When To Use A Primer Before Painting

While priming before painting is oftentimes not necessary, there are certain painting projects where applying a primer first is crucial. When painting on the interior of your home and you have stains such as water stains, smoke or tobacco stains or other markings then priming first will be needed. In the case of smoke or tobacco stains, the primer will also be needed in order to block the odor of these stains. Also, if you have any newly installed drywall or if you have just patched a small area then priming first will be necessary. The next instance when you will need to use a primer is if you are planning to apply a latex paint over a previously painted oil finish, then you will need to prime first using an oil based, bonding primer so that the latex paint will adhere properly. Additionally, if you are going to change colors in a room and the colors are vastly different, then priming may be necessary however, there are several paint manufactures that sell an all-in-one primer and paint and using one of these products might be a viable option in lieu of priming first whenever you are changing colors.
On the exterior of your home, any newly installed or unpainted wood will need to be primed prior to painting. This is also true if your house had loose or flaking paint and has been scraped, all bare wood should be primed before being painted. Next, just like on the interior of your home any stains will first need to be primed before painting to ensure that they do not bleed through the fresh paint. One of the most common stains on the exterior is mildew. If you have any mildew on your home it will need to be treated first by using a combination of water and bleach before painting. Priming alone will not neutralize the mildew and it will bleed back through the paint in a short amount of time if not treated first.
There are other times when you may need to use a primer before you paint but these are some of the most common. If you are uncertain about whether or not you should prime first, ask a local Birmingham painting contractor for their advice.