Does SELF-PRIMING PAINT Really Work...Or Is It A Marketing Gimmick? (PAINT + PRIMER--Tips, Secrets!)

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DOES SELF-PRIMING PAINT REALLY WORK...Or Is It A Marketing Gimmick? (PAINT + PRIMER--Tips, Secrets!)

Self-priming paint (or Paint + Primer) has been around for more than a decade now. But do these seemingly hybrid products really work? This short video from The Honest Carpenter, in collaboration with Oak City Coatings, will explain the truth about self-priming paints!

Behr was the first company to launch a self-priming paint. Then, pretty much every major paint manufacturer followed suit.

In many cases, these new "self-priming" products were actually the same paint products as before, but with different labels. In other cases, formulas had been tweaked, but not drastically.

Primer is a thinner product that is meant to fill in porous surfaces, and act as a bonding agent for paint layers to come. It typically contains more resins, and little to no pigment.

But, high-quality paint also has a higher concentration of various minerals and chemicals that also bond well to various surfaces. This makes it capable of covering some surfaces well without a primer coat.

In some cases, really high-quality paint, with a slightly higher concentration of resins, is advertised as truly self-priming--manufacturers insist that primer coats are not necessary.

However, many manufacturers still encourage the use of primer coats for specific substrates. (This info can often be found on the back of the paint can, or in technical literature online.)

Many self-priming paints are recommended for "previously painted or coated surfaces."

But, they can also serve very well when repainting from a very dark color to a very light color, without a primer coat!

THANKS FOR WATCHING!
The Honest Carpenter

[auschwettedecom]

I worked with paints all my life and I joked that the only thing I haven’t painted yet is submarine.

1-So, to help everyone understand easily, try thinking of all coatings as glues.
Primers, paints, stains, concrete coatings, clear coats, stone sealers, epoxy, they all are nothing but glues.
When dry, the dried glues offer protective surfaces.

2- Almost all surfaces that need protective coatings are porous : wood, drywall, metal, concrete... are porous in different degrees.
Extremely dense surfaces don’t need paints. Hence stainless steel, glass, crystal, diamond, politician ‘s thick skin require no coatings.

3- Since applying coatings on porous surfaces will get ‘ sucked in ‘ ( try painting Coke on bare cedar ) and will always sag and run and drip, therefore some tiny particles are added into the glues, to fill all those tiny holes on the to be painted surfaces, thus stop the next coatings from being sucked in.
The added particles are most likely limestone, that drywall stuff, cheap and heavy but works.
The more expensive added particles are the toothpaste stuff, very expensive but bites really well.
The added particles / minerals also provide hiding power.
The more hiding power, the fewer coats needed.

4- All in all :
primers are glues with lots of added particles to prevent suck in.
Paints are protective coatings with less added particles for hiding power.
More expensive paints / coatings use more of that toothpaste stuff because it bites better and, of course, better agents, dry better, last longer, prettier...
Try getting a can of $15 Gliden or no name paint vs something $60 and thou shall see $15 will never get the job done right.

Yes, paints / coatings manufacturers are humongous cooperations who tested their products extensively over the decades on their larger than anyone could imagine labs / grounds / fields. They do know their products, including the military coatings.

Trouble is, with all the marketing gimmicks with so many different bands, different lines and price ranges, even a lifer such as myself can only rely on experiences to gauge paint A to paint B.

As for home owners, go medium prices, and test paint, test paint, test paint before going full tilt.
Thou shall trust the honest old painter if you are lucky enough to find one ( not the orange apron who was hired two weeks ago and will only be there for one summer, who thought cutting is done with a knife. )

As for the primer / paint all in one thing, it was only a marketing sweet spot between 2 and 3 mentioned above.
But that sweet spot was a humongous billions dollars opportunity as seen by Behr.
So huge that Behr could afford to fly all the gatekeepers to a resort, treated they like royals, wined and dined them, then filled them with seminars until after those gatekeepers came back, they couldn’t remember their spouses’ names but all they could say was ALL IN ONE.

But does it work ? Test, test, test.

[jayson]

As a painter with ~20 years in the trade I can affirm everything from this video. When the paint + primer first came out it really wasn’t worth it but it has gotten better in the past decade. For raw material I still prime regardless of what the product claims because in my experience I’ve never gotten good results otherwise and I’ve had to repaint behind other painters who tried to cut those corners. Excellent video as always, sir!

[FyrFytr]

Just finished repainting my front door that peeled down to the metal. The Lowes worker said that while I could get away with just the P&P product. That I should do a primer coat on the bare metal for better color results. He was right. The red of the door really pops red. Normally I would have went with a white primer, but he suggested grey so that the red doesn’t appear pinkish.

[Sean-mkpw]

My wife's uncle is a painter and he always told me to use primer because it's much cheaper than paint and if your going to need extra coats to cover something you might as well use more primer especially when your painting new drywall which is going to absorb quite a bit of whatever you paint onto it

[Dbb]

My boyfriend and I, both in S Florida, painted our homes around the same time. I bought a paint from one of the big box stores and he bought Sherwin Williams. Ten years later his house, even though on the beach, looked like the day it was done. Mine had faded and needed to be repainted.

[kersi-sandiego]

Excellent video. Much needed. I always thought prime + paint was marketing nonsense with marginal benefits.. Thanks to your video I learnt something.

[HungLikeScrat]

I fell for the self priming paint when I painted my hideous red living room and hallway. 3 coats of self priming paint later and I could still see the red ever so slightly. The 4th coat finally covered it. For another room that was a hideous dark olive drab green, I primed first, all it needed was 1 coat after the primer.

[johnambro]

When in doubt, prime and no worries. Cheers.

[assembleellc]

I have used behr paint and primer several times and have always had the drywall mud for a patch flash through. Even with multiple coats. This video explains why lol. Thanks as always.

[Andrea-bwxm]

Hi Ethan...good info! I have always primed everything...either with tinted primer or stain blocking products...followed by two top coats. I am pleased with the results and the depth of color and finish look incredible. I am a staunch Benjamin Moore fan. Interior and exterior. The quality of the finished job is in the preparation...so clean, fill, sand...etc. then good quality paint!

[gjd]

Have owned and painted four homes. Will use only Sherwin Wms or Benjamin Moore as I think the quality is worth the price. As for primer, I just tint the primer with the top coat paint color and get excellent results. No P+P for me.

[mikewelch]

We bought a house last year and my dad was our "primary contractor" for a few weeks and helped with painting and other odds and ends. We used the Behr Marquee which was okay and in our experience didn't live up to the "one coat" name. It was also a paint/primer so we were lazy and didn't prime over the spackle, of which there was a lot since the previous homeowner wasn't kind to the walls, and you can pretty easily notice the spots since they're flat.

I replaced the drywall on one wall when redoing the laundry room and used some primer followed by some leftover paint, a huge difference in results.

Appreciate the insights here, going to need to watch again and follow the references.

[JackKirbyFan]

Having owned a few houses, this speaks true. I've had to go from dark to light and self-priming is a life saver for that. I've had my best results with Benjamin Moore paints. I pay the extra dollars to get the low odor and far less coats but either way - painting is just not fun.

[claytonburgess]

Perfect timing! We were just talking today about priming the kids rooms before repainting. Sounds like some paints could save us that step.

[michaelinminn]

3:28 I love the drywall prep snapshot !!

[pitsnipe]

Great explanation of this product. As for using it over previously painted surfaces, that depends on whether or not the original paint job was done right.

[andypire]

Really appreciate how transparent you try to make something that is so opaque😉

[profcah]

Great video. Pretty much affirms what I thought. Old rule of thumb: you get what you pay for. These self priming paints are usually more expensive but they do a better job than the cheap ones. Thanks so much!

[csimet]

High quality paint rarely disappoints and worth the extra cost IMHO. I used Valspar stain blocking coverage/bonding primer first, then two top coats of self-primer paint (semi-gloss) to cover old wood paneling in my basement. It not only covered very well, but adhered without issue. I was afraid I would have adherence issues, but so far, so good, after a year. So nice to have a bright, fresh walls I did not have to replace or cover up. Quick, cheap job compared to rip and replace.

[steveelves]

We have used Benjamin Moore Aura brand paint on two houses (interior). Where renovations were done (including new drywall), we used primer, and one coat of Aura on top did the trick. It's quite expensive per gallon, but it's absolutely top quality and the colours stay true. I won't buy any other brand.