Free 5 gl of Behr Primer: Why Shouldn't I use it? - DIY Chatroom

Lovegasoline · 10-29-2009, 04:50 PM

I have three rooms to paint (I do not own, I am a long term apartment renter an will live here a long time still and like a nice looking place) and the contractor working for the owner has left me a new five gallon bucket of Behr Primer Sealer for New Drywall to use. The primer is free.

The walls are all skim coated with mix of joint compound and plaster. Top coat will be two coats of Ben Moore Regal paint in flat or matte.

I know everyone hates Behr paint. But what about the primer? I am low on funds and still have to buy Ben Moore paint for 5 rooms. I would prefer NOT to have to buy many gallons of Ben Moore primer at $30 a pop. Again, the Behr is free.

I primed the hallway here with a high quality roller, Ben Moore 5/16" microfiber and the primer went on well and looks good. Didn't brush so well, but I was able to roll close to the edges with good technique and it looks good to me.

Again, other than GENERIC Behr bashing, why should I refuse the free 5 gallons of Behr primer and spend my own money on another product? What SPECIFICALLY about the primer is problematic so as to be avoided? If you claim it sucks and will fail and effect the topcoat, please post specific examples of this occurring.

And if you absolutely are opposed to Behr Primer: can you recommend a decent primer suitable for this job and cheaper than the BM?

Thanks.

ArmchairDIY · 10-29-2009, 05:10 PM

For the price (free) I would use it myself.

Matthewt1970 · 10-29-2009, 07:28 PM

Just keep an eye on it that it doesn't sag like thier paint does.

Chazbe · 10-30-2009, 09:48 PM

Hi,
I want to respond to both of your posts here. The first thing that pops into my head is "WHY THE HECK ARE YOU BUYING THE PAINT AND SUPPLIES???"
You are a renter. Your landlord should be buying the paint. I understand that you would want to do the painting, it makes it more convienent to do things at your pace.
The Behr should be ok as long as the plaster content isn't to high in the skim or if it has dried for at least 30 days. Smooth plaster is a real b#@*h to have anything to stick to but that goes back to the original problem. If the paint system fails your landlord should be fixing it. Not you.
Hope I am not sounding to harsh, Just wanter to let you know how I feel
Chuck

sdsester · 10-31-2009, 07:46 AM

You may be alright but the finish coat can only be as good as what is under it and Behr just isn't good stuff. Your going to the dance all dressed up nice but are going to be wearing dirty underwear.

ccarlisle · 10-31-2009, 11:07 AM

You're right in that a lot of pros here bash Behr paints - but I haven't heard them quite as opinionated over the primer...may be just me, but they seem to knock Behr paint because of the properties it has in terms of the finish paints. On the other hand, to some degree, "primers are primers" and are really just cheap PVA resins and a lot of fillers...not meant to look nice just to be slapped on. No expensive pigments, neither any other ingredients that affect the rheology...

In fact, that's why there is a knock on Behr finish paints -they look like primers!...cheap PVA resins, a lot of fillers etc etc. and bad rheology. IMO, that's also why there's a knock on the primer-and-finish-paint-in-one-can: heck it's hard to screw up a primer formulation. Sort of like macaroni-and-cheese to a paint chemist. So why try to incorporate that into a paint...?

No, for a renter, for a one-off application, for his price of a the pail - go ahead and use it. To me it's either a primer like that or an acrylic and unless there's a specific need for an acrylic, then any primer will do.

Having said that every pro has a primer they like more than others; that's a different story.

Lovegasoline · 11-01-2009, 03:44 PM

Thanks for the replies.

The reason I am footing the supply bill is the LL uses Behr primer and paint, thus offers it for free. I've heard so much bad about Behr paint, that I am just avoiding it figuring on not having to learn my lesson the hard way.

Btw, the skim coat is mostly pre-mixed joint compound with just some plaster of paris added: definitely no more than 1-4 or 1-3 plaster-to-compound.

Because I'm using BM Regal, I'll be paying for it...yes, it costs and the gallons add up, but I've lived here quarter of a century and the place has never had quality repair and/or painting...just chump repairs by unskilled monkeys. Now finally a mini-renovation of sorts has taken place including real plumbers to fix chronic leaks & several rooms have been skim coated. Finally(!) I have some flat glass smooth planes for walls/ceilings instead of a patchwork of orange peel surfaced ghetto looking walls.

In the past the LL has used whatever was the cheapest off brand watery paint he could buy (magnitudes worse than Behr) applied by monkeys with ADD [drips, spatters, runs, streaks, paint over door knobs, paint cabinets shut...who cares!*]. I want this paint job to last and look nice, so I'm willing to pay for a higher quality paint and do the job myself, carefully.

OK, I'm using the Behr Primer.
I too have not heard as many hate stories about the primer and you guys confirm my own intuition that the primer can't be as bad as the paint.
I'll use the Behr primer.

I also have Zinsser BIN 1-2-3 and Cover Stain for some trim and other areas.

*Yes, the landlord should fix the stuff, but the landlord is the problem here. In fact, the reason the apartment is getting a serious makeover is the City sued the landlord for failure to maintain the apartment including some life threatening hazards: actually a very serious and involved lawsuit and the landlord lost. Landlord's fixing stuff now (finally) to avoid further, extremely expensive consequences.

chrisn · 11-01-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovegasoline

Thanks for the replies.

The reason I am footing the supply bill is the LL uses Behr primer and paint, thus offers it for free. I've heard so much bad about Behr paint, that I am just avoiding it figuring on not having to learn my lesson the hard way.

Btw, the skim coat is mostly pre-mixed joint compound with just some plaster of paris added: definitely no more than 1-4 or 1-3 plaster-to-compound.

Because I'm using BM Regal, I'll be paying for it...yes, it costs and the gallons add up, but I've lived here quarter of a century and the place has never had quality repair and/or painting...just chump repairs by unskilled monkeys. Now finally a mini-renovation of sorts has taken place including real plumbers to fix chronic leaks & several rooms have been skim coated. Finally(!) I have some flat glass smooth planes for walls/ceilings instead of a patchwork of orange peel surfaced ghetto looking walls.

In the past the LL has used whatever was the cheapest off brand watery paint he could buy (magnitudes worse than Behr) applied by monkeys with ADD [drips, spatters, runs, streaks, paint over door knobs, paint cabinets shut...who cares!*]. I want this paint job to last and look nice, so I'm willing to pay for a higher quality paint and do the job myself, carefully.

OK, I'm using the Behr Primer.
I too have not heard as many hate stories about the primer and you guys confirm my own intuition that the primer can't be as bad as the paint.
I'll use the Behr primer.

I also have Zinsser BIN 1-2-3 and Cover Stain for some trim and other areas.

*Yes, the landlord should fix the stuff, but the landlord is the problem here. In fact, the reason the apartment is getting a serious makeover is the City sued the landlord for failure to maintain the apartment including some life threatening hazards: actually a very serious and involved lawsuit and the landlord lost. Landlord's fixing stuff now (finally) to avoid further, extremely expensive consequences.

Good luck