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July 27, 2008
A Primer on Paint Primer
A Primer on Paint Primers
First, let me dispel a very common myth.
Primers are NOT designed to "cover" dark or intense colors. I have seen this advice given so often on internet bulletin boards and even in magazine articles - I imagine the primer coatings industry loves it, but if you read the labels on just about any can of primer, nowhere will it suggest this as a purpose - with two exceptions I'll mention later.
So, if you have a dark red room you want to paint, say, light taupe, don't bother with painting an entire coat of primer first just to "cover." It will be a waste of time and money - just do two coats of your taupe. Even if you prime the walls, you will still have to do two coats of taupe over the primer.
And while I am at it, the term "cover" refers to how large an area your paint will cover. For the anal-retentive wordsmiths among you (and anal retentive wordsmith painters like me) the correct term for how well paint hides the underlying color is, well, "hide." As in "high hiding" paint or primer.
Most primers are low-hiding because they are not designed to hide.
http://www.gardenandhearth.com/PaintandWallpaper/PrimeronPrimer.htm
Posted by thdyck on July 27, 2008
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