Primer for houses

[new_brandygreen]

I've been trying to help my grandmother out with fixing up her house. It's = in dire need of being repainted. She wants the color to be blue and I am pr= aying that there is some neighborhood law that will make her change her min= d. haha! Anyway, there is A LOT of work that needs to be done before we can= do any painting, but I've been reading tons of information (as this is my = first time having to do something like this) on how to go about this and wh= at products to use. I have narrowed my choices down to a few different type= s of paint and primers and thought that I would just see what you guys have= used/suggestions. Right now, the one that I am leaning mostly towards is M= ad Dog. Supposedly it is flexible and can withstand weather extremes (she l= ives in Minnesota) and it's non toxic (she has a little dog and her young g= reat grandkids come to visit-not my children haha!). So, if anyone has used= Mad Dog specifically and could let me know what you think of it, or if you= know of any other products that have the same qualities, I'd appreciate an= y info you have! I'm looking for non-toxic/eco-friendly, long lasting (I re= ally don't want to have to paint this dang house again anytime soon!), can = handle weather extremes, and something that I don't have to spend a TON of = time cleaning up. Being able to spray it, of course would be important too!= haha! Thanks in advance!

[Ken]

dire need of being repainted. She wants the color to be blue and I am praying that there is some neighborhood law that will make her change her mind. haha! Anyway, there is A LOT of work that needs to be done before we can do any painting, but I've been reading tons of information (as this is my first time having to do something like this) on how to go about this and what products to use. I have narrowed my choices down to a few different types of paint and primers and thought that I would just see what you guys have used/suggestions. Right now, the one that I am leaning mostly towards is Mad Dog. Supposedly it is flexible and can withstand weather extremes (she lives in Minnesota) and it's non toxic (she has a little dog and her young great grandkids come to visit-not my children haha!). So, if anyone has used Mad Dog specifically and could let me know what you think of it, or if you know of any other p roducts that have the same qualities, I'd appreciate any info you have! I'm looking for non-toxic/eco-friendly, long lasting (I really don't want to have to paint this dang house again anytime soon!), can handle weather extremes, and something that I don't have to spend a TON of time cleaning up. Being able to spray it, of course would be important too! haha! Thanks in advance!

What is the surface of the home made of?

[Norminn]

dire need of being repainted. She wants the color to be blue and I am praying that there is some neighborhood law that will make her change her mind. haha! Anyway, there is A LOT of work that needs to be done before we can do any painting, but I've been reading tons of information (as this is my first time having to do something like this) on how to go about this and what products to use. I have narrowed my choices down to a few different types of paint and primers and thought that I would just see what you guys have used/suggestions. Right now, the one that I am leaning mostly towards is Mad Dog. Supposedly it is flexible and can withstand weather extremes (she lives in Minnesota) and it's non toxic (she has a little dog and her young great grandkids come to visit-not my children haha!). So, if anyone has used Mad Dog specifically and could let me know what you think of it, or if you know of any other p roducts that have the same qualities, I'd appreciate any info you have! I'm looking for non-toxic/eco-friendly, long lasting (I really don't want to have to paint this dang house again anytime soon!), can handle weather extremes, and something that I don't have to spend a TON of time cleaning up. Being able to spray it, of course would be important too! haha! Thanks in advance!

Wow! I've never heard of "Mad Dog Primer", so I googled it. Just the claim that MDP "stabilizes peeling paint" would make me run, not walk, elsewhere. A home badly neglected needs a lot of careful prep to be ready for painting....I would say that the brand of primer (assuming it is a legitimate product) would be of least importance, prep being #1 and paint #2. Surface needs to be clean, dry, free of grease, mildew, chalk, peeling paint. Gaps need to be caulked after priming. Weathered wood sanded.

What is the structure and what is the climate? Dark blue or light? Dark will likely cover much less well.

[dadiOH]

I've never heard of Mad Dog, DAGS, all they claim would also be done by any decent primer. I'm not a pro painter but I use - and have specified elsewhere - Zinsser 1-2-3.

Regardless of what primer you wind up with, the place will need surface prep. Power washing will remove dirt and grime, most of any chalking and at least loose paint (you may still need to sand/scrape bad areas). You also need to caulk.

Once those things are done, a primer will adhere well even if there is still some chalking.

If you have the primer tinted *CLOSE TO* the final top coat color, the top coat will hide better. I wouldn't tint it exactly as the top coat, makes it too hard to see missed areas.

[clare]

Personaly, I would tint the primer to closely match the ORIGINAL colour of the house so primed spots do not stand out through the new finish coat if the finish coat does not hide terribly well.

We still don't know what you are painting. Are you painting siding, or just trim. Is the siding wood,, or something else, like Johns Manville asbestos tile, hardboard, or ?

When we know this, we can be of a lot more help.