Paint+primer in one...hah!

[sciphi]

The wife and I repainted the master suite today. We got the mid-grade paint from the big blue box store. Supposed to be "paint and primer in one". We were told primer wasn't necessary, but we purchased primer anyhow and had it tinted to approximate the final color. We were covering up a hideous (to us) shade of brown with a lighter blue, and wanted that brown gone.

We had a chance to try the paint by itself over the old paint in an inconspicuous area. For covering up a dark color, this lighter-colored "paint and primer in one" was failing miserably. It did a great job when put over the tinted primer. But alone, without primer, at least the light color we picked did a poor job of hiding. Which we somewhat expected, although not quite that poor!

My wife and I went back and forth over needing to go over the room three times and spending the money on primer. Ultimately our desire to see the brown disappear prevailed, and we spent the time and money priming. The way it turned out could not have been done without priming first. Both of us are happy, and there's not a trace of the old color left. So if going from darker to lighter, primer still makes the job turn out better.

 

[AZjeff]

We tried some of the better "all in one" from the orange store. Thick, couldn't cut a line, didn't want to stick - pulling masking tape pulled it off the wall. No thanks, tinted primer still the best choice IMO.

 

[Wolf359]

The original paint/primer in one would be Benjamin Moore Aura paint. Big box store paint isn't considered real paint by professionals. They all pretty much use Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams or even more expensive paints.

 

[AZjeff]

I'm not a professional painter although did spend summers painting houses through college so maybe a level above average DIYer. Behr paint and Kilz or other primer has always worked fine, the one try of the paint/primer not so much. Worst ever was some ACE brand swill.

 

[demarpaint]

Primer is always the better choice. Paint + primer is OK, it is more a marketing ploy than anything else. In a dead flat paint, paint + primer is OK over spackling which should be spot primed first. In most instances it eliminates that step, saving time and money and has some value. When you move up in gloss to lets say an eggshell finish, or semi-gloss skipping spot priming spackle will result in flashing at some point. Going over a very dark color like you did, priming in my opinion is always the way to go. Smart move!

There are also certain deep tone orange colors for example that will actually bleed, and priming those colors are a must!

 

[AZjeff]

Is this the voice of a pro talking?

Beyond paint brand or types a good mid-grade 2&1/2" angle sash brush is worth it's weight in gold for the homeowner IMO. Cheap brushes suck.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Is this the voice of a pro talking?

Beyond paint brand or types a good mid-grade 2&1/2" angle sash brush is worth it's weight in gold for the homeowner IMO. Cheap brushes suck.


A pro, yes. I started in 1978 part time, went full time in 1980. I've tried just about everything at some point, and tested products for a few of the big names.

As far as brushes, there's no skimping when it comes to a good brush! As with most things you get what you pay for, paint brushes are no exception.

 

[MikeHigg]

I like ICI Dulux paints, they were early innovators in low or no-voc paints which I used in my home and specified for my Church years ago. They're worth it for health reasons but looked really good too.

 

[HerrStig]

I live close to the ocean and Behr has always worked for me in the exterior formulations, but ymmv.

 

[Al]

You got what you paid for

 

[Delta]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Is this the voice of a pro talking?

Beyond paint brand or types a good mid-grade 2&1/2" angle sash brush is worth it's weight in gold for the homeowner IMO. Cheap brushes suck.


Or you could be an oddball like me and like to cut-in with a 2.5" strait. I've had the same Purdy 2.5" for years that I've painted many of houses and my own with.

As far as the paint/primer, yea it's kind of a gimmick. I actually just finished painting our bathroom with the Valspar "Premium" paint and primer. I wasn't impressed, but I bought it off the "oops" rack for $9. It did no better than say Benjamin Moore's Super Spec, or their new Ultra Spec 500 contractor grade. Give me the old formula Regal anyday.

 

[04SE]

One of my tenants had a teenage daughter that decided to paint her room NEON PINK. For the love of whatever deity it is you believe in, do not let your child do this. 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of builder beige paint to cover that stuff up. Had a similar situation in another rental where they painted a room the most hideous purple you have ever seen. It was 1 coat primer and 2 coats paint.

Granted I buy a 5 gallon bucket of paint for $40 for my rentals, definitely not high end paint.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: 04SE
One of my tenants had a teenage daughter that decided to paint her room NEON PINK. For the love of whatever deity it is you believe in, do not let your child do this. 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of builder beige paint to cover that stuff up. Had a similar situation in another rental where they painted a room the most hideous purple you have ever seen. It was 1 coat primer and 2 coats paint.

Granted I buy a 5 gallon bucket of paint for $40 for my rentals, definitely not high end paint.


That's why you had to use 4 coats of paint. Had the same thing happen with a tenant, they were long term so I let them paint the place pink. When they left, one coat of Sherwin Williams Superpaint did the job. I think Superpaint when it's on sale is around $30 or so a gallon, it's one step below their best paint which was Duration but now I think they have some other line out that's supposed to be better than Duration. I use Duration for the exterior on my rentals. It's cheaper buying more expensive paint and doing just one or two coats rather than buying cheap paint and doing multiple coats. Also some people don't know how to paint, I've seen people do one coat and it's the thinnest coat I've seen. You have to put enough paint on the walls so that it doesn't run, but not so thin that it bleeds through and you have to do a second coat.

 

[dishdude]

Why do people paint walls these ridiculous colors? I just bought a house earlier this year with blue walls and a red ceiling in the kitchen, along with a dozen other equally offensive colors throughout the rest of the house. Luckily one coat of texture, primer and top coat each took care of it.

 

[sciphi]

We also used Flood Floetrol in the paint. For a DIY painter, it took down the roller marks and brush strokes. For brushes we used US made Wooster and Purdy brushes and roller covers. As someone else said, the angled 2.5" brush was great for cutting in. Not cheap, and all still usable for the next repaint.