Hot take: I was wrong about skipping the primer on old drywall

For the longest time, I figured if the drywall in my 1978 house looked fine, I could just clean it and paint right over it. I must have done three rooms that way, and the paint always looked a bit patchy. Then, a painter I hired to do my high ceilings in the living room last month pointed at a wall I'd done and said, 'See that sheen difference? The old wall is sucking up the paint unevenly. You need a good stain-blocking primer, man, especially on anything this old.' He was right. I went back, bought a gallon of Kilz Original, and put a coat on before repainting my bedroom. The color went on perfectly even with just one top coat, and it saved me from doing a second coat of the expensive paint. Has anyone else found a specific primer that works better than others on really old, porous walls?

3 comments

3 Comments

lunaf6724d ago

Yeah, that "sheen difference" you mentioned is the exact thing I learned the hard way too. I tried to paint over some old plaster without primer and it looked awful, like a bad patch job even with two coats. Now I won't touch an old wall without oil-based Kilz. It seals everything and makes the top coat look solid and even. It's a pain to clean up but it's worth it.

hugo_robinson2524d ago

Oil-based Kilz is such overkill for most old walls though. A good water-based primer usually does the trick without the nasty fumes and cleanup. People act like every plaster wall is some kind of disaster zone. Unless you've got major stains or are dealing with real damage, the extra hassle just isn't worth it most of the time.

wells.olivia21d ago

Ever try to just spot prime a repair on old plaster? That's where I really learned my lesson. The primed spot drank up the paint differently than the old wall around it, left a visible outline no matter how much I feathered it. Now if I'm doing any work on a wall like that, the whole thing gets sealed first. Kilz oil might be a hassle but it's the only thing that gives a true, even start.