I have mixed reviews recently about Kilz, namely that it isn't what it used to be and is over rated. I am going to go over a smoky ceiling and walls and wonder if it will do the job in one coat or not. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks, Russ

 

Having been in the hardware business for many years,I have sold Kilz almost since it's creation.I have seen it morph into a variety of products,often as a reaction to criticism towards it's original brand and to competition.Kilz is not what I would call a bad product instead I would call it adequate.It is usually priced cheaply so for the budget minded it can be a good deal.Zinsser,a company and brand around longer than Kilz,has a better line of products that perform well.Pricing can range from equal to Kilz to somewhat higher.Both lines now offer competitors to each other product for product.Yes,Kilz is not what it used to be,as result of price pressures.Credit Home Depot,Lowe's and other big box retailers for those pressures.If you have a choice,and there are no price issues or other factors,I'd lean towards the Zinsser brand.That said Kilz will,under normal circumstances,do an adequate job.

 

Go for the Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3. The stuff covers anything in just one coat. You should be able to get a gallon for under $20.

 

I suggest Bullseye 1-2-3 as well, but if it is heavy smoke damage, I would use an achohol based primer/sealer.

 

If needing an alcohol-based primer/sealer, then use zinsser's BIN. Its a shellac based product. Otherwise 1-2-3 is a good choice.

 

I hadn't really thought about it till reading this post, but I haven't used Kilz in years...like maybe 10 or more
Used to use it all the time...

Anyway, the BIN is great for the tough jobs, I use it often (use with plenty of ventilation), the 1-2-3 for the most of the other jobs

I use a product called Aqua-Lock for the times I need a "no odor" primer/sealer
It's not as good as BIN but you can't whip out the shellac when your priming shelves in a restaurant filled with customers, with this stuff I can prime away and no-one smells a thing

 

Here's my last experience with Kilz:

Painted our bathroom with five coats if Kilz and still have rust and mold bleeding through. Not too impressed.

 

Rust and mold in a bedroom? From what?

 

Just because the dial on the humidifier goes up to 11, doesn't mean you have to keep it there
It really makes a mess of the iron wallpaper

 

I often hear people say you can paint over mold or mildew with kilz. This is a big NO NO !! You should never paint over any mold or mildew no matter what brand of paint you are using. You always need to remove [and kill] the mildew first. I was a big fan of kilz when it came out [good bye pigmented shellac] and have had good results with both kilz and similar products. Of course it pays to match the right material with the right job.

 

Well, I read the directions on the can so I can put some blame on Kilz. But at this point we're looking at a complete bathroom remodel anyway so I get a mulligan on the paint job. I've used Kilz all over the house and I have to say I'm not that impressed with it. I don't think it covers as well as it says it does. But at this point I can say I'm more than frustrated at having to do a job twice or three times because of poor qulity products in general. That's why I'm posting here to find products that actually work and do as they claim they're supposed to do. Not what some guy at Home Depot or Lowes wants to sell me. In the future I will try Bullseye 1-2-3 because of good reviews from the people on this board. Thanks for all of your input.

D

 

The post says bathroom.

Don't ask. It's a 1909 house and a lot of funky stuff has been done to it in the last 95 years. The bathroom windows were nailed shut with non-galv nails. Instead of ruining the sashes trying to dig the nails out, I set them in a bit and puttied the holes. Then put numerous coats of kilz and sure enough a week after painting three coats of paint the rust started to bleed through.

The mold is from glue that used to be part of wall tile. Sometime ago somebody removed the tile and covered the old glue with a wood wainscot which was pretty ugly. I took it off, sanded the bejeezes out of it, put numerous coats of Kilz and three coats of paint and sure enough the mold eventually bled through. This has been a fun project house.

 

Oops, sure does.
Builds character, eh?