# Best Primer for new DW



## totes

Just curious what the Drywall professionals who prime their own work Prefer. 
Best brand ,and.....best value.
Thanks, 
happy Cinco de Mayo.


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## avenge

SW Problock latex is one of the best I've used for new drywall. If you want cheap Kilz at HD works pretty good too. It's the stuff in the blue and white can.


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## Willin

The USG Sheetrock brand Tuff-Hide is expensive, but it is a primer-surfacer, not just a primer. Going on at approximately 20-mils wet thickness, it cures to provide an almost-level-5 smoothness.

USG Sheetrock brand First Coat is a stepdown, not a surfacer, but a primer, and a good one.

These are both for smooth finish applications. Not that one could not use them for any of the sprayed and troweled (or not troweled) textured drywall going on today, but they would be a waste of money.

IMHO, the further down one gets into the sunbelt, the more the prevalence of textured drywall. The northeast, New England, upper midwest, pacific NW all are still doing smooth with square corners, while the warmer clime types seem to go for texture and round corners.


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## hdavis

Zinsser Cover Stain.

or

Oil primer, including Kilz.


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## Rich D.

I just started using pva primer. Real cheap and does it's job.

Zinser cover stain is decent along with kilz latex 2 if you want to stay cheap.

The best primer I ever used was sw new drywall primer, but it dosent come cheap.


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## hdavis

Rich D. said:


> I just started using pva primer. Real cheap and does it's job.
> 
> ...
> 
> along with kilz latex 2 if you want to stay cheap.


I dropped all PVA drywall primers, Kilz Latex2, and Kilz Premium for various performance reasons. Materials cost aren't the biggest consideration for me, I look for adhesion and flashing in critical lighting situations. 

Pretty much everything around here is smooth finish and a lot of eggshell is used, so flashing is a big big deal.


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## EricBrancard

Guardz works pretty well.


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## TNTRenovate

Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer Sealer Stain Killer


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## CarpenterSFO

TNTSERVICES said:


> Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer Sealer Stain Killer


The best.


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## CarpenterSFO

TNTSERVICES said:


> Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer Sealer Stain Killer


I am a fan of Zinsser 123, and it's had a funny role in a few sales. Usually as part of a remodeling proposal I mention that everything will get primed with 123. A few homeowners have mentioned that they then went to another contractor and asked about primer specifically, and were told, no, it's too expensive, not necessary for their situation - essentially that their house wasn't good enough for the good stuff. That starts them wondering what else the guy's going to skimp on.


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## TNTRenovate

CarpenterSFO said:


> I am a fan of Zinsser 123, and it's had a funny role in a few sales. Usually as part of a remodeling proposal I mention that everything will get primed with 123. A few homeowners have mentioned that they then went to another contractor and asked about primer specifically, and were told, no, it's too expensive, not necessary for their situation - essentially that their house wasn't good enough for the good stuff. That starts them wondering what else the guy's going to skimp on.


I can usually pick it up on sale at Menards every three or four weeks. I just pick up a few fivers.


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## D.E.P.S.

*For new work with nice finishing and sanding:* Valspar PVA. Been using it for a long time. It is economical and one of the best for new work. Tints really well.

*New work with so so finishing and sanding*: USG - First Coat. It is a bit costly, but it does hides a lot of small errors and paper burning from bad sanders. The product saves point up time.

*Old work*: Zinnser oil based depending on what is going on with the walls and ceilings. The oil base with cover over almost any stain there is. Zinnser 1-2-3 if I know that I don't need a oil based primer. 1-2-3 is also a great for a primer & final coat for ceilings. It dries out as white as any ceiling paint with good protection. I have used it to spray out a few workshops.


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## D.E.P.S.

hdavis said:


> I dropped all PVA drywall primers, Kilz Latex2, and Kilz Premium for various performance reasons. Materials cost aren't the biggest consideration for me, I look for adhesion and flashing in critical lighting situations.
> 
> Pretty much everything around here is smooth finish and a lot of eggshell is used, so flashing is a big big deal.



Eggshell is a PITA some times .......eh?


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## D.E.P.S.

Willin said:


> The USG Sheetrock brand Tuff-Hide is expensive, but it is a primer-surfacer, not just a primer. Going on at approximately 20-mils wet thickness, it cures to provide an almost-level-5 smoothness.
> 
> USG Sheetrock brand First Coat is a stepdown, not a surfacer, but a primer, and a good one.
> 
> These are both for smooth finish applications. Not that one could not use them for any of the sprayed and troweled (or not troweled) textured drywall going on today, but they would be a waste of money.
> 
> IMHO, the further down one gets into the sunbelt, the more the prevalence of textured drywall. The northeast, New England, upper midwest, pacific NW all are still doing smooth with square corners, while the warmer clime types seem to go for texture and round corners.


I have not tried Tuff-Hide yet. Can a 440i pump handle it?


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## m1911

Zinsser Cover Stain oil based is great, but hard to get in CA


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## JackP23

D.E.P.S. said:


> Eggshell is a PITA some times .......eh?


Eggshell sucks!!! I try to educate my clients about the fact that you really can't touch it up. They usually come around. 

It makes everything look like a subway restaurant!! :sad::sad::sad:


__________
Mike


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## dtsinc

I just used Valspars new construction primer. it worked great. and at $62 for five gallons, not a bad value.


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## totes

m1911 said:


> Zinsser Cover Stain oil based is great, but hard to get in CA


What is the benefit of using an oil primer on new dw? No chance of paper rise?
Seems like a nightmare shooting 30 gallons of oil as fast as you can in a house with all the windows masked, SCBA or not. Yikes.


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## hdavis

totes said:


> What is the benefit of using an oil primer on new dw? No chance of paper rise?
> Seems like a nightmare shooting 30 gallons of oil as fast as you can in a house with all the windows masked, SCBA or not. Yikes.


Great adhesion - it soaks in some, and then there is the stain blocking that comes naturally from oil paints. The surface won't absorb water out of the paint you put on over it, so better open time, possibly less flashing, etc, etc. You can also spec oil primer on outside walls in some areas to get the perm rating you want in a wall assembly, but if you do that, usually everything is going to get oil primer - saves having to install a separate moisture retarder. Not many people do this, though (I will).

Yeah, fumes are an issue, even with the lowered VOC formulations, which I don't think perform as well as the older formulations.


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## hdavis

Clean up with oil is more of a problem compared to water based. obviously. Brush and roll you can keep windows open, but even with windows closed, the fumes aren't too bad. The first time I sprayed 3 rooms with everything closed up tight using just a paper mask, I gassed myself pretty badly. The next thing I did was buy a real mask.


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## D.E.P.S.

totes said:


> What is the benefit of using an oil primer on new dw? No chance of paper rise?
> Seems like a nightmare shooting 30 gallons of oil as fast as you can in a house with all the windows masked, SCBA or not. Yikes.


I use it for repair work where I know there are some stains that don't scrub out. I would never try to shoot a whole house with it. I also just put it over 500 SF of wood paneling this week on a recommendation from other members. No bleed through at all. The knots bled right through the latex primer.


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## TNTRenovate

JackP23 said:


> Eggshell sucks!!! I try to educate my clients about the fact that you really can't touch it up. They usually come around.
> 
> It makes everything look like a subway restaurant!! :sad::sad::sad:
> 
> 
> __________
> Mike


Eggshell is about all I use, never had a problem touching it up.


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## blacktop

JackP23 said:


> Eggshell sucks!!! I try to educate my clients about the fact that you really can't touch it up. They usually come around.
> 
> It makes everything look like a subway restaurant!! :sad::sad::sad:
> 
> 
> __________
> Mike


Sherwin Williams ?


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## hdavis

TNTSERVICES said:


> Eggshell is about all I use, never had a problem touching it up.


He's probably using a different paint AND primer, or at least a different primer.


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## 66 Shelby

TNTSERVICES said:


> Eggshell is about all I use, never had a problem touching it up.


What brand of Eggshell are you using?


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## JackP23

blacktop said:


> Sherwin Williams ?


Raking light.....Sherwin Williams.....doesn't matter....I see it...don't you? :laughing:

I like the way the millwork stands out with a matte or flat....guess it's just personal preference.

_____
Mike


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## EricBrancard

JackP23 said:


> Raking light.....Sherwin Williams.....doesn't matter....I see it...don't you? :laughing:
> 
> I like the way the millwork stands out with a matte or flat....guess it's just personal preference.
> 
> _____
> Mike


I do as well. I use mostly flats on walls with some matte finish. Pearl/satin on the millwork. I like a nice "glow" from the woodwork to stand off the flat of the wall as opposed to everything looking like it could stand up to a powerwash.


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## CarpenterSFO

Most common for me is eggshell on the ceiling, matte or flat on the walls, semi-gloss on the millwork.


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## JackP23

EricBrancard said:


> I do as well. I use mostly flats on walls with some matte finish. Pearl/satin on the millwork. I like a nice "glow" from the woodwork to stand off the flat of the wall as opposed to everything looking like it could stand up to a powerwash.


Elegance man....pure elegance! :thumbsup:


__________
Mike


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## hdavis

Pretty much eggshell everything, semigloss on millwork. Whatever is requested, and this one is the most common. I've done some interesting tinted flat ceilings - winter sky looked pretty cool.


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## Xtrememtnbiker

hdavis said:


> Pretty much eggshell everything, semigloss on millwork. Whatever is requested, and this one is the most common. I've done some interesting tinted flat ceilings - winter sky looked pretty cool.


Same here. The differences around the country are interesting...


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## EricBrancard

Any of you guys have a few standard trim colors that you default to if it's not spec'd?


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## hdavis

Xtrememtnbiker said:


> Same here. The differences around the country are interesting...


Wall texture is pretty regional as well. Lots of new construction texture in Texas, very slight texture when I was looking at a development in Pennsylvania, a lot of smooth walls here.


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## JackP23

dtsinc said:


> I just used Valspars new construction primer. it worked great. and at $62 for five gallons, not a bad value.


I like some of the valspar primers as well. Nice build up and hiding. Picked some up when I was in a hurry one day and was pleasantly surprised. 


_______
Mike


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## JackP23

hdavis said:


> Wall texture is pretty regional as well. Lots of new construction texture in Texas, very slight texture when I was looking at a development in Pennsylvania, a lot of smooth walls here.


Smooth walls here too........


__________
Mike


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## Xtrememtnbiker

EricBrancard said:


> Any of you guys have a few standard trim colors that you default to if it's not spec'd?


We usually just end up using white semi-gloss. In other words the cans that they add tint to with no tint added.


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## Xtrememtnbiker

hdavis said:


> Wall texture is pretty regional as well. Lots of new construction texture in Texas, very slight texture when I was looking at a development in Pennsylvania, a lot of smooth walls here.


We have never done texture or been asked to do texture. It's on ceilings in older houses. Almost never see wall texture. Very little wall paper either.


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## hdavis

EricBrancard said:


> Any of you guys have a few standard trim colors that you default to if it's not spec'd?


"white" or for bright white, the tint base. Tint base doesn't hide well. "Antique white" always looks dirty to me. My defaults tend to be factory mixed stocked locally, so there is never any issue of matching, but it does vary by brand. That way if a couple years down the road I get a call to repaint some millwork I can get an exact match - no custom mix issues.


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## EricBrancard

I like Moore Decorator white or linen white.


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## D.E.P.S.

I had problems with the SW Emerald series eggshell (darker tones) when doing touch up's in a condo project over the past winter. The owner decided she wanted new windows after the painting was about 90% completed, and the workers weren't very gentle with the walls. I ended up rolling out 4 light sensitve walls over again. My latest project has Pro Mar 200 eggshell (neutral tones) and it touches up sweet!


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## philcav7

I use a lot of pro mar 200 eggshell with zero complaints...alabaster white is my go to. 

As far a primers, I have no regrets with PVA, but also like 123 and SW drywall primer. 

Never used oil on new drywall, only repairs. I have the SW fast dry oil for repair work. It has like 5 seconds of open time and brushes terrible. Lots of brush marks if you over brush it, but allows of quick turnaround on small jobs and covers knots/wood awesome.


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## Mountain Man

Drywallers don't care what kind of primer you use, just as long as you make us look good!!


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## hdavis

Mountain Man said:


> as long as you make us look good!!


I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a good looking drywaller:whistling


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## shesbros

tried and true the old Muralo Latex 563.


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## Ben Paul

Benjamin moore cc40 cloud white is my standard trim paint colour. Its a very nice warm off white. I usually get my paint from sherwin williams and they match the colour.


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## Skyvorima

totes said:


> Just curious what the Drywall professionals who prime their own work Prefer.
> Best brand ,and.....best value.
> Thanks,
> happy Cinco de Mayo.


Bullseye 123 by Zinsser. About $15/gallon and tintable. Great coverage, easy to roll or spray.


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## blacktop

Skyvorima said:


> Bullseye 123 by Zinsser. About $15/gallon and tintable. Great coverage, easy to roll or spray.


That's what most of the better painters use. From what I've seen.


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## blacktop

hdavis said:


> I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a good looking drywaller:whistling


.....:blink:


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## Skyvorima

blacktop said:


> That's what most of the better painters use. From what I've seen.


It is amazing how many pros can still get caught up in the higher price=higher quality for primers. Ive tried every primer I could find over the last 12+ years and the 123 is hands down the best quality. The price is just a great side benefit.


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## hdavis

blacktop said:


> .....:blink:


Even you'd look good with your face covered:laughing:

Great arms on her, though:thumbsup:


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## txgencon

Y'all pretty much have me convinced to go with Zinsser 123. Any issues with Zinsser 123 staying mixed? I've had issues with PVA primers staying mixed. I have the store mix it, then I mix it again just before use with a corded drill (not enough RPM with a cordless) and strain everything I spray but the various brands of PVA primers all seem to settle oout and develop goo at the bottom of the bucket (5 gal.) and often will clog the screen on the inlet tube.


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## PaintEmUp

hdavis said:


> Zinsser Cover Stain.
> 
> or
> 
> Oil primer, including Kilz.


Cover Stain is oil.

Really SW's Pro Block is the best.

If you're looking to go the "cost effective" route on a big job PVA is the money saver. But the quality isn't that great can spray very runny and doesn't hold up like problock.


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## PaintEmUp

txgencon said:


> Y'all pretty much have me convinced to go with Zinsser 123. Any issues with Zinsser 123 staying mixed? I've had issues with PVA primers staying mixed. I have the store mix it, then I mix it again just before use with a corded drill (not enough RPM with a cordless) and strain everything I spray but the various brands of PVA primers all seem to settle oout and develop goo at the bottom of the bucket (5 gal.) and often will clog the screen on the inlet tube.


Yeah you always want to strain PVA. Also it does settle really quick. Request a double shake at the paint shop and then a lot of times you have to hit it again on the job.


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## CarpenterSFO

txgencon said:


> Y'all pretty much have me convinced to go with Zinsser 123. Any issues with Zinsser 123 staying mixed? I've had issues with PVA primers staying mixed. I have the store mix it, then I mix it again just before use with a corded drill (not enough RPM with a cordless) and strain everything I spray but the various brands of PVA primers all seem to settle oout and develop goo at the bottom of the bucket (5 gal.) and often will clog the screen on the inlet tube.


I've never noticed a problem with 123 settling out.


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## VinylHanger

I prefer Gripper for just about anything. Old walls, new sheetrock, exterior, interior and trim. It is very predictable.


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## totes

The last big one we had I went with Kills pro-x, based mostly on price, and was less than impressed with the results.
I've yet to try 123 on raw DW, but love it for everything else. Seems to be favored by everyone her, so I will give it a try next.
+1 on SW pro block, -1 on the price though.


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