"I've also read elsewhere that the primer can raise the fibers in the paper on fresh drywall. Sanding after will get rid of that"

Very true, it isn't uncommon for the areas of the drywall that aren't covered with j/c to become a little rough from the primer coat. Some primers seem to be more affected than others.

You might not have a lot of success sanding out any roller marks. Often it's easier to apply a thin coat of spackling or j/c to those spots, sand the j/c lightly and then reprime those areas.

 

Ok.. Priming almost done! 10 gal so far! I think I can finish with just one more gallon.

I still have the shower ceiling to do. Should I get an additive to the primer for Mold/Mildew? Or just for the final coat? There is a fan in the shower that will be on when the shower is going to remove the majority of the moisture.

Also.. I'll be starting to paint the door casings and moldings. I want to try my new
HVLP sprayer. What type of paint should I try? I have a 1.4mm and 2mm nozzel set for the gun. I want a gloss finish to match the rest of the house trim. At least I think it's gloss.... If I use semi-gloss I should add the floetrol, right?

I get the feeling it will be trial and error to get it right! I have a ton of trim to spray so I don't want to have to brush it all!... plus it's a new toy to play with!

 

I wouldn't worry about additives in the primer, the paint would be where you'd do that - are you planning to use a kitchen and bath paint in there?

I don't have enough compressor to run a paint gun, we'll have to wait for Mark on that one.

 

That's what I thought...

My plan was to use a regular paint with an additive... If that's a good idea...

 

You need something, K&B paint or an additive - I tend to like higher gloss paint in a bathroom so I'd get a different paint, your option makes sense if you want the same paint in multiple rooms

 

If I'm not mistaken, the mildewcide packets are for exterior use only...... but it will work inside. The air quality in the room might not be up to standards until the paint has cured. Latex enamel [any sheen] is bare minimum for a bath rm walls/ceilings. Kitchen and bath paint is preferred.

While I have a few HVLP conversion guns [operate off of an air compressor] I don't own and have not used a true HVLP. The conversion guns are almost useless for spraying latex paint - it has to be thinned way too much..... but you won't know til you try - use your biggest tip. Floetrol is a good thinning type additive for most any latex paint but I don't know if it will be effective with a HVLP.

 

What do you guys prefer for Trim? Semi-gloss or gloss? I think the rest of my house is gloss...

I'm really tired of painting!
priming -> Done!
Ceilings -> Done!
Daughter B-room -> Nauseating Pink Done! (I call it the pepto-bismol room!)
b-room closet -> not done
Rec room -> started.
Storage room -> not done
Linen closet -> not done
bathroom -> not done
hallway -> not done
Trim and doors ->



I think I may put all the outlets in the b-room just to take a break from painting!

Jim

 

I generally prefer gloss on the woodwork but it all boils down to personal tastes. I've painted a lot of homes where we used a satin enamel on the woodwork. The woodwork should always be an enamel and have a sheen equal to or greater than the sheen that's on the walls. When given a choice, I like to use the trim enamel on the closet walls and wood - it will help the paint job to look good longer - that way you won't have to repaint the closet every time you repaint the room

Since you have gloss on most of the woodwork, I'd be inclined to stay with gloss for the rest.

 

I like to put stain in my trim so my opinion is going to be of little value here

 

That wouldn't look so well on the pre-primed fingerjointed trim that the original builder used!
I like the look of stained trim myself but I wan't going to mix and match!

 

Yep, you're going to need to paint yours.

As Mark said, at least as much sheen on the trim as the walls and try to keep that sheen on all trim, so I would stick to the gloss like you've already been using.

 

Update... Just so I can see my progress!

priming -> Done!
Ceilings -> Done!
Daughter B-room -> Nauseating Pink Done! (I call it the pepto-bismol room!)
b-room closet -> Done just one coat.. good enough!
Rec room -> Done!
Storage room -> Done!
Linen closet -> Done in ceiling white!
bathroom -> not done - Still waiting to pick a color!
hallway -> Done!
Trim and doors -> Not done but next on the list!

I'm getting there!

 

I started spraying my door jambs and trim on my split-jamb doors. It was interesting
trying to use the sprayer for the first time. I ended up doing a 16oz of paint, 4 oz floetrol and 4 oz of water. That seems to be ok. I had issues with not enough pressure. Once I took off my inline filter/dryer the pressure was much better. I guess the amount air required was too much for the filter or maybe I need the bigger connectors. Or maybe I should just connect the filter to the gun and not have connectors.. Anyway.. when the finish first gets sprayed on it didn't look too good and I thought I would have to brush it all anyway. But after a while I guess the floetrol did it's thing and the finish was smooth!

I was spraying upstairs in the room I'm finishing. I got a dust all over the rest of the house (I forgot to close the door). Is that from me kicking up the drywall dust that remained on the floor? Or might it be dried aerosolized (is that a word) paint dust?

Jim

 

You have to be careful when spraying, especially in an occupied dwelling!

Drywall dust is easy to remove although it will kind of revert to joint compound if you get it wet.
Overspray is the big concern! Hopefully it is fine enough and was dry enough when it landed that it didn't bond to the surface. I'd try wiping first with a soft rag, if that doesn't work try scrubbing with a little soap and water. If that doesn't remove it all - use a product like 'oops' or 'goof off' They are very effective for removing dried latex paint and won't adversely affect most finishes - always test an unseen area first!

 

No... I didn't stick to anything.. I was just wondering if the dried over-spray could carry that far?

 

Depending on conditions, overspray can go a long ways The further it travels, the more likely it will dry and not bond to whatever it lands on. That's why I rarely spray inside an occupied dwelling. Sounds like you got lucky - hope the "boss" didn't get too upset

 

This was really fine dustlike powder. very similiar to drywall dust. That's why I'm not sure if it was paint or not..

 

If you're painting flat paint over drywall, primers are mostly a waste of time. "They" claim that buying primer will save money, but let's take a look at that. Let's follow recommendations, for 1 coat of primer, and 2 coats of paint. Let's say you're buying $15/gal primer and $30 paint. Let's say you have a 15x12 room with 9 foot ceilings to paint. You're going to need 2 coats of primer and 3 gallons of paint, for $120.

Now let's say you skip the primer, and go straight to paint. The walls will look the same, but it will cost you $90.

The primer route is only cheaper IF:
- you put on 1 coat of primer and 1 coat of paint
- the room just happens to be small enough to cover with 1 gallon

But even then, it's still not worth that much. Let's say you have a 10x10 room with 8 foot ceilings. If you're going to put on 2 coats of a neutral color, you might as well save money and just buy 2 gallons of the paint. For example, you'd be better off putting on 2 coats of Sherwin Williams Master Hide (cheaper paint at about $15), than 1 coat of primer followed by 1 coat of Sherwin Williams Super Paint ($15 + $45). So again, why the primer?

Especially if you bump up to a high quality paint like $45/gal, primer buys you nothing because there is so much solids in the quality paint. You can even put a single coat over drywall and have it look good, if the paint is good and the color isn't radical.

Eggshell or glossier paint is a completely different story. Now you will not get poor results due to sheen differences, because different areas of the drywall have different porosities. Now you can still probably get away with 2 full coats of a quality eggshell, but for best results you want to cover the drywall with a SEALER first (not necessarily primer). The sealer can actually be clear (but if you want to cover with 1 finish coat of a dark or bright color, a tinted primer/sealer would be the best. The important thing though is to seal off the paper and joint compound when using paints with sheen. Zinsser Gardz is one such sealer.

 

They may market it that way, but Gardz as a sealer is precisely what sheen paint needs underneath it. Yes it's not for coverage, but for coverage you're better off simply using high quality paint. For sheen consistency, you're better off using sealer like Gardz. Most primers are white, so painting over white drywall with a coat of Gardz is no different than painting over white primer. When touching up sheen paint, it's no longer a sheen retention problem, but a light refraction problem of the new coat being applied slightly differently. Painting sheen paint over bare drywall or joint compound you're going to have different porosities and thus sheen retention problems. When coating over a good coat of sheen paint with consistent sheen already, the issue will be with brush strokes or roller texture being slightly different than the base coat, resulting in slightly different light reflection.

 

What he's trying to do is demystify what primer actually is and actually does, so we can spend our money and time wisely. Plain primer is *not* for sealing drywall.

Probably usually true (but not necessarily). The main problem is definitely sheen consistency on the wall though.

It is not to be used as a general purpose primer because it is not a primer. It is a sealer. What Pauhl is saying is "don't use a primer if you really need a sealer". Whatever Gardz is marketed as, it's a sealer and works as such. If you need a primer as well, then you could either seal then primer, or prime then seal, or mix Gardz with a primer, or buy a primer/sealer (assuming the sealer in it is actually as good as Gardz).

Agreed. Saying using a paint as "its own primer" is basically saying you don't need primer in some cases. (Hey, sometimes paint actually sticks to what you're painting it on, radical concept huh? :-) ) Behr's "primer and paint in one" is basically a marketing scam based on the industries insistence that priming a wall is always necessary before painting that wall (which drives up their ultimate product sales). I say "basically" because it might actually be that that Behr product actually has some ingredients that make it act partially as a primer, which is not necessarily bad. But the majority of sales will be from the people who just assume it's saving them a step and a dollar.

I'd also do your testing on an area of wall or ceiling where you can see the reflection of light from a window. In my case, I rarely prime or paint over drywall. Most of the painting I do is over joint compound (as in repairing nail holes) or over paint. I think you'll find that the gloss level of a primer won't vary from drywall paper to joint compound, but the gloss level of paint will vary considerably depending mostly on it's gloss level. I expect joint compound will absorb a lot more paint than paper, and I expect you'll find that's especially true as you go to using higher gloss paints as your primer.

See above. It matches my experience. Many ideas are driven by manufacturers advertising and persistent myth perpetuation. This is true in many product areas, not just paint.

 

I would never recommend not using some type of primer over bare drywall. Not all primers are the same - that's why there are so many of them If I know the drywall is to be painted with latex enamel, I like to use a latex enamel undercoater [tinted if necessary] to prime the wall. That will give you both good coverage and consistent sheen. When repainting with enamel over flat I like to figure 2 coats of latex enamel but maybe skip the 2nd coat if the wall looks good.


The main thing to note is most repaints don't need a primer and when a primer is needed - it pays to get the right one!!

 

Can you give me an example of a "latex enamel undercoater"?

 

SWP - all surface latex enamel primer, their A-100 latex exterior primer also works good on interior woodwork.

BM - super spec latex enamel undercoater, they also have a waterborne enamel undercoater although I've not used it.

PPG - seal grip latex enamel undercoater.

Gilmans - I don't remember the exact name on the label but it's the best latex enamel undercoater I've ever used - haven't bought or used any since I retired.