# How many coats of primer do I need on fresh drywall?



## yummy mummy

Is one coat enough or do I need to do two.



Thanks


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## USP45

One. But do yourself a favor, use a good quality primer. I found that Valspar is good. If you think its expensive, you are right, but it only requires a one coat cover where the 1/2 priced primers require 2 to 3 coats.

You do the math!


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## yummy mummy

Thanks for the info.

I wonder if we in Canada carry that brand?

I have done one coat on my textured ceiling and I used CIL acrylic latex drywall primer from HD. I think it cost about $28. 
I don't mind spending the extra money, as long as I get a good end result.

Thanks again.


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## USP45

Any name brand will do, Valspar, Duron, Benjimen More, Dupont and so on. Try to stay away from those 20 dollar a gallon deals at WalMart though.


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## yummy mummy

I will definitely stay away from WalMart.................lol


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## Bob Mariani

One coat. It will look like it did not cover well, but do not worry about this. It is normal. IT seals, the top coats cover.
what you need is a PVA primer.. it is used for new drywall. Or a paint marked Seal and Block. Any other primer is not really for new drywall.


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## slickshift

*One*


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## yummy mummy

Bob Mariani said:


> One coat. It will look like it did not cover well, but do not worry about this. It is normal. IT seals, the top coats cover.
> what you need is a PVA primer.. it is used for new drywall. Or a paint marked Seal and Block. Any other primer is not really for new drywall.


 
Thanks Bob.

I just went to read the one that I have used and it says it has good sealing and hiding properties. 
I sure could use the hiding...............:laughing:


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## sirwired

You actually don't need any hide... that is meant for say, a dark green -> daffodill yellow color transition.

Oh, and Friends Don't Let Friends Use Kilz2. Just stay away, no matter what the can says.

SirWired


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## 747

zinsser bulleye 123 interior exterior primer sealer. HD should have it. Not that expensive. Last time i bought it 10 dollars a gallon. It was on sale.

One coat your good to go. Might want to hit walls after dried lightly with some fine grade sandpaper or just a light sweep with a drywallers screen.


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## yummy mummy

sirwired said:


> You actually don't need any hide... that is meant for say, a dark green -> daffodill yellow color transition.
> 
> Oh, and Friends Don't Let Friends Use Kilz2. Just stay away, no matter what the can says.
> 
> SirWired


I thought by hiding they meant hiding very small imperfections in my mudding..................?


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## yummy mummy

What is kilz2?


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## jaros bros.

Just because it is just this brand or that does not make a primer or paint good. Just about every company makes good paint. They will usually sell three to 6 different grades of their paint. Price is almost a 100% guarantee of the quality. Don't think you are getting good paint or primer if your are only paying $20 a gallon and it is any brand.

Josh Jaros


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## DangerMouse

my friend just asked what happens if you don't use primer and just paint on the drywall?
says he did it in his bedroom 7 years ago and it looks fine, so why he asks? 

DM


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## sirwired

yummy mummy said:


> I thought by hiding they meant hiding very small imperfections in my mudding..................?


"Hide" refers to how opaque it is, and high-hide primer is used for extremely drastic color changes. Hiding defects in your finish would be accomplished by a "high-build" primer, but those are usually only used when painting brick and cinderblock.

If your mudding is not smooth, you can sand (and vacuum) it prior to priming.

SirWired


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## yummy mummy

Thanks for the explanation sirwired. Now I know what that means.......(you learn something new everyday)


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## Matthewt1970

DangerMouse said:


> my friend just asked what happens if you don't use primer and just paint on the drywall?
> says he did it in his bedroom 7 years ago and it looks fine, so why he asks?
> 
> DM


We have all done it. A lot of times you can get away with it. BUT, you don't have the durability you will have with a coat of primer. You are more likely to peel it right off and I have seen it happen. You also don't seal it as well so you may need more coats. Also, Zinsser 123 (The most common choice for drywall primer) is $20 a gallon or less, so it is cheaper to throw a coat of white or tinted primer and a coat of paint than it is to throw 2 coats of paint.


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## DangerMouse

RE: Post #14
great.... now it's a conspiracy... he even bet me no-one would answer this yesterday....
of course i know why you use primer, but how to explain to him? 
he thinks it's just a conspiracy by the paint companies to get you to use more paint.

DM


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## DangerMouse

that was weird.... Matthew's post didn't show up the first time.... the thread ended with sirwired?
hmmmmm

DM


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## Matthewt1970

DangerMouse said:


> RE: Post #14
> great.... now it's a conspiracy... he even bet me no-one would answer this yesterday....
> of course i know why you use primer, but how to explain to him?
> he thinks it's just a conspiracy by the paint companies to get you to use more paint.
> 
> DM


There might be some truth to that, like in the 70's car manuals used to say change your oil every 6K miles, but now with all the advances in oil technology we have to change it every 3k. 

Like I said, I have seen paint peel right off drywall that wasn't primed first. When you are putting a warranty on a job, and you want it to hold up, prime it first.


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## adur

KILLZ!!! Bottom line best product on the market... No questions, one coat gets more than the job done...


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## sirwired

yummy mummy said:


> What is kilz2?


Kilz2 is a water-base Kilz product found in Big Box stores. (No reputable paint store will carry it, even if they carry the original oil-base Kilz.) While it is inexplicably sold as a primer, it is, in fact, an _adhesion reducer._ As in, if you put it on the wall, there is a decent chance it will literally peel off in sheets a few days later, even if the surface underneath was pretty sound before hand. 

No, we aren't making this up. This board has had several folks report the complete and total failure of this product, the only solution for which was to scrape it all off and start over. I suppose all these reports of failing Kilz and Behr could be from a disgruntled Masco Corp., Architectural Coatings Division, employee, or it just really is that horrible.

SirWired


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## yummy mummy

Thanks sirwired.

I will make sure I never purchase that product...............:yes:


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## DangerMouse

you got that right YM, tnkz sirwired!

DM


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## Scuba_Dave

Sure now you tell me
I painted my bathroom in the last house - possibly with Kilz since I have the remnants of a can
At any rate, Kilz or the prior owner did not use any primer on the drywall. Put the finish coat on, & the paint peeled right off the wall!!
I was really upset, I had a lot of work to do & was hoping the bathroom would look nice for the GF

I have bought a lot of Behr paint & haven't had any problems
I did have the paint peel off the front fiberglass door trim
Not the door itself - just the trim around the 3/4 window
The wife ended up liking the door with the white trim around the window. So I have left it for now

I now have a ton of priming to do
15x16 sunroom, about 800 sq ft on the 2nd floor
And a 24x36 addition - 2 floors & a walk up attic 19x24
I was going to buy a 5g bucket of primer

I have about 1/2 gallon of PVA primer still
Should I pick up a 5g bucket?


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## ThunderCAT

*Conco Products?*

My basement is being drywalled currently: knockdown ceiling texture tomorrow, final sanding and clean up on Wednesday, then my wife and I will be painting non-stop for quite some time. Our newly finished basement will add about 725 sq ft, with 70% of the space at 9' walls, and 30% at 8' walls for soffitting. 

I've been trying to read up on the right primer/sealer to use. We just picked up 5-gallons of Conco P001 - Drywall P.V.A. Primer/Sealer - Interior Water Base from Menards. A couple of questions:


Is this a decent product that will effectively seal and prime in one coat? We'll be top-coating walls with two coats.
Is 5-gallons going to be enough? Application will be done by rolling.
With knockdown ceilings, is priming required before painting?
Thanks in advance for any advice or feedbaclk. :thumbsup:


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## Faron79

*Aim a little higher...!*

Conco is VERY basic stuff...

Percent Volume Solids is a key rating:
* Conco PVA Latex primer, PVS=28%
(VERY WIMPY numer there...)
>>> If I was priming with this...I'd definitely 2-coat it!
* C2 Lovo WBP (Wallboard-primer), PVS=34%
(Much better...)
* C2-One primer, PVS=38%.
(Very good # for a primer, plus...it's a super stain-blocker. It was designed to beat Zin's 123. Has MUCH less odor than 123)

Faron


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## ThunderCAT

Shoot. Well, probably will be returning that and getting something else. I just looked at the label, and couldn't find a PVS number on the label itself. When shopping for a different primer, is PVS number typically listed?

Any other recommendations from either Menards, Lowes, Home Depot or Sherwin Williams with regards to brands and types?


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## sirwired

Just forget the big box, go to SW, and just ask them for an appropriate new-drywall primer. They'll hook you up with whatever PrepRite product they feel is appropriate.

SirWired


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## ThunderCAT

That's my new plan. Also going to have them tint the primer. :thumbsup:


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## ThunderCAT

So I went to SW tonight, and told them about my basement project and rather than a primer, they said I should use tinted CHB as it will offer best coverage. This seemed a bit odd to me, but I went on their recommendation as I figured they were the experts. We'll see how it works.


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## chrisn

tinted CHB:huh:?


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## ThunderCAT

Well, maybe tinted is the wrong term since CHB is a latex paint. I guess it's just a mixed color that's close to what we think our final color will be. We were deciding (and still are deciding) between a couple of options that are very close in color, so they gave us a lighter version of one of the colors to use as a base coat.


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## chrisn

what is CHB?


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## ThunderCAT

CHB is model of latex paint from Sherwin Williams. It sure covered good on the first coat.


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## Matthewt1970

So instead of a primer, Sherwin Williams recommended one of thier lower end Latex Paints for a first coat on new drywall........Ok....:bangin:


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## ThunderCAT

I know, I asked them essentially the same thing and was assured this would work just as good with better coverage.


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## sirwired

Well, I don't know about CHB in particular, but I do know that their "Builder's Solution" and ProTouch Flat paints are designed to be primerless and hide well. I can't say I would use them as a final topcoat I wanted to last, but I could see the clerk recommending them instead of primer on new drywall.

SirWired


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## ThunderCAT

sirwired said:


> Well, I don't know about CHB in particular, but I do know that their "Builder's Solution" and ProTouch Flat paints are designed to be primerless and hide well. I can't say I would use them as a final topcoat I wanted to last, but I could see the clerk recommending them instead of primer on new drywall.
> 
> SirWired


We won't be using this paint as our final coat - just the base coat. I've been doing a bit of reading, and have found a couple other places that claim CHB works great as a "primer" for new drywall. Hope it works out!


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## Matthewt1970

Will it work? Sure. Will it seal and give you the same durability a true primer would? Not hardly. Now add higher levels of humidity being in a basement....


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## bobo60

hi,

i just finished hanging, taping, and mudding, my first drywall project. got the sanding done, looks pretty good. now the painting. i am planning on purchasing glidden pva, for under latex primer. is this a good choice???...bob


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## yummy mummy

I used CIL acrylic drywall primer, and it worked good for me. 
I then put on 2 coats of Benjamin Moore paint, and it look good.

I love BM paint. I have never painted before, and really like the way BM covers.

Good luck.


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## Matthewt1970

bobo60 said:


> hi,
> 
> i just finished hanging, taping, and mudding, my first drywall project. got the sanding done, looks pretty good. now the painting. i am planning on purchasing glidden pva, for under latex primer. is this a good choice???...bob


Stay away from anything with the word "Glidden" on it. Go to a Sherwin Williams and get PrepRite Classic (not the 400) or go to Benjamin Moore and get Fresh Start for primer. Either can be tinted to match your finish color and either will seal, bond, and give you a great surface for your finish coat.


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