[AllGoNoShow]

Going to paint a birch plywood (with poplar face frames) shelving unit/cabinet I built. I am going to use Benjamin Moore Advance alkyd hybrid paint (described as waterborne but with qualities of an oil based). Should I be looking at water or oil based primers? Would Zinnser 123 water based work (manufactuer says you can topcoat with either but there are conflicting accounts of that is a good idea online). Or should I do BM 217 oil primer?

Never painted with oil before. Any tips?

 

[Gymschu]

I'm not a BM guy so I can't speak directly about their products, but, I have always used an OIL-based primer for new wood. It may be an "old-school" thing, but, to me the deeper penetration into the wood of the slower-drying oil-based primer gives your topcoat that extra "bite" to stick to the wood and provide years and years of service before repainting. On the other hand, I've used Zinsser 123 and it was fine.

 

[CyrusR]

I wouldn't use 123 because it doesn't sand very well.

If you don't have bleed-through to worry about, and you shouldn't with birch plywood, I'd use Stix. It dries fast, levels quite well, sands to powder within a few hours, and gives good adhesion. It should be at your BM store.

If you do need to cover knots and the like, BM 217 works well, but so does Coverstain. Coverstain will require more sanding to smooth out, but it's less than half the price. Or you could try BM's Advance Primer.