# priming drywall: Gardz or no?



## mx13 (Apr 8, 2007)

I was pretty happy with that stuff for sealing the damaged drywall paper, except that despite washing it quite vigorously it ruined my semi-nice paintbrush, so I resorted to using a cheap disposable roller and chip brushes for the second coat.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Gardz is a great sealer but because it has no pigments it doesn't cover the wall like traditional primers do. You'll be able to see thru the gardz coat.


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## stick\shift (Mar 23, 2015)

Gardz is a great sealing primer but I think it's overkill for just joint compound - it mainly is used for sealing exposed gypsum or old adhesive which can't be readily removed.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Gardz over bare drywall can be beneficial in bath rms or anywhere the paint is expected to be scrubbed/washed often. I agree that in most circumstances it's over kill.


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## mx13 (Apr 8, 2007)

I'm a fan of overkill (when it's not going to bankrupt me). There should be no color contrast to show through under this coat, so the lack of pigment isn't a problem, I guess? 

Might just do this on the walls nearest the sink, and put primer on top of that, then primer only on the other walls. How 'bout that?

edit: although that skips my concern about different types of joint compound showing a different texture through the paint...


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Gardz is too thin to change texture. It will even out the drying rate of any coating applied over it but generally once a wall is primed [with most anything] and 1-2 coats of paint applied the absorption rate is the same over the entire wall.


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## ajaye (May 19, 2019)

I used killz2 on a repair, it was great


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## ajaye (May 19, 2019)

https://www.lowes.ca/product/primer/kilz-11-quart-interior-latex-primer-45545


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## cocomonkeynuts (Jan 12, 2018)

superspec 253 is the only primer you ever need to look at for new drywall


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## siffleur (Aug 19, 2013)

mx13 said:


> When I get finished coating and sanding (which definitely won't be today!), what should the drywall be primed with? The can of Gardz suggests using it as a sealing coat on top of the joint compound before painting.
> 
> Given that I've used a mix of hot and premixed mud, and can't be sure I won't be sanding back into the hot mud in spots as I finish leveling the surface, that would seem to be sure to uniform the surface as well as block moisture, if their claims are to be believed. What say you to this idea?


If I were doing this at my house, I would definiatetly use Gardz as directed on the can, making sure that a 2nd coat gives a uniform sheen without any dull spots. It will soak through any surface dust and make it a permanent part of the wall. It will also give you the best surface for getting an even sheen when using matte sheens through gloss sheens. When you roll your paint over a properly Gardzed surface, you will think that you are in painter's heaven. Try it. 

The only drawback I see in using Gardz vs a white pigmented primer is that it is easier to point up, or look for and correct mistakes in the suface, when looking for defects on a uniform white surface. If you think that you might have lots of little dings and imperfections to patch before painting, you might put 1 coat of Gardz, then roll a nice coat of white primer on so you can see what is going on with any boo boos that you might want to patch before painting.

siffleur


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## stick\shift (Mar 23, 2015)

> I used killz2 on a repair, it was great


That's about the last primer I would ever use - it has a horrible reputation for poor adhesion.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

One way to say it is that Gardz is overkill. I say anything else is underkill, if in fact your goal is sealing. Which is to say, almost everything else called a drywall primer or sealer does a crappy job at it.


https://jackpauhl.wordpress.com/tag/gardz/


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