Primers: The Importance of Using a Primer when Painting
Primer paints are applied to the surface you are painting on and an undercoat for the top layers of paint. Essentially, a primer can be any type of paint but there are special primer paints specifically for this purpose.
Many surfaces aren’t quite ready to serve as the base for a single coat of oil-based or latex paint. They may soak up too much paint, or be uneven. The might be patchy and discoloured. Alternatively the chemical and physical properties may be such that it causes problems when trying to paint on it.
Primers deal with all those problems and more.
Top Coats Stick Better - By applying primer directly to the surface you will find that the top coats stick better. Without primer you might find you need to apply several more coats of paint to produce the same results. You’ll also save money by using a primer because they tend to be cheaper to buy than final-coat paints. Plus you’ll only need one coat of primer and a coat or two of the final type.
Smooth Out Surfaces - Good primers will smooth out rough surfaces. Some walls, obviously, may be too pitted, requiring putty or other preparation. Walls which look a bit rough can be improved a lot with a good primer.
The effect is the result of both thickness and color. A thick primer helps fill in the low, broad valleys in a wall surface. Additionally, the primer can help mask any highlights, making the wall appear smoother even when it’s not.
Primer can even help smooth out the colour of the top coat too. This is because paint soaks into the surface, so the primer gives the top coat something to cling to. Thus, light reflects evenly off the surface across the entire area. The eye sees that as a uniform shade. Even the same color can appear differently when shadows and other reflection effects occur.
Get Rid of Discolorations - Your walls and ceilings can develop discolorations due to smoke, finger prints and radiators. You can only clean these marks off so much but a primer can help cover these marks. It provides a uniform starting point to which to apply the final paint. That results in a more uniform final result.
Quick Drying - Primer paints dry quickly which means you can continue with the final layers fairly quickly. In many cases, a large wall section can be primed, then the next. The first will dry while the second section is being done. The first can then be painted while the second section is drying. That keeps the work going smoothly.
Latex primer is odor-free, dries fast and is easy to clean up. That makes it an excellent base to lay down on those surfaces that need a little more preparation before final painting.
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