[Superliner7]

Hello. I had new drywall installed on my living room ceiling. I started with a drywall sealer/primer but ran out with about 1/3 of the ceiling left (raw drywall is thirsty). I mistakenly coated the final 1/3 of the bare drywall with a ceiling paint/primer lain:. Not happy I did that, I went to the store the next day and got some more drywall sealer/primer. I recoated the whole ceiling with the sealer/primer. Is there any issues with this, namely having a paint/primer as a base coat on part of the ceiling? My plan is to do a topcoat with the paint/primer (although I just read the reviews for Valspar Ceiling and may need to get a different product now). Thanks

 

[Gymschu]

Nope, no issue whatsoever. In fact, many General Contractors buy cheap flat wall paint to use as drywall primer. I can't tell you how many times I've used paint as primer over the years. Valspar ceiling paint is not awful. I just bought a fiver of it from an Ace Hardware and it covered as well as any other ceiling paint except Benjamin Moore's 508.

 

[Superliner7]

Thank you for the assurance Gymschu!

 

[woodco]

seconded. Half the reason primer is used instead of paint is simply because its cheaper.

 

[RanK2]

No issue at all. I have never used a drywall primer. Two coats of paint, maybe three. ...... Sold paint for years ...... the real purpose of most so called 'primers' is to separate you from your money. ..... BTW, drywall 'primer' is basically 'paint' without the color.

 

[stick\shift]

the real purpose of most so called 'primers' is to separate you from your money

Umm... no. The purpose of primer is to seal the substrate and create a surface which will provide good adhesion for the next coat.

 

[woodco]

Umm... no. The purpose of primer is to seal the substrate and create a surface which will provide good adhesion for the next coat.

He has a point. Plenty of topcoats do that very thing in themselves. I used to use Flat paint as primer back in the day. Now I use primer, and you know what? The flat paint as primer has better adhesion that the primers I've used....

 

[Old Thomas]

My son has remodeled and flipped a lot of houses; sometimes I help. Typically he has his painters prime and paint but on one house a subcontractor did the painting. He did not prime. I use low adhesion tape on walls to layout reference marks for cabinets. That house was the only one where some of the tape pulled paint off down to bare wallboard.

 

[RanK2]

Umm... no. The purpose of primer is to seal the substrate and create a surface which will provide good adhesion for the next coat.

Kind of reminds me of a sales line I used to use first few years in the business, until I learned better.

Buried my nose in manufacturer ingredient recipes back in the day. You go by the ingredients, not by the sales hype on the label. Also drove lab techs crazy with questions they weren't comfortable answering. Tons of marketing gimmicks in the paint industry.

Yes, there are SOME primers with purpose like XIM for serious bonding, or 'enamel undercoaters' which simply give you a high build of calcium so you can easily sand a smooth finish on furniture, or stain blockers like Kilz (which in oil, is a pretty good 'bonder' too), or 'sanding sealers' which seal off bare wood and dry fast before the soft grain can swell much. ........ But so called 'drywall primer' is nothing more than paint without pigment, with a little calcium to make it milky.

Why bother?

 

[Gymschu]

Maybe what you say is true, RanK2, but I still feel more comfortable applying primer to bare drywall. One aspect you are overlooking is the sand ability factor of drywall primer. It soaks into the paper a bit, and is rough after drying. It is then a perfect surface for sanding. That sanding process leads to "baby-butt" smooth finish coats. Paint is not quite as sandable, in fact, it can gum up sandpaper fairly quickly. So, marketing gimmick, maybe, but, for me, it's just a great prep for walls you want to get as perfect as you can in new construction.

 

[RanK2]

Maybe what you say is true, RanK2, but I still feel more comfortable applying primer to bare drywall. One aspect you are overlooking is the sand ability factor of drywall primer. It soaks into the paper a bit, and is rough after drying. It is then a perfect surface for sanding. That sanding process leads to "baby-butt" smooth finish coats. Paint is not quite as sandable, in fact, it can gum up sandpaper fairly quickly. So, marketing gimmick, maybe, but, for me, it's just a great prep for walls you want to get as perfect as you can in new construction.

If you like it, can't argue with that, and yes, it soaks in because it is thin, but to me, It's just one more coat of something different, which translates into cost.

If you could see the recipes for PVA drywall primer and interior flats, you would see that the primer has little or no color pigment, probably a PVA resin, and calcium (clay), and water. BTW, polyvinyl acetate is just a cheaper form of latex resin, and is not as flexible as acrylic, so yes, it would probably sand easier as it is more brittle, but it is basically latex paint without much color.

I have painted a lot, but never new drywall, but have dealt with many painters in the past who would just thin down some of their finish product and use it as a primer coat on new drywall.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

My son has remodeled and flipped a lot of houses; sometimes I help. Typically he has his painters prime and paint but on one house a subcontractor did the painting. He did not prime. He probably did not clean an obviously greasy smokey wallI use low adhesion tape on walls to layout reference marks for cabinets. That house was the only one where some of the tape pulled paint off down to bare wallboard.

Gosh OT.... Are you sure the existing drywall was clean....I've never seen blue , or even masking tape , pull off paint...assuming it is removed timely....and unless it was evidently obvious that the existing drywall is a greasy smokey kitchen.

 

[Old Thomas]

Gosh OT.... Are you sure the existing drywall was clean....I've never seen blue , or even masking tape , pull off paint...assuming it is removed timely....and unless it was evidently obvious that the existing drywall is a greasy smokey kitchen.

Before the painters started I used a leaf blower to blow dust off the walls and out the door. After it settled I wiped the walls down with a damp rag.