Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Paint and primer

Why won't my paint stay attached to the wall?

pla — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:03:33 -0800

I need to repaint a section of damaged-and-repaired sheetrock above my shower, but I can't seem to get the primer (Killz, anti-fungal and water-based) to stick. It goes on okay, but peels away at a touch. About a year ago, a hook (like a coathook) anchored in the sheetrock above my shower (it has tile going up to about a foot below the ceiling - Why they didn't do tile all the way up, you've got me) pulled loose, leaving a 2x3" crater. I patched it with joint compound, sanded the entire general section of wall (1x4ft), and repainted it.

About a month ago, I noticed some serious mildew growing on/in the area of the original damage, and realized I had just used plain ol' interior paint (the house came with a few cans in the basement, conveniently the right color) rather than one of those anti-fungal paints. So last week I sanded it down to the sheetrock again, bleached the hell out of it to kill any mold that had ideas of living in my wall, let it dry completely (then thoroughly wiped down the surface and let it dry completely again), and put on a nice thick coat of Killz. I also put a dehumidifier (set to 50%) in the bathroom, since it normally stays damp in there for a few hours after showering in the morning.

Except... I can't get the primer to stick! Twice now, when I go to sand it a bit to put on a second coat, it just peels away in big chunks. A few patchy spots (with nothing different about them I can see) will stay attached, but the vast majority of it just rolls and peels away.

Help! What can I do to get this stupid primer to stick?

As another bit of data for anyone who might have an idea, it seems stupid to me to use a water-based paint in the bathroom, but my SO would complain about the smell for months if I used something oil or solvent based. And the Killz label claims it works just fine in damp environments (really the whole reason anyone would use it, as far as I can tell).

Thanks, AskMe!

Please help me repair natural slate tile.

rinosaur — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:48:45 -0800

Please help me repair natural slate tile. Some white oil-based Killz primer was absorbed by our (NEW) unsealed dark, natural-slate floor during our bathroom remodel. Buffing/sanding/wire-wheeling has not had the desired results since the paint seeped deep in to the porous slate.

My next best idea is to mask it with art-grade oil paints before sealing, unless the Hive can come up with a better solution.

Thoughts? Thanks so much, AskMe!

Painting wood furniture for an even, durable finish.

jroybal — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:56:58 -0800

I'm going to be making this Parsons side table of poplar and MDF soon (Popular Mechanics link). How can I get the painted finish like the one in the picture? The top is MDF and the rest is a series of 3/4" thick lengths of poplar. I like how the one pictured on the linked page looks so monolithic with a very even and slightly glossy finish. I've gathered from a few web pages that I should use several coats of an oil-based primer, especially along the edges of the MDF, and several coats of an oil-based paint. Oil-based products apparently level out better. Yes or no? A few more specific questions:

1. What sandpaper grit should I use between coats?
2. What level of gloss/type of paint should I use? I leaning towards semi-gloss.
3. What about some sort of clear coat protectant finish? Polyurethane? Would that make it more durable, which would be helpful since this will be living room furniture?

Tips, tricks, critique, advice would be much appreciated!

What type of primer is best?

demiurge — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:04:17 -0800

For a previously wallpapered wall, what type of primer is the best to use? For a wall that has just had the wallpaper removed prior to repainting, which type of primer would be the best? The wallpaper has been removed, but there might be some residual glue in spots. Would an oil or water-based primer be the best base for a new coat of paint?

Red walls to white in one coat of paint?

sprocket87 — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:12:03 -0800

Does one-coat paint really work? Or: What's the fastest and cheapest way to paint a red room white? We're moving from our apartment at the end of the month and per our contract must return all walls to white. The living room and hallway area is currently painted a deep reddish color, with some lighter reddish-orange wash effect on top of that.

My landlord said there is no specific paint or variety we must use as long as it is white. So I'm trying to find the absolute fastest, and preferably cheapest, way to cover these red walls with white.

I've read that some one-coat paints are quite effective at covering most anything in one coat if the instructions are followed exactly (proper saturation and coverage, etc). Can anyone tell me what brand / variety to look at, and what the odds are of me getting it done in 1 coat?

I've also heard that you have to primer the walls first for it to work - is that true for one-coat paints? The walls were painted red just over a year ago, if that makes a difference to their porousness or ability to retain paint. Since we're not required to anything but get it white, I'm not concerned about using a paint that is super-durable or anything, just as long as I don't have to do several coats.

Thanks all!

Primer Primer

notbuddha — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 11:28:30 -0800

How is using a coat of primer before painting different than just using an extra coat of paint? We just had our fifty-year-old house painted, and, unfortunately, did not get a detailed breakdown of what would be done. They power wahsed the worst of the old paint off, and did a little scraping, but then just put the paint straight on the resulting surface, with no primer. Is this bad?

Everything I could find on google stresses the importance of starting with primer, but I'd like to know how that's different from just using an extra coat of paint.