Painting drywall

[big e lewis]

I just had a garage built, and it is now insulated and drywall is hung. I want a glossy white color, to help reflect the light, because I hate working in dim conditions. Anyway, do I NEED to prime 1st, or can I just paint it with the paint I want to show? The drywall is not finished, screw heads are exposed, just the seams taped. I don't care about looks or finish, as it is just a garage,I just want a gloss or semigloss look paintwise. Any thoughts? Thanks, Earl

[JoeSpareBedroom]

You should prime it. However, I once got some advice from a reliable hardware store guy. He said the only reason to specifically buy primer is because it's cheaper than the finish paint. He said if I already have some flat finish paint that's in good condition, you could use that instead, since using what you already have would obviously save money. That was exactly my situation - I had a whole can of flat finish white I knew I would never use as a finish coat. It worked beautifully as a primer under a coat of semi-gloss.

Unless you don't mind seeing screw heads, you need to spackle over them and then sand.

[trader4]

I would not recommend using a semi-gloss or gloss. Either of those shows any imperfections on the wall surface. Even on an inside finished wall, the wall needs to be in excellent finished conditon, or you will see every dimple, high spot, etc. In a garage without final taping coat, it's likely going to look a lot better with a flat paint and I don't think it will make much diff in terms of how light the space will be. A good compromise wood be to use an egg shell type product.

I'd use a coat of primer followed by a coat of the finish paint. Primer has more solids and is better at filling in imperfections, etc. Since you;re doing white, one coat of primer, one coat of finish should be fine for a garage.

[professorpaul]

Drywall is pretty much like a sponge, in my experience. I'd really use a coat of primer -- something like "Kilz," or the like, then the color coat. The results will be much brighter, as the primer is really loaded with pigment. The primer not only gives better adhesion, but since the finish coats have less pigment, usually, then you will get a "brighter" result, which is what you are looking for. As to finish, an "eggshell" is nice, as it can we wiped down. I use eggshell finish all the time for things like a kitchen or bath, as they get dirt, grease, etc., on them. I think the gloss would be excessively reflective. Good lights will help a lot, as well.

[curmudgeon]

You got bad advice. Primer and paint are NOT the same thing and they are NOT the same composition! Primer is essentially glue for paint. It bonds to the drywall and it causes the paint to chemically bond to it. It literally has a glue type component as part of its chemistry. And NOTHING needs primer more than bare new drywall.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

It worked beautifully. 15 years later, it still looks good. I can't explain it.

[Mike Dobony]

Low gloss is a better finish for bright lights. Semi or hi gloss will have very strong reflections and glare. No, you don't really need to prime, but it will likely take several coats to cover good, even with a flat or egg-shell finish.

Mike D.

[Ultraglide]

If you want it brighter, just increase the lighting.

[GWB]

I use Behr Ultra. It has "built-in" primer.

[big e lewis]

The lights aren't up yet, I'm going to do those after the painting. Well, I'M not, my father -in -law will be, because I broke my leg working on this garage... Anyhoo, as a side question, how many/type of lights would light this up "well"? I hate dim lighting, and want it nice and bright. It is 26'wide x38'deep x12'tall, with a16'wide x10'tall rollup door in the end ( 26' wall). Any thoughts are appreciated! Earl

[jthread]

I'd have to go along with that:

It's more economical to use primer.

Not knocking you Joe. It's a YMMV, IMHO type of post. :)

Jim

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I figured the guy was being honest with me, since he stood to gain by selling me a can of primer. In the end, he did anyway. About 10 of them over

5 years.

[Red Green]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:aS__i.20654$ [e-mail]:

It's only a garage but just tossing in my .02 about the primer. You get latex paint on your hands, it dries then you wash it off, it will come off of course. You get latex primer on your hands, it dries then you wash ot off, it will come off. It will take a noticeably more effort to get it off. That has to say something about primer and adhesion.

[Mike Dobony]

For me I would be putting up zoned fluorescent lights (insulated so assuming heated also) and a few incandescent, probably 1 in each corner about 4' from each wall. I would have at least 4 to 6 fluorescents in between spaced out along the length of the garage. I would also have some fluorescent lights mounted on a wall for working in the engine compartment of your vehicle. I would have the garage set up in at least 4 zones of light, plus the wall mounted light on a separate switch. Your mileage may vary according to personal taste.

[dadiOH]

18-20 four foot fluorescents. I'd but them on three different switches so you can just light up part of the area if you want to. You could use fewer in the daytime if the door is open.

[SteveB]

Yes, you do need to prime it or you will see everything underneath when you look at it with light reflecting at an angle. Not priming is a common mistake. You've got it right so far. Don't mess it up now. Even two coats of primer would guarantee that every time you paint it in the next twenty years, it's gonna look GOOD.

steve

[jthread]

I always thought that was because they put a drying agent in primer.

Jim

[Joe]

Do what the contractors do...buy the primer made for drywall by the drywall companies. It's better and far cheaper than other general purpose primers and covers a lot more area per gallon. Usually sold in

5 gallon lots but the box stores sometimes have single gallons. Look for a brand like 'First Coat' HTH

Joe

[Steve Barker]

use drywall primer. (actually you can use any old flat latex) it's a lot cheaper than your topcoat and will make it to where you don't need near as much topcoat.

s

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I got curious about what the hardware store guy told me years ago, so I emailed Devoe, one of the manufacturers whose paints have amazed me over the years. Here's the response:

Thank you for contacting Devoe Paints. We appreciate the time you took to contact us.

Although most flat paint are self priming, flat paints should not be used as primers. They do not have the sealing properties that primers do. You would be taking a chance that the finish of the eggshell would be uneven.

If you need further assistance, please contact us at

or via our customer-dedicated number at 1-866-391-1955. Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.

Thank you,

John Jovanovski Technical Services Department