - painting is just not fun.
Hi Ethan...good info! I have always primed everything...either with tinted primer or stain blocking products...followed by two top coats. I am pleased with the results and the depth of color and finish look incredible. I am a staunch Benjamin Moore fan. Interior and exterior. The quality of the finished job is in the preparation...so clean, fill, sand...etc. then good quality paint!
High quality paint rarely disappoints and worth the extra cost IMHO. I used Valspar stain blocking coverage/bonding primer first, then two top coats of self-primer paint (semi-gloss) to cover old wood paneling in my basement. It not only covered very well, but adhered without issue. I was afraid I would have adherence issues, but so far, so good, after a year. So nice to have a bright, fresh walls I did not have to replace or cover up. Quick, cheap job compared to rip and replace.
We have used Benjamin Moore Aura brand paint on two houses (interior). Where renovations were done (including new drywall), we used primer, and one coat of Aura on top did the trick. It's quite expensive per gallon, but it's absolutely top quality and the colours stay true. I won't buy any other brand.
In Canada, I bought Beautitone paint with primer and premier paint. I loved it. It’s been on my walls in my apartment for almost 10 years. It had been previously painted with crappy paint and without skill. The Beautitone covered it with high performance.
In an unrelated, but interesting experience, I bought white 'Beautitone Ceiling Paint' for a previous house with already white (but now tired) ceilings. About halfway through the job, I told the Home Hardware store their 'white' wasn't a true white (it looked off white / grey-ish compared to the old ceiling white). They were puzzled, and I just finished the job with their paint. Well! Blow me down! With the last roll of my roller, VOILA---the whole ceiling was suddenly a lovely, true 'white'.
Great explanation of this product. As for using it over previously painted surfaces, that depends on whether or not the original paint job was done right.
Ahh I wish I could have watched this video a few weeks earlier so I would prime first on the unpainted cabinet doors! Instead, I used Behr Paint + Primer directly. Very useful to know about this at least.
Paint with "primer mixed in" is like all season tires. Those of us who live in the snow belt know that no such thing exists. Always prime first, there is no substitute for it.
@@TheHonestCarpenter Still wouldn't do it. I worked with a contractor who wanted to "paint+primer" bunch of new drywall. Had to spot him before he made a pretty expensive mistake.
Great video. Pretty much affirms what I thought. Old rule of thumb: you get what you pay for. These self priming paints are usually more expensive but they do a better job than the cheap ones. Thanks so much!
I too was skeptical of primer and paint in one product. However, one product that I know that works for certain applications is Porch and Floor Enamel by Sherwin Williams. The first coat acts as your "primer" coat and your second coat is your finish coat. This is for new deck boards or wood that will be exposed to the exterior. I always like to paint all six sides of my boards before installation. Then, apply the last coat after boards are installed. The type of wood is usually Fir or Pine. Make sure boards are clean and sand off mil glaze with 180 grit using an orbital sander. I have gone back to look at decks I have painted and they still look great after several years. One last thing, Benjamin Moore also makes a good Porch and Floor Enamel that works the same way.
Excellent and timely. Just looked at painting unfinished wood outdoors and considered Paint & Primer,,,but chose primer and paint separately as primer was better on all of our different wood types (untreated old 2x4s, treated posts, treated deck boards, new purchase 2x4s (less dense)
I have used countless gallons of this Behr Prem Plus both interior and exterior with excellent results. Back in 2014 we wanted to change the exterior color of my house while adding/changing a bunch of trim. Pine boards (bare) were used for trim work. It’s 10 years later and the paint has held up very well, there are a few areas that cracked 2 years ago, other tannin or whatever it is bleeding through all trim paint is in excellent condition. Interior areas where I used this paint & primer scam paint (as all pro’s say) is holding up as well as areas that were primed first. I built and painted a dog house years prior to 2014 with Behr PP and is holding up very well, there are few areas where snow builds up that the paint could be touched up but overall still looks great. First hand experience has shown nothing wrong with them, when I was using it I searched on line where I read countless pro’s saying I’d have to repaint in a few years if I don’t use primer, which is not the case. Like any paint job PREP WORK IS THE KEY and after using nearly all brands of paint out there when I started a painting business while in grad school other than the really inexpensive paints they all will get the job done. Behr has proven to me to be an excellent paint, my preference is SW but ai would use Behr over BM all day long.
This is a good education for do-it-yourselfers. I just painted a bathroom with Behr one-coat and only did one coat. It looks far better than before but now I know a lot more when I tackle the whole house.
As a drywaller and paint contractor, I will NEVER not prime new drywall without priming 1st, even if I'm using extremely high quality paints. My go-to recommend is Sherwin-Williams for finish product. I have several primers I use. You get what you pay for.
Personal experience, over a painted surface. I had bad luck with paint+primer, it took over 3 coats to paint my walls with it, and it cracked not long after. Different bedroom I used primer, then paint, and it only took 2 coats, and hasn't cracked since.
I had ALWAYS used a particular brand of paint. My sister bought BEHR while we were getting my brother's house ready to sell after he passed away. He had used suede green paint in his bedroom. It was pretty dark. The BEHR paint with primer actually amazed me with how one coat covered the green. I did do two coats, but it worked brilliantly.
🤗👍 THANKS ETHAN…WE ALWAYS READ LABELS AND BUY THE BEST PAINT FOR THE JOB …as an elderly gentleman explained to me when I was starting out …”RICHARD…THE BEST IS NONE TOO GOOD “ 40+years later …STILL WORDS TO THE WISE 🧐😍😍😍
The way I’ve heard it, while both paint and primer are similar, primer main emphasis is to stick to everything like glue, while paint main emphasis is to provide a hard finish that won’t mark up. Being good at making a hard finish makes it hard to be good at being sticky, and being able to stick to anything makes it hard to have a good finish. So you really can’t do both well in the same product. In the end paint+primer in one product is a compromise, and usually the emphasis is on the finish, so the primer end gets more lip service than anything else. This also is my real-world experience. If you really need to cover a marked change in colour, you need primer. If your colours are similar, or the bottom colour is a neutral anyway, then the all-in-one can work, but that was true of high-quality paint before the all-in-one came out. So they’ve just upped the quality of the paint a bit and called it all-in-one.
This was very interesting and helpful. I had wondered if there were any limitations to self-priming paint and this answered those questions. Thanks for sharing this.
I've used Behr's top of the line "self priming paint" over both old paint and newly installed sheet rock. The only time it "self primed" and covered in one coat was when it was used over surfaces that were painted with a light color paint OR when used over a primed surface. My standard now is to use Kilz as a primer over both old paint and new sheet rock, then top coat. No, I am not a "professional" painter, but I've repainted the interiors (and exterior or exterior trim) of the last 3 houses I've owned since 2005, so I have "experience."
I bought the Behr paint/primer in the early days to paint an intricate pagoda. It has been a disaster…a flaking peeling mess the year after I painted it. Now, I have a huge, tedious scraping job on my hands before I can “fix” this mess. I wish I hadn’t been so quick to buy into the new gimmick; it wasn’t worth it (and it wasn’t cheap either). I appreciate the update on this topic; I’m learning a lot from your tutorials-thank you!
I think some contractors have an old school approach and will always recommend priming no matter how good the paint is. I had to insist with a contractor that I was not going to go out and buy primer and to just use my duration paint. He even had a little attitude about it but I've used duration before with excellent results
Self priming paint worked well for covering deep red paint with light blue and white in two coats. Worked a treat. It was years ago, I don't recall the brand, but the concept works. I'd definitely buy it again.
SO much here for discussion! I've painted mostly interiors and a bit of exteriors (only as an amateur) for many years. I've learned a few 'givens'. 1) (So far) I've *never been able to change paint colour---even a slight change, say from bluey-beige to yellowey-beige---without doing at **_least_** two coats.* It's often been three. In the case of dramatic colour changes, could be anything from four to six(!) (Some paints advertise "One Coat"---yeah, right.) 2) Always used to do *one primer, then one+ colour coats = nice result.* 3) At one point, I wondered, if I'm doing, say, two coats of 'x' anyway, then why bother with primer? *Why not just do two coats of paint?* Can't say it was any better or worse for 'easy' (light to other light) colour changes. *BUT* now that our Honest Carpenter educated us about *primer vs. paint composition,* I'll have more respect for doing one primer coat _first._ 4) Re: *Flat Paint:* I've never found a flat paint that was stain / scuff / marking resistant. When I repaint over others' old paint, I use paint with at least a _bit_ of a sheen---something like "Eggshell" sheen (as opposed to "Eggshell" the colour---i.e. beige). And, knowing now about the deception of "Paint & Primer in One" labelling, we can be more sceptical about yet another corporate scam. _(Can you hear me, toothpaste companies with no ingredients' differences between four differently labelled 'kinds'?)_ Oh! And a question related to my last point about 'scams': How can we know *which expensive paint(s) are actually better quality,* as opposed to just a jacked up price for inferior stuff? (Do all the paint companies publish their 'recipes' / proportions online? And if we read them, could we even figure out what they mean?)
Great info, I do exactly that, I use self priming for two coats interior only on walls, exterior especially red wood or cedar you have to use a tannin block primer or it will bleed through, self priming is more marketing than actually primer…
I'm a paint & drywall contractor. I love Behr paint for its price point, durability and ease of use (2 hour recoats anyone?). It's a high quality paint. That being said, only a fool would go from drywall to paint without priming 1st. 2 coats of PVA before 2 coats of paint is how we do it with new construction. If it's repainting and the base coats are in good shape and not glossy, clean them and go right to paint. If they're nasty or have peeling paint or are glossy, clean and prime those guys up with a good quality primer like Kilz, Zinzer, Behr, SW, etc (all of the companies out there have good stuff, it's just not going to be their lower priced products) before painting. All raw wood needs to be primed before painting. Lots of building products now come pre-primed which is a great time and $ saver. Great subject - lots of confusion on the part of homeowners - with good reason!
@@be5952 - Poly Vinyl Acetate (I think that's how it's spelled). It's a very thin 'primer' for new drywall construction. It has about the consistency of milk and looks just like it! It is an inferior product for priming anything except new construction drywall. Even if I'm working on a larger remodel project, if there are previously painted surfaces anywhere around, I'll run a single coat of Behr drywall primer (any brand 'drywall' primer will work) instead of PVA. The reason is that PVA simply doesn't bind to existing paint that well where drywall primer does a pretty solid job of acting as a new drywall primer as well as a stick to the painted surface primer. Not as good with the new drywall construction as PVA and not as good as a painting primer as Zinzer or Kilz or whatever name brand primer you're running, but it does a great job of doing both of those jobs at the same time. Another reason to use primer vs. PVA if you're working on smaller repairs, etc is that it is much thicker than PVA and can be easily rolled instead of sprayed. Cheers!
This is so informative. This is the first of the collaborative videos that I've seen and it is packed with useful information so the concept is already a success as far as I'm concerned. Thanks!
great video ..... and it will always be my process of using primer close the the value darkness of the finish paint .... always prime ... then 2 coats.
Unpainted drywall needs primer , Paint and Primer in one performs well in the quality of Adhesion and color change. I have used Behr on dirty rentals and nice homes, its quality that last for many years. and Behr has improved from 20 years ago while other major brands have also improved and decreased quality on some of their lower shelf lines. the Behr paint does not claim to put semi gloss on bare drywall . it does have good adhesion between coats and color changes
As always, very informative and to the point Looks like there was video shot during the meeting with Nick - would appreciate a follow-up (if possible) video where you do a "deep dive" with Nick on this topic. Thanks much and keep up the great work! 👍
"Trouble is, with all the marketing gimmicks with so many different bands, different lines and price ranges, even a lifer such as myself can only rely on experiences to gauge paint A to paint B." ------------- BINGO! 40+ yrs painting and I still have to test products to figure out potential applications of the product, and/or if they will work for me. Marketing hype only goes so far - who cares if the uber expensive paint is scuff resistant, if it takes 3 cuts & 3 coats to cover a similar color. lol Painting has and always will be part science, and part art, but it is essential to understand the science before one jumps in with a truck load of paint. These types of videos help, so thanks for sharing. Just to add on regarding the patching drywall comments below, and flashing - I always use a primer first, to seal the patch, before top coating with finish paint. With some products, I roll over the primer with a coat of the finish coat, and then next day finish with my final coat/s. Zero flashing on every patch.
this will be a good series. I'm am amateur but SW paint does end up better than Behr most times, especially in cabinet grade. love to dig into that. Airless sprayer, HVPS, etc all good subjects.
Been reading some of comments from painters. As a DIYer I have always been instructed to use as stated BM or SW with a good primer Zinser 123 or something of similar quality. Always prime. If walls sanded and preped will always get a real good job. That said I think it may be a sales pitch. I always believed an extra coat (prime) may be a better finish.
I think of paint primer combos as coverage and regular primer as a sealer. I have found the best way to judge if a interior paint will be decent is if it at least says washable. Once it gets to the level of a washable paint they are using decent materials to make it in my experience anyway.
Silly because I have never seen a paint yet that coveres 100% 100% of the time, you ALWAYS have to put at least 2 coats, if you use the same color primer you can put one coat of primer and 1-2 coats of paint over it, 2 if doing gloss.
I find your results on par with what I see when I use these products at work. They hide alot better than paint products before and when recovering worn surfaces only a light power washing is required. On green wood though I still prime before applying and finishing coats.
notice you are looking into the camera lens as opposed to the camera screen in your past videos, kudos for such a subtle but major tweak to your videos
Great information! Would love some info on different types of paint, such as leveling, cabinet, door and trim, and regular. Just started painting and it's a lot. Thanks
I recently built cabinets for a master closet...after priming/sanding, I painted with Sherwin Williams "Emerald" with an HVLP gun. I basically thinned a quart of paint with two ounces of water and added one ounce of Floetrol. Lays down a beautiful finish...smooth as glass. For larger surfaces (walls, etc.) you're better off with an airless sprayer...no thinning of the paint is necessary.
Im going to repaint my entire house because somebody previously did a crappy job before me (running paint on walls). Holes both big and small. Shotty or lazy drywall compound sanding. You name it.
I always paint bare materials and especially new drywall and I prefer to use Benjamin Moore paint it lays down great and keeps it sheen my customers seem satisfied with the results also
Good topic, would like to see the pros and cons of finishes. Durability, outdoor or indoor and maintenace of polyurethane, lacquer, shellac, tung oil, linseed, wood wax and tung oil.
Thanks for this info. I have several unopened cans of paint or part used and resealed paint that need to be mixed up again. What is the best home method to mix a can thoroughly for reuse or after settling? I'm interested in three different areas. First would be basics of care and preparation, cutting in and application, and storage of extra paint. Second would be special considerations for interior paint jobs including different finishes and maintenance (like eggshell, satin, etc.) plus best ways to clean, if needed. Third would be all exterior paint job considerations and techniques.
Self priming paints are fine where there are no significant problems, such as super slick surfaces, very porous surfaces, stains that must be delt with, etc. If you are just affecting a color change over well sealed walls in good condition, the self priming paints are fine.
Great video! I needed this video a year ago when I had to go dark to lighter. I primed and put 2 coats of paint might have been able to save a step w self priming paint.
When the paint & primer first came out I had terrible results as a home owner. I went back to using a primer. Some of the all in one cans tell you to use two coats so where is the cost savings? Primers usually are a little be cheaper and you can have them tinted if need be. I look forward to your expanded topics. After all, once you finish the carpentry work, you have to put the finish on the project.
a primer is really a sealer + undercoat (cover color) + primer (bonding). when you've done any jointing or filler work on plaster, it's the sealer that helps paint not to get sucked in more into filler, which shows up. many now believe that there is no additional bonding to be had by using a primer, as a poorly prepared surface will still peal, but well prepared surface shows no additional bonding than good paint alone. on metals, primer is used more regularly, as it's difficult to prep metal without contaminating surface as you clean it with alcohol. if prepped well, a single bond to steel has less chance to peel than two layers of different products, the primer and then paint. priming wood that is not sanded, peels easily. no real need to prime, just sand/prep well, which needs doing anyway.
My experience with paint/primer is that it is like they put a few ounces of Christmas molasses in regular paint. In other words it takes more effort to brush or roll it. When you are cutting-in, it feels like your brush is dragging.
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I worked with paints all my life and I joked that the only thing I haven’t painted yet is submarine.
1-So, to help everyone understand easily, try thinking of all coatings as glues.
Primers, paints, stains, concrete coatings, clear coats, stone sealers, epoxy, ceramic....... they all are nothing but glues.
When dry, the dried glues offer protective surfaces.
2- Almost all surfaces that need protective coatings are porous : wood, drywall, metal, concrete... are porous in different degrees.
Extremely dense surfaces don’t need paints. Hence stainless steel, glass, crystal, diamond, politician ‘s thick skin require no coatings.
3- Since applying coatings on porous surfaces will get ‘ sucked in ‘ ( try painting Coke on bare cedar ) and will always sag and run and drip, therefore some tiny particles are added into the glues, to fill all those tiny holes on the to be painted surfaces, thus stop the next coatings from being sucked in.
The added particles are most likely limestone, that drywall stuff, cheap and heavy but works.
The more expensive added particles are the toothpaste stuff, very expensive but bites really well.
The added particles / minerals also provide hiding power.
The more hiding power, the fewer coats needed.
4- All in all :
primers are glues with lots of added particles to prevent suck in.
Paints are protective coatings with less added particles for hiding power.
More expensive paints / coatings use more of that toothpaste stuff because it bites better and, of course, better agents, dry better, last longer, prettier...
Try getting a can of $15 Gliden or no name paint vs something $60 and thou shall see $15 will never get the job done right.
Yes, paints / coatings manufacturers are humongous cooperations who tested their products extensively over the decades on their larger than anyone could imagine labs / grounds / fields. They do know their products, including the military coatings.
Trouble is, with all the marketing gimmicks with so many different bands, different lines and price ranges, even a lifer such as myself can only rely on experiences to gauge paint A to paint B.
As for home owners, go medium prices, and test paint, test paint, test paint before going full tilt.
Thou shall trust the honest old painter if you are lucky enough to find one ( not the orange apron who was hired two weeks ago and will only be there for one summer, who thought cutting is done with a knife. )
As for the primer / paint all in one thing, it was only a marketing sweet spot between 2 and 3 mentioned above.
But that sweet spot was a humongous billions dollars opportunity as seen by Behr.
So huge that Behr could afford to fly all the gatekeepers to a resort, treated they like royals, wined and dined them, then filled them with seminars until after those gatekeepers came back, they couldn’t remember their spouses’ names but all they could say was ALL IN ONE.
But does it work ? Test, test, test.
Thank you, Decom!! An incredibly insightful rundown. I’ll get to a lot of these topics eventually, but you nailed do many of them in one go. I’ll pin this comment!
@@TheHonestCarpenter
Keep up the good work, bud. 👍🏻
@@TheHonestCarpenter Really excited for this new series. When I bought my place and was doing a remodel I could only afford a basic "white" for everything. After a half decade the paint looks very tired, but unfortunately the prices for painters are even higher so if I want to make my rooms look nice then I'll have to DIY :)
As a fellow life long painter, I found this the best, easiest to understand explanation if painting I've ever heard! I'm screenshotting this so I can commit to memory. I've had more customers ask why I recommend priming EVERYTHING, your explanation should click with everybody. Thanks 😀
If painting doesn't work out for you then maybe go into writing. That was really well written.
As a painter with ~20 years in the trade I can affirm everything from this video. When the paint + primer first came out it really wasn’t worth it but it has gotten better in the past decade. For raw material I still prime regardless of what the product claims because in my experience I’ve never gotten good results otherwise and I’ve had to repaint behind other painters who tried to cut those corners. Excellent video as always, sir!
In the maintenanse field I stumble upon a can with the name of Kilzn.. a primer paint to fix things like paint a ceiling with two cans to get rid of the fade in the popcorn drywall filling. Is this primer at its peak?
@@eddex4901 Kilz, in my experience, is the best primer for your money.
Just finished repainting my front door that peeled down to the metal. The Lowes worker said that while I could get away with just the P&P product. That I should do a primer coat on the bare metal for better color results. He was right. The red of the door really pops red. Normally I would have went with a white primer, but he suggested grey so that the red doesn’t appear pinkish.
I think that was all good advice, Fyr! A good primer coat, though tedious, really sets you up for better, long lasting results, especially on a substrate like metal 👍
Best paint I use for a metal, vinyl, pvc or anything smooth is one called Stix, and it does just that, it sticks
Any time I need to use a primer, I just have it tinted the same color as the paint. Foolproof.
Grey primer is the key. The dark pigment of grey hides other colors better than just white. As an old painter taught me, primer is like a glue. It sticks well to things, and things stick well to it. When painting bare materials, always use a primer. When repainting, you might get away with just a high quality paint.
@@joemsmith and even better than stix is XIM’s uma.
When in doubt, prime and no worries. Cheers.
My wife's uncle is a painter and he always told me to use primer because it's much cheaper than paint and if your going to need extra coats to cover something you might as well use more primer especially when your painting new drywall which is going to absorb quite a bit of whatever you paint onto it
Have owned and painted four homes. Will use only Sherwin Wms or Benjamin Moore as I think the quality is worth the price. As for primer, I just tint the primer with the top coat paint color and get excellent results. No P+P for me.
honestly after painting my house in Sherwin Williams Solo - its completely turned me off their paint line. Extremely bad coverage imo. I had to do 2 primer + 3 coats on new drywall in the basement and it was still patchy. Behrs premium is cheaper and has a much better coat, but actually dulux's premier line is my favorite so far
@@husher5142 I think Solo is good for trim like Crown Moulding. We painted our door with it and it's not that great. We used Behr Scuff Gaurd Eggshell finish for the walls and are very happy with theappkucation and finish. I used Purdue White dove 18" and 9" roller covers.
My painter strongly urged me to use Sherwin Williams to paint the interior of my house. I really am sorry I followed his advice. It chips so easily! Just bumping the wall with something causes paint loss. Next time I'm going with my first choice - Behr.
@@dawnmichelle4403 ugh the scuffing too. You cannot even magic eraser the scuffs, just repaint. Worst paint ever haha .. im so disappointed as well.
@@husher5142 - All paint lines have good and bad paints. I'm a Behr contractor and you'd never see me using their 'Contractor' level paints - total junk. Sherwin is the same way - the lower end paints just don't do it and some painting contractors want to keep the price to a minimum so they use the low end stuff with a flat finish - looks great for about 1 season and then it all goes down hill with UV and scuff damage. Although I love Behr for its price point, durability and ease of use, I will stick by SW, BM, PPG, etc so long as you buy their higher end stuff... which is why people love Behr so much - $35 - $45 / gallon for premium paint sure beats the other guys stuff priced at double or even triple that. Cheers!
I worked briefly for a professional painter back in my early 20s. Since then, I've always sanded walls, then used a primer first, then sanded, then painted two coats with sanding in between coats. I've personally never given much credence to so-called paints with built-in primer. Interestingly enough, anytime a friend asked me to help them paint, I've never had them ask me again! Lol! They usually get frustrated with my "if you're going to paint, we're going to do it the right way!" Lol! Usually, they just want to throw one coat of paint up and call it a day. I get it paint isn't cheap, and painting 3 coats is annoying, but at the end of the day, it's how it is supposed to be done!
Excellent video. Much needed. I always thought prime + paint was marketing nonsense with marginal benefits.. Thanks to your video I learnt something.
I fell for the self priming paint when I painted my hideous red living room and hallway. 3 coats of self priming paint later and I could still see the red ever so slightly. The 4th coat finally covered it. For another room that was a hideous dark olive drab green, I primed first, all it needed was 1 coat after the primer.
I was a residential painter for a long time and had experience with that nightmare color. Red is all around very unforgiving.
Red is tough - even going with an oil based or BIN primer doesn't always work with 1 or 2 coats. When I have to cover a dark red wall and the owner wants to take it back to white, I plan on 4 coats - usually it works with a solid BIN primer and 2 coats of regular paint & primer stuff, but sometimes the 4th coat is necessary. Never buy cheap paint and roll it on thick and consistently to reduce the coats to the bare minimum. Cheers!
same here
@@akdrywallguy60, I don't know why I didn't get notified of your reply, but I did get notified of a reply from today.
It wasn't just that nasty burnt brick red I had issues with, there was also a gross olive drab in the kitchen and a weird tan/grey mix in a spare bedroom I had issues with. We didn't use cheap paint, we went with the more expensive recommendation of the Home Depot employee.
@@HungLikeScratdid you use the primed paint on the olive that you did a dedicated prime coat?
We bought a house last year and my dad was our "primary contractor" for a few weeks and helped with painting and other odds and ends. We used the Behr Marquee which was okay and in our experience didn't live up to the "one coat" name. It was also a paint/primer so we were lazy and didn't prime over the spackle, of which there was a lot since the previous homeowner wasn't kind to the walls, and you can pretty easily notice the spots since they're flat.
I replaced the drywall on one wall when redoing the laundry room and used some primer followed by some leftover paint, a huge difference in results.
Appreciate the insights here, going to need to watch again and follow the references.
Paint and Primer In One,does not mean that you don't need a "prime" coat, but rather that you can use the paint where you would have used a dedicated primer. Over bare substrates and spackling, you still must do two coats!
I have used behr paint and primer several times and have always had the drywall mud for a patch flash through. Even with multiple coats. This video explains why lol. Thanks as always.
Thanks for the insight, Assemblee! Behr really insists that it can handle new drywall, but now that I think of it, they don’t mention much about mud 😅 it really seems like a drywall primer is the best bet for new walls and patches though!
@@TheHonestCarpenter where is behr paint sold at
@@jeremynguyen2346 big boxes
@@jeremynguyen2346 Home Depot
@@g1x4 it’s not available at Lowes, they sell Valspar instead. Not sure about Menards as we don’t have them where I live unfortunately. I always thought Behr was a Home Depot brand, or at least was a partnership.
My boyfriend and I, both in S Florida, painted our homes around the same time. I bought a paint from one of the big box stores and he bought Sherwin Williams. Ten years later his house, even though on the beach, looked like the day it was done. Mine had faded and needed to be repainted.
My experience as well. Never cared for any of the Behr paints...they just don't cover as advertised. Even the Behr primers leave a lot to be desired...they just don't cover. Even though its more expensive, I stick with Sherwin Williams "Emerald".
@@photog1529 they will give you an account if you ask and give a discount. ❤️ The only paint I buy now outside of SW is Behrs ceiling paint. Not the tinted one. It’s the whitest ceiling paint of any.
I spoke to the owner of Sarco putty. Their products are required by the national historic people. (Not sure what to call them 🤷♀️). Anyway, Sarco is a top shelf product. He said they had tried to get into HD but they wanted them to lower the quality of the product so they could lower the price point. I was at a plumbing supply. I mentioned I could buy the same faucet for less at the big box stores. She explained the interior parts are plastic and not brass. Same exterior, just rigged down to be cheap.
I am the contrary, Behr has always worked great for me.
@@vaderladyl have you used other paints? I thought the same until I used SW.
@@Dbb27 I had tried other brands. including SW,. and I had a good experience with the majority of them, but I like the quality of Behr for the price range, especially on a limited budget. and the performance, for me, has been similar to SW,. Both are good brands in my experience.
I am a person that goes by performance rather than brands or much hype about them, as some can be a bit overrated, because of fame or whatever, and give a chance to impress me from lesser known brands. I had been pleasantly surprised usually.
Having owned a few houses, this speaks true. I've had to go from dark to light and self-priming is a life saver for that. I've had my best results with Benjamin Moore paints. I pay the extra dollars to get the low odor and far less coats but either way - painting is just not fun.
Ben Moore aura ends 95% of problems with coverage/adhesion/ film building.
I've painted new drywall (new construction) & needed 3 coats. We bought good quality primer & paint but the 3rd coat was needed for sure.
Hi Ethan...good info! I have always primed everything...either with tinted primer or stain blocking products...followed by two top coats. I am pleased with the results and the depth of color and finish look incredible. I am a staunch Benjamin Moore fan. Interior and exterior. The quality of the finished job is in the preparation...so clean, fill, sand...etc. then good quality paint!
Behr paint and primer is great. It painted over the rainbow of loud colors former owner had. So Behr paint is the best!!!
High quality paint rarely disappoints and worth the extra cost IMHO. I used Valspar stain blocking coverage/bonding primer first, then two top coats of self-primer paint (semi-gloss) to cover old wood paneling in my basement. It not only covered very well, but adhered without issue. I was afraid I would have adherence issues, but so far, so good, after a year. So nice to have a bright, fresh walls I did not have to replace or cover up. Quick, cheap job compared to rip and replace.
Perfect timing! We were just talking today about priming the kids rooms before repainting. Sounds like some paints could save us that step.
We have used Benjamin Moore Aura brand paint on two houses (interior). Where renovations were done (including new drywall), we used primer, and one coat of Aura on top did the trick. It's quite expensive per gallon, but it's absolutely top quality and the colours stay true. I won't buy any other brand.
Yea but it’s yield blows away other paints so when you consider that fact plus how well it performs it’s actually cheaper than most paints.
In Canada, I bought Beautitone paint with primer and premier paint. I loved it. It’s been on my walls in my apartment for almost 10 years. It had been previously painted with crappy paint and without skill. The Beautitone covered it with high performance.
In an unrelated, but interesting experience, I bought white 'Beautitone Ceiling Paint' for a previous house with already white (but now tired) ceilings.
About halfway through the job, I told the Home Hardware store their 'white' wasn't a true white (it looked off white / grey-ish compared to the old ceiling white).
They were puzzled, and I just finished the job with their paint.
Well! Blow me down! With the last roll of my roller, VOILA---the whole ceiling was suddenly a lovely, true 'white'.
This video is another example of why I subscribed. Appreciated
Thank you, Harry!
Really appreciate how transparent you try to make something that is so opaque😉
Great explanation of this product. As for using it over previously painted surfaces, that depends on whether or not the original paint job was done right.
Ahh I wish I could have watched this video a few weeks earlier so I would prime first on the unpainted cabinet doors! Instead, I used Behr Paint + Primer directly. Very useful to know about this at least.
Always I mean always prime first no matter what even if they said it’s mixed you still prime first
@@ernestmaine7194 a very valuable lesson!
Paint with "primer mixed in" is like all season tires.
Those of us who live in the snow belt know that no such thing exists.
Always prime first, there is no substitute for it.
I always wondered why this stuff just happened all at once. This explains it perfectly.
People are confused:
This is only for "coverage" of previous painted surfaces. You still have to prime new drywall, wood, etc...
Some companies insist that their formula can go onto raw surfaces, KOM, but it seems like you’re really always best off starting with a primer coat 😬
@@TheHonestCarpenter Still wouldn't do it. I worked with a contractor who wanted to "paint+primer" bunch of new drywall. Had to spot him before he made a pretty expensive mistake.
I agree and must say it should be easy to "Test That!"
Great video. Pretty much affirms what I thought. Old rule of thumb: you get what you pay for. These self priming paints are usually more expensive but they do a better job than the cheap ones. Thanks so much!
I too was skeptical of primer and paint in one product. However, one product that I know that works for certain applications is Porch and Floor Enamel by Sherwin Williams. The first coat acts as your "primer" coat and your second coat is your finish coat. This is for new deck boards or wood that will be exposed to the exterior. I always like to paint all six sides of my boards before installation. Then, apply the last coat after boards are installed. The type of wood is usually Fir or Pine. Make sure boards are clean and sand off mil glaze with 180 grit using an orbital sander. I have gone back to look at decks I have painted and they still look great after several years. One last thing, Benjamin Moore also makes a good Porch and Floor Enamel that works the same way.
Excellent and timely. Just looked at painting unfinished wood outdoors and considered Paint & Primer,,,but chose primer and paint separately as primer was better on all of our different wood types (untreated old 2x4s, treated posts, treated deck boards, new purchase 2x4s (less dense)
I have used countless gallons of this Behr Prem Plus both interior and exterior with excellent results. Back in 2014 we wanted to change the exterior color of my house while adding/changing a bunch of trim. Pine boards (bare) were used for trim work. It’s 10 years later and the paint has held up very well, there are a few areas that cracked 2 years ago, other tannin or whatever it is bleeding through all trim paint is in excellent condition. Interior areas where I used this paint & primer scam paint (as all pro’s say) is holding up as well as areas that were primed first. I built and painted a dog house years prior to 2014 with Behr PP and is holding up very well, there are few areas where snow builds up that the paint could be touched up but overall still looks great. First hand experience has shown nothing wrong with them, when I was using it I searched on line where I read countless pro’s saying I’d have to repaint in a few years if I don’t use primer, which is not the case. Like any paint job PREP WORK IS THE KEY and after using nearly all brands of paint out there when I started a painting business while in grad school other than the really inexpensive paints they all will get the job done. Behr has proven to me to be an excellent paint, my preference is SW but ai would use Behr over BM all day long.
This is a good education for do-it-yourselfers. I just painted a bathroom with Behr one-coat and only did one coat. It looks far better than before but now I know a lot more when I tackle the whole house.
Appreciate this video, it confirms what I always suspected. Best to use primer and paint for their particular designed use/characteristic.
Thinking about painting so useful video content.
As a drywaller and paint contractor, I will NEVER not prime new drywall without priming 1st, even if I'm using extremely high quality paints. My go-to recommend is Sherwin-Williams for finish product. I have several primers I use.
You get what you pay for.
Very interesting! From several hobbies I have an interest in paint and coatings and it's always fun to learn more. Looking forward to you and Nick.
Personal experience, over a painted surface. I had bad luck with paint+primer, it took over 3 coats to paint my walls with it, and it cracked not long after. Different bedroom I used primer, then paint, and it only took 2 coats, and hasn't cracked since.
Great info. Especially dark walls to lighter walls.
I had ALWAYS used a particular brand of paint. My sister bought BEHR while we were getting my brother's house ready to sell after he passed away. He had used suede green paint in his bedroom. It was pretty dark. The BEHR paint with primer actually amazed me with how one coat covered the green. I did do two coats, but it worked brilliantly.
🤗👍 THANKS ETHAN…WE ALWAYS READ LABELS AND BUY THE BEST PAINT FOR THE JOB …as an elderly gentleman explained to me when I was starting out …”RICHARD…THE BEST IS NONE TOO GOOD “ 40+years later …STILL WORDS TO THE WISE 🧐😍😍😍
Great info. Love this new trade specif series you're doing.
The way I’ve heard it, while both paint and primer are similar, primer main emphasis is to stick to everything like glue, while paint main emphasis is to provide a hard finish that won’t mark up. Being good at making a hard finish makes it hard to be good at being sticky, and being able to stick to anything makes it hard to have a good finish. So you really can’t do both well in the same product. In the end paint+primer in one product is a compromise, and usually the emphasis is on the finish, so the primer end gets more lip service than anything else. This also is my real-world experience. If you really need to cover a marked change in colour, you need primer. If your colours are similar, or the bottom colour is a neutral anyway, then the all-in-one can work, but that was true of high-quality paint before the all-in-one came out. So they’ve just upped the quality of the paint a bit and called it all-in-one.
That's a good explanation, and rings true based on what the video and others' comments have said. Thanks!
This was very interesting and helpful. I had wondered if there were any limitations to self-priming paint and this answered those questions. Thanks for sharing this.
You have great videos with content I can use as a novice do-it-yourselfer. Thanks for making this video!
You're spot on here...I paint houses for a living. We only buy our paint from Sherwin Williams btw😁
I work at a hardware store that sells high quality paint. I agree with Nick
Good to hear my intuition has been correct. Saw the label, read the directions and used actual primer anyway! lol
Thanks for the video.
I’ve always wondered how they can combine paint with primer. Very good info.
Quite a misnomer. Read the tds for these and you’ll realize you’re being sold marketing wank.
I've used Behr's top of the line "self priming paint" over both old paint and newly installed sheet rock. The only time it "self primed" and covered in one coat was when it was used over surfaces that were painted with a light color paint OR when used over a primed surface. My standard now is to use Kilz as a primer over both old paint and new sheet rock, then top coat. No, I am not a "professional" painter, but I've repainted the interiors (and exterior or exterior trim) of the last 3 houses I've owned since 2005, so I have "experience."
I bought the Behr paint/primer in the early days to paint an intricate pagoda. It has been a disaster…a flaking peeling mess the year after I painted it. Now, I have a huge, tedious scraping job on my hands before I can “fix” this mess. I wish I hadn’t been so quick to buy into the new gimmick; it wasn’t worth it (and it wasn’t cheap either). I appreciate the update on this topic; I’m learning a lot from your tutorials-thank you!
Used it on my vinyl coated steel siding and two years later looks good as the day I put it on.
Thank you! That question's answer is more clear to me now.
I think some contractors have an old school approach and will always recommend priming no matter how good the paint is. I had to insist with a contractor that I was not going to go out and buy primer and to just use my duration paint. He even had a little attitude about it but I've used duration before with excellent results
Paint is a great topic to cover. Even if you're just covering the surface.
Self priming paint worked well for covering deep red paint with light blue and white in two coats. Worked a treat. It was years ago, I don't recall the brand, but the concept works. I'd definitely buy it again.
SO much here for discussion!
I've painted mostly interiors and a bit of exteriors (only as an amateur) for many years. I've learned a few 'givens'.
1) (So far) I've *never been able to change paint colour---even a slight change, say from bluey-beige to yellowey-beige---without doing at **_least_** two coats.* It's often been three. In the case of dramatic colour changes, could be anything from four to six(!)
(Some paints advertise "One Coat"---yeah, right.)
2) Always used to do *one primer, then one+ colour coats = nice result.*
3) At one point, I wondered, if I'm doing, say, two coats of 'x' anyway, then why bother with primer? *Why not just do two coats of paint?* Can't say it was any better or worse for 'easy' (light to other light) colour changes.
*BUT* now that our Honest Carpenter educated us about *primer vs. paint composition,* I'll have more respect for doing one primer coat _first._
4) Re: *Flat Paint:* I've never found a flat paint that was stain / scuff / marking resistant. When I repaint over others' old paint, I use paint with at least a _bit_ of a sheen---something like "Eggshell" sheen (as opposed to "Eggshell" the colour---i.e. beige).
And, knowing now about the deception of "Paint & Primer in One" labelling, we can be more sceptical about yet another corporate scam. _(Can you hear me, toothpaste companies with no ingredients' differences between four differently labelled 'kinds'?)_
Oh! And a question related to my last point about 'scams': How can we know *which expensive paint(s) are actually better quality,* as opposed to just a jacked up price for inferior stuff? (Do all the paint companies publish their 'recipes' / proportions online? And if we read them, could we even figure out what they mean?)
Looking forward to more paint-based videos.
3:28 I love the drywall prep snapshot !!
Great info, I do exactly that, I use self priming for two coats interior only on walls, exterior especially red wood or cedar you have to use a tannin block primer or it will bleed through, self priming is more marketing than actually primer…
Good video...thanks. As a DIYer I always get high quality paint from a paint store not a big box store.
Very helpful and informative without being too technical. Thanks for this!
I'm a paint & drywall contractor. I love Behr paint for its price point, durability and ease of use (2 hour recoats anyone?). It's a high quality paint. That being said, only a fool would go from drywall to paint without priming 1st. 2 coats of PVA before 2 coats of paint is how we do it with new construction. If it's repainting and the base coats are in good shape and not glossy, clean them and go right to paint. If they're nasty or have peeling paint or are glossy, clean and prime those guys up with a good quality primer like Kilz, Zinzer, Behr, SW, etc (all of the companies out there have good stuff, it's just not going to be their lower priced products) before painting. All raw wood needs to be primed before painting. Lots of building products now come pre-primed which is a great time and $ saver. Great subject - lots of confusion on the part of homeowners - with good reason!
"PVA"? What does PVA stand for?
@@be5952 - Poly Vinyl Acetate (I think that's how it's spelled). It's a very thin 'primer' for new drywall construction. It has about the consistency of milk and looks just like it! It is an inferior product for priming anything except new construction drywall. Even if I'm working on a larger remodel project, if there are previously painted surfaces anywhere around, I'll run a single coat of Behr drywall primer (any brand 'drywall' primer will work) instead of PVA. The reason is that PVA simply doesn't bind to existing paint that well where drywall primer does a pretty solid job of acting as a new drywall primer as well as a stick to the painted surface primer. Not as good with the new drywall construction as PVA and not as good as a painting primer as Zinzer or Kilz or whatever name brand primer you're running, but it does a great job of doing both of those jobs at the same time. Another reason to use primer vs. PVA if you're working on smaller repairs, etc is that it is much thicker than PVA and can be easily rolled instead of sprayed. Cheers!
This is so informative. This is the first of the collaborative videos that I've seen and it is packed with useful information so the concept is already a success as far as I'm concerned. Thanks!
great video ..... and it will always be my process of using primer close the the value darkness of the finish paint .... always prime ... then 2 coats.
Holy Crap!?!? Who Knew?!?! Thank you!?! Another informative well produced video-thanks Ethan. Cheers
Thanks Spenser! 😁
Unpainted drywall needs primer , Paint and Primer in one performs well in the quality of Adhesion and color change.
I have used Behr on dirty rentals and nice homes, its quality that last for many years.
and Behr has improved from 20 years ago while other major brands have also improved and decreased quality on some of their lower shelf lines.
the Behr paint does not claim to put semi gloss on bare drywall . it does have good adhesion between coats and color changes
Used Behr self priming paint in my kitchen. Went from a reddish-brick to a light-ish blue. Took two coats.
As always, very informative and to the point Looks like there was video shot during the meeting with Nick - would appreciate a follow-up (if possible) video where you do a "deep dive" with Nick on this topic. Thanks much and keep up the great work! 👍
Anytime i have to do something in my house with tools. I always have your intro song in my head playing on repeat.
Thank you, samura 😆 That’s gratifying to hear!
"Trouble is, with all the marketing gimmicks with so many different bands, different lines and price ranges, even a lifer such as myself can only rely on experiences to gauge paint A to paint B." ------------- BINGO!
40+ yrs painting and I still have to test products to figure out potential applications of the product, and/or if they will work for me. Marketing hype only goes so far - who cares if the uber expensive paint is scuff resistant, if it takes 3 cuts & 3 coats to cover a similar color. lol Painting has and always will be part science, and part art, but it is essential to understand the science before one jumps in with a truck load of paint. These types of videos help, so thanks for sharing. Just to add on regarding the patching drywall comments below, and flashing - I always use a primer first, to seal the patch, before top coating with finish paint. With some products, I roll over the primer with a coat of the finish coat, and then next day finish with my final coat/s. Zero flashing on every patch.
I wish this video was around a couple years ago. Great video
The best thing you can get your primer tented to the color you want to use
this will be a good series. I'm am amateur but SW paint does end up better than Behr most times, especially in cabinet grade. love to dig into that. Airless sprayer, HVPS, etc all good subjects.
Been reading some of comments from painters. As a DIYer I have always been instructed to use as stated BM or SW with a good primer Zinser 123 or something of similar quality. Always prime. If walls sanded and preped will always get a real good job. That said I think it may be a sales pitch.
I always believed an extra coat (prime) may be a better finish.
Good info for thought. Thanks for vid! So many factors go into choosing the right coatings. Shortcuts may not always be the best way to go.
That was really informative video. Thank you.
Very useful information! Thank you!
I think of paint primer combos as coverage and regular primer as a sealer. I have found the best way to judge if a interior paint will be decent is if it at least says washable. Once it gets to the level of a washable paint they are using decent materials to make it in my experience anyway.
Great info, and thanks for covering this. No pun intended.
Silly because I have never seen a paint yet that coveres 100% 100% of the time, you ALWAYS have to put at least 2 coats, if you use the same color primer you can put one coat of primer and 1-2 coats of paint over it, 2 if doing gloss.
I find your results on par with what I see when I use these products at work. They hide alot better than paint products before and when recovering worn surfaces only a light power washing is required. On green wood though I still prime before applying and finishing coats.
Great video I learned a lot just from what you said in your little video.
Thanks for watching, Lance! 😄
notice you are looking into the camera lens as opposed to the camera screen in your past videos, kudos for such a subtle but major tweak to your videos
Great information! Would love some info on different types of paint, such as leveling, cabinet, door and trim, and regular. Just started painting and it's a lot. Thanks
I would love to see a video on HVLP systems in the future. These seem DIY friendly, but I am skeptical on how well they work.
I recently built cabinets for a master closet...after priming/sanding, I painted with Sherwin Williams "Emerald" with an HVLP gun. I basically thinned a quart of paint with two ounces of water and added one ounce of Floetrol. Lays down a beautiful finish...smooth as glass. For larger surfaces (walls, etc.) you're better off with an airless sprayer...no thinning of the paint is necessary.
Please tell us first, what is "HVLP"?
Im going to repaint my entire house because somebody previously did a crappy job before me (running paint on walls). Holes both big and small. Shotty or lazy drywall compound sanding. You name it.
For airless spraying its a gift when there is no need for a primer
I always paint bare materials and especially new drywall and I prefer to use Benjamin Moore paint it lays down great and keeps it sheen my customers seem satisfied with the results also
Good topic, would like to see the pros and cons of finishes. Durability, outdoor or indoor and maintenace of polyurethane, lacquer, shellac, tung oil, linseed, wood wax and tung oil.
Thanks for this info. I have several unopened cans of paint or part used and resealed paint that need to be mixed up again. What is the best home method to mix a can thoroughly for reuse or after settling?
I'm interested in three different areas. First would be basics of care and preparation, cutting in and application, and storage of extra paint. Second would be special considerations for interior paint jobs including different finishes and maintenance (like eggshell, satin, etc.) plus best ways to clean, if needed. Third would be all exterior paint job considerations and techniques.
Self priming paints are fine where there are no significant problems, such as super slick surfaces, very porous surfaces, stains that must be delt with, etc. If you are just affecting a color change over well sealed walls in good condition, the self priming paints are fine.
Great video! I needed this video a year ago when I had to go dark to lighter. I primed and put 2 coats of paint might have been able to save a step w self priming paint.
Really helpful and interesting video.
Thanks for the paint tips Ethan anytime a coat can be skipped = money.
Thanks Mark! Very true 👍
When the paint & primer first came out I had terrible results as a home owner. I went back to using a primer. Some of the all in one cans tell you to use two coats so where is the cost savings? Primers usually are a little be cheaper and you can have them tinted if need be.
I look forward to your expanded topics. After all, once you finish the carpentry work, you have to put the finish on the project.
Another great video, thanks!!!
a primer is really a sealer + undercoat (cover color) + primer (bonding).
when you've done any jointing or filler work on plaster, it's the sealer that helps paint not to get sucked in more into filler, which shows up.
many now believe that there is no additional bonding to be had by using a primer, as a poorly prepared surface will still peal, but well prepared surface shows no additional bonding than good paint alone.
on metals, primer is used more regularly, as it's difficult to prep metal without contaminating surface as you clean it with alcohol. if prepped well, a single bond to steel has less chance to peel than two layers of different products, the primer and then paint.
priming wood that is not sanded, peels easily. no real need to prime, just sand/prep well, which needs doing anyway.
My experience with paint/primer is that it is like they put a few ounces of Christmas molasses in regular paint. In other words it takes more effort to brush or roll it. When you are cutting-in, it feels like your brush is dragging.
Interesting! Will keep this in mind for my next painting task.
Great video Ethan.
Well explained, thank you.