primer questions

[Melissa]

Our kitchen drywall is done, now time to pick the paint. I understand we need to use primer first, and it was suggested the primer be partially? tinted first. We aren't sure what color the kitchen will be yet, so we should just go with plain off the shelf primer, yes?

The kitchen will be semi gloss like the rest of the house, will that affect what type of primer I need to get?

And last of all, the room is 31 ft x 9 ft, with 8 ft ceilings, I need to cover 919 sq ft of walls and ceiling, is that correct? Sorry, I'm sure that seems obvious, but last time I bought paint, after painting I found I had 2.5 gallons more than I needed. I've purchased paint for my family room, with advice from you very helpful guys here, but haven't yet painted, so don't know if I figured correctly for that room yet. How much primer will I need to cover 919 sq ft, if I only paint with primer once, which is what I believe is normal, followed by 2 coats of paint?

Thanks!

Melissa

[FDR]

Usually you will get a tinted primer that the manufacturer says will result in the truest color after painting. However, if you don't know then white primer will do. I believe youd use a latex primer for surfaces that will be painted with latex.

The paint store should be able to tell you, or the paint can should say. Always get a little more though.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes. Tinting is nice b ut not needed.

Latex is OK.

Yes.

Check the paint can. It will tell you how much coverage it will give you. Some say one coat is all that is needed, but it always looks better with two.

[B]

What the others said is true. But also, ... New drywall takes lots more primer and paint than any fineprint on the can will tell you. It's hard to get all the shadows to go away. Fresh drywall is the best excuse for top-quality paint such as from a dedicated paint store like Sherwin Williams. I think it's easier to get the primer looking gorgeous and then paint twice with a color, rather than prime once and still have shadows, then paint with a color 2.5 to three times. The tint that you might add to primer is good when the final coat will be pretty dark. =B

[George E. Cawthon]

Exactly! The purpose of the primer is mainly to seal the wall which will really suck up the paint. Since primer is cheaper than the final paint, it is best to get it really sealed so don't skimp on the primer and then have to put on more final paint. The final paint sheen makes no difference to selection of a primer.

If the primer gives only one coverage figure, e.g., 400 sq ft per gallon, then assume that the coverage will be only 300 sq ft per gallon for a porous surface such as fresh wallboard. You probably need to plan on 3 gallons of primer. And you probably only need 4-5 gallons for two coats of the final unless you have a very dark color or poor quality paint. Personally, I never put on more than one coat on previously painted walls and ceilings of similar color, but some times have to touch up a few spots if I didn't get it well covered.

I am curious how you put on 2.5 coats.

B wrote:

[Ron]

Buy a good quality paint and you'll minimize the number of coats of paint you'll need for good coverage.

No special primer is needed for semi-gloss, again, just buy quality primer.

I think you have 640 square feet (31+9+31+9) X 8 = 80 X 8 = 640

The paint can label should tell you how many feet of coverage you'll be able to get per gallon of paint. Ron

[Lee & Cathi Thomas]

She's including the ceiling - 640 + (31 X 9)= 919.

[Norminn]

Probably not. Go to a real paint store. I've never painted brand new walls, but I would consider two full coats of primer before the paint. At least spot prime the patches and seams. Ask at the paint store, read can instructions. Most paint companies have good info on their websites

- it would not surprise me to find there is a special primer for new construction. If you will be putting up wallpaper or border, need primer then too.

The area you need to cover is 640 sq ft.

31 + 9 + 31 + 9 = 80. 80 x 8 = 640.

Read the label, and plan to use more than the label calls for. I never get the max, but I probably lay the paint on heavier.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Wrong. Do the math again but first, re-read the requirements

Primer is always best over new drywall.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Wrong. Problem with reading comprehension?

[David Martel]

Norminn,

I think she said she had a 31 by 9 ceiling so she'll need enough ceiling paint to cover 279 sq. ft. In a room with 8 ft of height she has 640 sq ft of walls to paint. Look like you forgot to paint the ceiling. I think she should pick her color for the walls and tint the wall primer appropriately. I presume ceiling will be white so prime that in white. I don't believe that more than one coat of primer is necessary or recommended by paint manufacturers. You're correct that the choice of primer and paint should be complementary (oil with oil or latex with latex).

Dave M.

[Norminn]

Actually, yes. Sorry. I read it twice :o(

[Hopkins]

Yeah, unless you're finish coat is something really close to white [then it doesn't matter].

It's common to tint the primer half-strength [maybe 3/4 if there's a lot of colorant] of the finish color, and to be on the safe side I'd wait until you're sure on the finish color before tinting the primer. There's been at least one instance where the base of the finish paint or the tints added had an adverse effect on how well the finish coat covered the primer coat.

As for primer/finish coat combinations, it's not as strict as others suggest. You can use latex finish coat over any primer, oil or latex. For oil finish coat I stick with oil primer.

It doesn't matter which primer you use on your walls, but there's no real reason to go to the trouble and expense of oil primer unless you're going with oil finish. Trust me, you do not want that. If you ever wanted to re-paint you'd have to use oil again. And if you wanted to stop this vicious cycle you'd have to use an oil primer in order to switch to a latex finish.

Every can has a spread rate or coverage rate on the label, in terms of square footage. Just assume they're being optimistic and you won't get quite as much square footage. Especially with new drywall you're going to use a lot of primer.

[Norminn]

Ben Moore's website says latex is preferred for new drywall. No details , but probably got more specifics within each product description. Oil over -, or latex over -, doesn't matter IMO as long as product doesn't specify one or the other. Dry and cure times would be important, along with all the other stuff they have on the label. :o)

[Ron]

[3rd eye]

I'll throw my two cents in as well. I may repeat what others have said. Typical drywall primer is known as PVA. It is water based. Since you don't know what colors you'll use don't worry about tinting. Buy from a paint store.

Contrary to what manufacturers recommend, most, of the, no _all_ of the pros I know thin it 15-20% it seals just fine & levels out nicely.

[Melissa]

Thanks again for all the help guys. I've been painting all day, and my arms are complaining. Painting a ceiling is harder than I expected. We have a large knock down texture, and it was difficult to get the paint into all the grooves as it was sucked up so quickly. I did the ceiling and the walls once, and used about 2.5 gallons of the 3 I bought. Hubby is going to do the area where the ceiling and walls meet. I honestly can't lift my arms higher than my chin right now. I bought latex primer, as I know that washes out of clothes. It says it's for new walls, and it worked out well. I went ahead with plain white since I still haven't decided on the wall color. I was worried at first I wouldn't know if I'd missed places over where they put the drywall mud since that is white as well, but the primer dried with an ever so slight blue/grey tinge, so it's easy to spot. I appreciate your patience with this inexperienced DIY'er.

Melissa

[Norminn]

clipped

I have patience on newsgroups, but not whilst hanging wallpaper. Bought the paper for this bath 8 years ago; not a good idea. Not a good idea to apply paste with roller, either. Measure twice, cut once.....not me. I measured three times on one strip and still cut it too short. Grrr...it was a BEAR putting up this paper, bubbles all over the place, touched the wall and it would not move. Never had such difficulty with paper. Waited all this time for hubby to replace wallboard on ceiling, as it was a mess. Finally gave up and repaired, patched, sunk the darn rusty nails, sanded, patched some more, and on and on. FINALLY have all fixed but for the short section of wall with the little mousehole I made to dig out rusted corner bead. Rest of bath is finished. Hubby did go for new towel rods...dropped one while installing and it dinged the wall on its way down twice and on it's way up once. They really bounce :o) Got the dings patched and the rods straight. Looks nice. Rug has to go, but hubby doesn't know that yet :o) This has really been a good experience, as I have gotten about 5 years worth of cussing out of my system and will now conduct myself as a mature adult. Next project is to repair grout in shower; nice dusty job to do in newly dec. bath. If I can find grout for wet places. Good luck with homeowning :o)

[vjp2.at]

For tough caulk/grout jobs, I use maritime caulking which dries quickly even when wet.. most boat places have it (online)..

also helps to cover unavoidably wet areas with duct tape while waiting for caulk/grout to dry..

more often than not, grout damage is straight lines and not sqaure areas.. so you can do one line a day.. cover with duct tape and still use the bathroom..

- = - Vasos-Peter John Panagiotopoulos II, Columbia'81+, Bio$trategist BachMozart ReaganQuayle EvrytanoKastorian

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