Reasons You Should Use Primer on Drywall

ECOS Paints 08/19/2022
Reasons You Should Use Primer on Drywall

As a means of architectural diversity, engineering advancements, and construction capabilities, many homes differ in their structural composition. Some houses feature concrete walls, while others consist of plaster, parapets, and brick frames. Akin to the various canvases available to artists, from sketchbooks and watercolor paper to universal cloth frames, different wall types provide varying surfaces to paint on during a home reno project. On top of supplying home painters with a range of canvases, the various wall types also diversify working conditions.

Paint primers help minimize wall texture and type variations. They create the ideal base for a paint project, making any canvas a suitable painting surface. They work especially well for drywalls. Here is a look at why you should use primer on drywall, and the differences they make to your final paint job.

The Significance of Drywall

Contrary to its name, drywall doesn't just refer to a type of wall; it is a kind of building material used for numerous surfaces, from wall arches to ceilings. Its composition includes a mixture of substances, like wood pulp, paper, cement, clay, and gypsum. Drywall typically features lightweight properties and thin densities. They go over a wooden structural framework and frequently appear in homes and other buildings. Painting drywall provides a tricky foundation to work with, affecting application and final results. Without a primer, drywall surfaces absorb a lot of your paint, thin your layers, create streaks, and alter the pigment of your colors.

What Is Paint Primer?

Paint primer comes in numerous forms. Primer acts as the base coat for your painting project and produces an ideal foundation to enhance your wall paint and painting process. Primers prep your wall's surface in various ways, from sealing minor cracks to creating a uniformed base. They also help the paint glide and stick onto the walls.

Benefits of Primer on Drywall

Seals Porous Surfaces

Drywall's composition builds a very porous surface structure, making it a great absorbent. Without a coat of primer, any paint you lather onto your walls will soak into the surface, hindering your final results and painting experience. Absorbed paint creates thin coats and faded coloration. It also increases your chances for streaks, uneven layering, and textures. Primers seal the drywall's pores and create a barrier that allows your paint to sit nicely on the surface.

Minimizes Paint Coats

In line with sealing pores, primers minimize the amount of paint coats needed to produce a pigmented and well-covered paint job. Unprimed drywalls soak in layers of paint, creating thin coats and requiring more product. In order to reach the ideal final result, multiple layers and paint must be used. More coats means more time spent painting. Primers create the perfect base that accentuates your paint, requiring less product without sacrificing the quality of your final look.

Saves You Money

The less paint you need for the job, the more money you save. Primers make your paint usage more efficient. It allows you to reach optimal coloration and application without using too much product. Instead of wasting your paint on refilling absorbed layers from the drywall's abyss, one paint bucket goes a long way when you use a primer.

Prevents Flashing

Flashing in painting terms refers to dense paint patches that tend to reflect more light than other spots on the wall. It typically occurs from unleveled and uneven foundations and the lack of proper priming. Primers create a cohesive base; they help seal any defects and level out the canvas to ensure smooth and even fresh coats. Not using primer increases your chances of flashing, creating unprofessional finished paint jobs.

Stops Bleed Through

Like slapping on a bandaid, many people like to fix patches with a coat of paint. However, patches can bleed through without a primer, affecting the look and cohesiveness of your painted wall. Bleed through creates a similar issue to flashing. It causes slight defects to the new paint job's appearance, making certain spots on the wall darker or lighter than the rest. Primers cover patchwork, blocking any dull, darker, lighter, or shinier strips on your wall.

Added Durability

Primers add a barrier layer between your walls and new paint coats, shielding both your wall and new paint. They also increase your paint layer's density, further enhancing its durability. Most drywalls come in thin sheets, making them susceptible to any force or harm. Primers paired with multiple fresh coats of color thicken your walls, making them stronger against scratches and other external influences. Skipping out on primer increases your chances of deep scratches and markups.

Perfect Pigmentation

Many people use wall paint to implement color into a space. Absorbed, patchy, flashy, and bleeding paint lacks strong coloration, creating dull looks. Primers optimize the various qualities in your paint, including its pigmentation. With a solid base, wall paints layer on properly, allowing you to create vivid, colorful walls. Even if you are painting with a multitude of white shades, a primer makes its coloration brighter and stand out more than it would without a primed foundation.

The Best Primers for Drywalls

Primers vary in consistency, purpose, and properties. They offer a range of qualities that improve your painting for numerous scenarios and surfaces. Like how walls come in various types, drywalls vary per sheet. Due to their mixed-media construction material, drywalls differ in the type of texture they offer, creating different painting conditions. Their age and use also affect the kind of surface foundation they provide for your paint, requiring various primer preferences. Old, patchy, and texture drywall best benefits from thick PVA primers. Their thick solutions smoothen out any bumps and cracks, creating a leveled, flat, and ideal painting canvas. Newer drywall with minimal texturization works well with water-based primer paint. These primers provide thin yet efficient protective bases that enhance pigments and paint application. They also provide a more eco-friendly primer solution.

There are many beneficial reasons why you should use primer on drywall. Drywall comes with numerous variables that affect your painting, especially older and well-used sheets of drywall. Primers help solidify and level their surfaces, leading to a clean painted wall. Primers build you the perfect canvas to work on, minimizing mishaps and optimizing your paint and performance.


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