My new drywalls have been sized to take wallpaper. Now I've decided to paint the walls instead of wallpapering. Is the sizing ok to use as a primer??????

 

silky, Got to know what kind of sizing we are talking about....Mike

 

Mike, this is probably a vague answer, but I hired a painter to paint the ceiling in this room and put a primer on the walls to take wallpaper. Now, I've decided I need to paint the room. The primer/sizing is white and somewhat rough in texture. It's water based. I had the trim in this room stained at the same time and what ran down the wall shows through the primer/sizing. The painter can't help me because he was asked to leave because of poor workmanship. So, now I have mystery walls. What's your best idea?

 

silky, There are 3 types of sizing used most often and 2 of them are no problem to paint over. I doubt your is the first one because you say yours is white and powdered size is clear. The second type is a pigmented premixed that is much like thin paint and this would show stain through it. This can be painted over with no problems. If you have the third type which is an acrylic emulusion such as WHITE BITE, Right Arm or R-35 (Romans) this can be a problem to paint over. This stuff can be identified because it never really cures hard but stays sort of soft and tacky. If you think you have this kind you will have to experiment a bit to make sure you are headed down the right road. Prime a wall with something like Zinsser 123, KILZ II or KILZ Total One, all latex primers. Let dry and put a coat of paint on and see what happens. If the wall looks OK the next day you have a plan. If not the walls will have to be washed clean.....Mike

 

The sizing isn't soft and tacky, but feels dry as a painted wall. The texture is somewhat like fine sandpaper. Will latex paint be thick enough to cover this small amount of texture? I can tell that the previous painter didn't cover every inch of the wall with it. I'll give it a try this week. Thanks.
silky