# Zinsser primer, but which one?



## chinfan12 (May 18, 2011)

I want to paint some dated kitchen unit doors, which have a vinyl surface and have been advised to use "Zinnser" primer prior to two coats of gloss paint. Can anyone tell me which of this brand of products would be best suited to the job please?


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## colour.me (Sep 15, 2010)

Hello Chinfan12, 

My name is Christine and I work in the paint department at The Home Depot. 

Zinsser's Bull's Eye 1-2-3 will work really well for this project. :thumbup: This primer sticks to anything and it is water based, so it's fast drying and won't smell obnoxious.

Happy painting, 

Christine


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Oh please. Not pretty Christine from my HD? 23? Beautifully painted nails? I just cannot bring myself to hurt her expressed opinion. But she works for who she works for. 

Not much sticks to vinyl and especially in a kitchen environment including 1-2-3. There are plastic primers out there but HD does not know what they are and certainly has no expertise in telling you how to use them. Mine immediate local, stocks none. 

Melamine came on the scene as a material for painting over vinyls, laminates and other surfaces in kitchens. It comes in a rainbow of factory mix colors and some paint companies think they can tint it to match their collections. It is interesting stuff and great for your application. Again, I suspect HD does not even dare carry it because it is real paint. It is a bit weird to apply but you will catch on. It is not the paint material I would start with as a DIY person but why not I guess. Just get the right tools and crank out the project when the tools are wet. You don't want to stretch Melamine over multiple weekends. 

Melamine, if you give it time to cure, forms a nice high gloss finish. It chips easily though and the chips are hard to touch up without looking like chips. 

Buy paint, and get counsel for doing so, in a real paint store please! And nothing in particular against Christine. 

And of course before you put anything on plastic or vinyl cabinets, and expect it to stick? Or any kitchen cabinet? You need the surfaces immaculately clean. TSP or whatever to get the grease. And then mineral spirits to get the grease again.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

colour.me said:


> Hello Chinfan12,
> 
> My name is Christine and I work in the paint department at The Home Depot.
> 
> ...


 
Aahh, no it won't.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

chrisn said:


> Aahh, no it won't.


Your short worded comments are starting to piss me off. :furious:
Sort of I guess.


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## ltd (Jan 16, 2011)

go to sherwin williams and talk to them about your project talk to a manger or assistant manger .ask them about xim bonding primers i have used this and it will stick . sorry i forget what xim i used but i can tell you it was brutal and hard to use but it works. clean, lightly sand, xim , then a top quality acrylic latex


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

ltd said:


> go to sherwin williams and talk to them about your project talk to a manger or assistant manger .ask them about xim bonding primers i have used this and it will stick . sorry i forget what xim i used but i can tell you it was brutal and hard to use but it works. clean, lightly sand, xim , then a top quality acrylic latex


Or another name brand paint store. The point is box stores sell crap and sometimes limited expertise to go with it.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Zinsser Bin, sticks to glass


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

jsheridan said:


> Zinsser Bin, sticks to glass


Sure, glass has a grain and porosity. Please don't suggest the stuff will stick long to polymers like vinyl and plastics? And recommend it be applied over vinyl clad, formica or whatever plastic laminate cabinets in a kitchen with expectations of good things happening? :no:


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

sdsester, I have to wonder in some of your comments where you get your info from.
Porosity in glass? And not in vinyl? Say what?
And XIM had a primer called flash bond 400- will sick to ANYTHING. 
But it is a B--ch to lay out.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Not sure appropriate to this post to argue about whether and why glass is always going to be more porous, or have more surface texture to adhere to than plastics. I will find some better images but here are two of close put not perfectly matched magnification. The first is of highly diamond polished piece of optical glass for a telescope. And the other is of a common contact lens. Hopefully we do not race to paint either. If we did though? Which one do you think a primer would hold to long term? 

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSqkd2ffJTI1XgczOEALduJbv6oSLln085sw5_qfO3HNZt59hRQ

http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/308504/large/P4200487-Contact_lens_surface,_SEM-SPL.jpg

MAB's superbond primer sounds like the product you describe. I loved the stuff because it would stick to anything---for a time. But I would never recommend it as underlay for finish to be put over vinyl kitchen cabinets.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> Your short worded comments are starting to piss me off. :furious:
> Sort of I guess.


Well,good! You think better when po'd:laughing:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

sdsester, when you say long term, how long, a lifetime. BIN is spec'd for all sorts of surfaces, including vinyl. Not that I believe everything the pc's tell me, but I've used in in that application and never had a problem. You say melamine chips easily, what is a chip but a failed bond?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

jsheridan said:


> sdsester, when you say long term, how long, a lifetime. BIN is spec'd for all sorts of surfaces, including vinyl. Not that I believe everything the pc's tell me, but I've used in in that application and never had a problem. You say melamine chips easily, what is a chip but a failed bond?


I see your points and I guess long term is subjective. I guess I have meant it to mean for as long as the client has the paint job and/or for the reasonable wear and life of the paint over the primer. I just hate to see people patching up painted kitchens on a regular basis.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

poor christine is just trying to be "helpful".. to bad she wont be around for long. maybe she should hang out for a while and use some of the info here at HD.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

mustangmike3789 said:


> poor christine is just trying to be "helpful".. to bad she wont be around for long. maybe she should hang out for a while and use some of the info here at HD.


Hugh?:wink:Is this an HD site in disguise? 
Christine will be fine. She has hooked up with the kid who works plumbing, electrical and fasteners with no experience. She is with child and a gorgeous shotgun wedding with all orange aprons is planned. The baby will not be covered for healthcare under the box stores plan so pay up with your taxes. If Christine does not come back from maternity leave, she will not be covered either.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

i know that kid. he suggested some paint for some people that found him from seven isles away. he was putting up christmas trees at the time. very helpful!!!


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