Primer Coat and Behr Interior paint or Behr Ultra?

[Brian Kent]

I am painting my shop white. The walls are now yellow. Has anyone used the Behr paint ultra that includes primer? Will one coat do it, or will I end up painting a second coat anyway?

The cabinets are black, do I figure they will need 6 coats of primer and 6 coats of white, or something like that, but what about the white over yellow?

Thanks,

Brian

[David Thompson 27577]

Whether or not a paint product includes a bit more of the 'primer-specific' ingredients or not, it either has or does not have significant pigment to hide the existing colors.

And in cases where you're changing colors (yellow to white), even the best paints will need multiple coats. FWIW, whenever I'm changing colors, I plan on one primer coat, and two topcoats -- regardless of brand or price of paint. This is true even when I'm changing from 'antique white' to white. And in general, that assumption has been right way more than wrong.
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[Paul Wunder]

Brian,

Not quite the same, but I recently used Behr Ultra with primer to paint unfinished countertops in my shop. It took three coats to get a smooth even look. I do like the results. My experience has always been that changing colors always required more that one coat. BTW, one coat of a good primer over the existing walls and cabinets prior to the top coat(s) would be very useful.

[Ed Griner]

Brian, This is not the same application but,last summer I used Behr Ultra to paint my 200 year,dark green, mid-atlantic,white cedar sided house. As usual I prepped by scrubbing with TSP and painted with a brush. The replacement color is "Aged Parchment"(off-white).One coat was all it took.This Ultra is the best paint I have ever used. This is the third time I painted the house in about twenty years, in the past using oil based paints.Thing have really improved in the paint industry! By the way I'm an electrical contractor,with no affiliation to Behr or Home depot. Ed

[Bob Riefer]

I love that Behr Ultra (w/ primer) paint. For one thing, when edging, it rolls off a high quality brush nicely, spreads evenly, spreads far. I hate taping and avoid it all costs and have found with this paint I can largely skip taping. In terms of coverage... Yes, you might need two coats, but I have found that two coats of this product equals a primer coat + 2 top coats of regular products. So you save one trip around the walls. But, in many cases, I've done 1 coat and been happy. For pure white, you'll do 2 I bet, but you'll "enjoy" rolling this product and be happy with the results.

[Joe Angrisani]

Brian.... I used the Behr Ultra to cover a bright shade of a medium-dark green. New color was a very light grey-tan color, and one coat did it.

[Ole Anderson]

Both of my kids are in fixer upper houses and I said I would help them paint, but only if they use Behr Premium or Ultra. That stuff goes on like warm butter and covers like tape. I did use some SW premium latex paint on cabinets and trim as they have a nice self levelling product, but at $40 plus per gallon, I won't be painting any walls with it. The Behr Ultra is pricey, and if I really need a primer, I think I would prefer a separate coat of Kilz Latex with a topcoat of Behr Premium which you can usually get for $20 per gallon on sale. That Kilz stuff sticks like glue evidenced as how hard it is to wash off your hands even while still wet.

[Aaron Rowland]

Good move. One needs as much light in the shop as possible. My shop is very old and needs painting also , so I'm watching this thread. It's an awful job so I've put it off forever. The difference in paint is zilch for a shop. Consumer reports does a lot of paint study so worth looking at I guess. I plan on using a shiny gloss latex enamel on the walls for max reflection. You will have to use a minimum of two coats despite the one coat covers non sense. I have a pressure roller and its worth every dime as a time saver.

For the cabinets if the black is in half decent shape leave them black but repaint the doors white. I sure wouldn't use latex on a high wear area. Solvent base is tough to use because of over spray. Tough call. A low pressure sprayer run off a vac motor is what I use for jobs like this. HF has them cheap but never tried their brand. For my doors I used White shower board with hardwood frames. They look perfect despite years of use. Gloss white shower board is wonderful stuff and cheap. No paint needed and they also make a good chalk board.

What I hate in a shop is the kitchen look. Stained oak cabinets with dark walls. Yuk! A shop should look like a clean room with white walls and cabinet fronts but that's just my opinion.

[Brian Kent]

Aaron, the only part of these cabinets that shows is the front, so I plan on taking off the handles and running a roller over the whole thing.

[Ryan Hellmer]

I agree that behr is some of the best paint, but I would plan on using primer for the first coat(s). I've never had paint cover in one coat and if you're making drastic color changes, you might as well save the money. Zinsser makes some good primers that cover well, build/sand well and are super cheap (13-18 a gallon). You could also consider asking the guy at the paint counter for some neutral colored mis-match for your primer coats. No good way to cover black.

Ryan

[Rick Potter]

Brian,

I hate to say it, but I have a whole house painted inside and out with HD Behr Paint. I had good luck with all of it EXCEPT the Ultra paint with built in primer. A brand new wall, repeat..one wall, in a bedroom was done with a dark red color using this 'time saving' paint. The wall was primered, and I put on the required one coat....didn't cover. A second coat...didn't cover. Third coat...still didn't cover. Ran out of paint. Back to HD, complained about how this 'one coat' paint didn't work. They gave me a second gallon. Back home...guess what?

It took a total on SEVEN coats, we ran out of paint again and if you look closely you can still see streaks.

The thing that really frosted me was that I had specifically gone there to get a gallon of primer tinted grey, because red is a tough color to do. HD told me I didn't need it because they had this great new paint, guaranteed to cover in one coat with no primer at all. Their sample board on the counter was even done in red.

I see others have had good luck with it, and I wish I could report the same.

Rick Potter
PS: I am not a pro painter, but I have painted 9 houses in and out in the last 8 years, so I do have a bit of experience.

[Bob Riefer]

holy cow, it would have been easier to rip the drywall down!

[Rick Potter]

Like I said, it was new construction, and primed correctly. We had done a previous dark red accent wall, and knew we needed to use dark primer, till HD insisted we didn't need it.

Rick P

[Bob Riefer]

That's one of those super frustrating projects ain't it?

Well, to contrast that... we had dark hunter green walls, and did 1 coat of ultra w/ primer in light tan.. looked very good to most eyes including my wife's. I added a 2nd coat for good measure and the undercoat is completely hidden.

Moral, I guess, is that some colors cover more easily than others. So, to the OP, take that into account. If covering dark red, might be worth primer coat. Otherwise, most have had very positive experiences.

[Jeff Fischer]

Well, I'm a project mgr. for an insurance restoration company, so I buy a lot of paint.
For new construction I prefer to use the Behr PVA primer, tinted about 75% or so of the final color, followed by Behr premium paint. One coat of this paint usually covers on normal colors.
I do use the Behr Ultra (paint & primer) on trim, and on any recoat painting over alkyd base, and everywhere I want or need the extra adhesion and wear characteristics.
For smoke damage, after cleaning, I use tinted oil base KILZ the primer. You have to dip out a cup of primer from the can before tinting very much, so be aware.
I painted the exterior of my own house when the Ultra p&p first came out several years ago,(it was exterior only at first), and it looks great, like I painted it yesterday, even in Central Texas.
All that said, IMHO, I don't think you can buy a better paint at this price point. There are surely better products, but at a higher cost.
Of course, red is the toughest, and some reds are worse than others, but I start with tinted kilz there, too. I think a longer nap roller leaves a thicker film, fwiw.
Hope that helps you some,
Jeff