Am I the only one who sees people skip the primer on raw wood?

I helped a friend paint a new pine bookshelf last month and they went straight to the color coat. Within a week, the finish looked blotchy and the grain was showing through. I always use a stain-blocking primer like Kilz on bare wood first. It seals the surface and makes the paint last. Has anyone else had to fix a project because someone skipped this step?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_reed2mo ago

My dad's a cabinetmaker and drilled this into me. Raw pine needs two coats of BIN shellac primer, sanded smooth between. Paint alone just sits on top of the grain and fails. It's not a shortcut, it's a redo.

miles_fisher2mo ago

Oh man, that's the worst. I had the exact same thing happen with a pine dresser I painted. The paint just soaked right in and looked terrible. I ended up sanding it all back down, using a good oil based primer, and starting over. It was a huge pain but it turned out perfect the second time. Never skipping primer on raw wood again.

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young.kim2mo ago

Ugh, why is pine the absolute worst for that? I mean, it's like a sponge. I tried to paint a little pine shelf once without priming and it just drank a whole can of paint, still looked patchy and rough. It's that super open grain, right? Makes me wonder if other soft woods like fir do the same thing. I learned the hard way too, now I just assume everything needs a shellac or oil primer first.