Paint Primer: Why It’s Necessary? (Basic Guide)

Priming is a pre-conditional procedure taken before applying layers of paint. As the name suggests, priming sets the foundation on which actual colour coats are put. In most painting cases, it’s recommended to priming your wall beforehand.

 
Primer vs Paint: Resin vs Pigments

Primers use a different chemical formulation of resin and pigments compared to regular paint. The primer uses an adhesive-resin that helps to smoothen the wall surface. Paints, on the other hand, have a pigmentation formula that allows different colours onto the surface.

What Makes Primer Paint So Important?

While priming is often overlooked, it is one of the most important procedures for both interior and exterior painting. Primer paints correlate the top colour coating with the surface by making the rugged surfaces smoother. If a newly painted wall doesn’t turn out to be as pristine and vibrant as it’s supposed to be, chances are the painter has skipped out on priming the surface.

To ensure the best quality paint finish for your walls, go for reliable and expert house painters in your area. Here’s how primer paint becomes a safeguard for your walls.

• Firstly, primer allows for a fine one-coat polish. A single coat of wall primer plus a single coat of regular paint is a lot better than a double coating with regular paint.
• Primer gives longevity to your paint job. Painting without primer results in blotching, cratering, and blistering. Why? Because primer painting smoothens the film and conceals blemishes perfectly. Uneven surfaces are in most cases, hard to paint or unable to sustain the paint in the long run.
• Primer paint comes in different accent colours, such as a polyacrylic top coat for instance. No matter what tints or shades you want to give to your walls, an undertone priming will help to develop a superior colour resonance.

Types of Wall Primer Paint

There are different types of primer painting technologies for different painting films. If you want to choose the most appropriate primer paints among different kind of paints, you need to know the distinctive features each primer paint type has to offer.
 
Here are the general categories -

Stain Blocking Primer

Stain blocking primer is essential to keep your plaster wall smudge-stain and blemish free. There are two kinds of stain blocking primer, serving two distinctive purposes in both interior and exterior settings.

Oil-based stain-blocking primer is for a sleek surface with a glossy finish. Oil-based primer painting covers the wall’s pre-existing damage caused by water-based elements, smoke, rust etc.

Another type of stain blocking primer is a water-based stain-blocking primer or latex primer. This primer has the solvent based coverage of scuff marks, grease etc.

Drywall Primer

The main ingredient of drywall primer is polyvinyl acetate (PVA), specially formulated for porous surfaces. Drywall primer fills the ridges and prepares the drywall for the top coating.

Coloured Primer

As mentioned earlier, primers also come in different accent colours. The under-toned colour primers of your wall allows for vibrant colours with fewer top-coatings.
 

Appropriate Priming on Different Surfaces

Before opting for primer paints for your wall, you need to know whether your surface is appropriate for the primer paints. Here are the common residential and commercial surface types in Australia and here’s how you pick the right primer for your painting film. Check the list below-

Bare Wood

Wood painting is always more challenging than any other kind of painting. Primer’s role here is to stop the wooden surface from growing moisture and preventing moisture from getting into the surface from different sources. Tannin acid from wood also causes blemishes on the surface. For bare wood painting, it’s recommended to use a wood primer.

Dry Wood Surfaces

For dry wood surfaces, oil-based primer has no substitutes. This oil-based primer sticks well onto the surface and helps the top coat to be well plastered.

Metal Surfaces

For ferrous metal surfaces, latex primer or high-quality oil primer is the most suitable option, as it prevents rust.

Patchy Stained Surfaces

Old patchy porous walls made of cement need extra attention as the patches can cause organic growth of mould, mildews and algi. For this kind of surface, stain-blocking primers are required.
 

As you can tell by now, choosing the right primer is essential for both interior and exterior painting. By contacting Sydney’s top painting service provider Premier Painting Company, you can free yourself from worrying about your painting problems. For all kinds of residential, commercial or real estate painting needs, Premier Painting Company is your ultimate solution.