Primer can save you time, money, and effort

In addition to helping your paint job look its best, properly preparing your surface also impacts your time and bottom line. Simply put, primer does the “dirty work” beneath your topcoat by creating an ideal surface for paint to adhere to. Acting as “glue,” primer ensures your paint properly sticks and bonds to the surface.

What’s more, primer evenly seals porous surfaces; neutralizes odors; and hides scuffs, blemishes, and stains that might otherwise show or bleed through. From KILZ high-performance, weather-resistant exterior primers to professional-grade, customer-pleasing primers for indoor use, using the right product is an impactful step that brings value to the work you do. Easy and convenient to purchase and pick up — KILZ 2® ALL-PURPOSE Primer, KILZ 3® PREMIUM Primer, and KILZ RESTORATION® Primer are just a few problem-solving primer options up to the tasks at hand.

Let’s take a deeper dive into how primer helps protect your investment — not to mention the investment your customers make in your work.

Using primer saves time

Primers create a clean slate for the new color so it can show as it was intended. That means typically starting from a white, neutral background.

Because primer helps paint adhere to the surface, it also helps reduce or eliminate the need for touch-ups and re-dos. The right kind of primer even lets you paint on surfaces that paint would otherwise not stick to at all such as metal, plastics, laminates, new concrete, and other hard-to-adhere surfaces with great success.

Using primer can reduce cost

Without primer, painting a light color over a dark, deep, or bold color could cause the new paint to appear darker than it should. It could even end up showing a shade of the previous color, rather than your new, lighter hue.

Ultimately, primer is formulated to solve a variety of problems before you paint, creating a superior surface to achieve lasting results that don’t require touch-ups, re-paints, or repairs.

Using primer can cut down on labor

Work smarter, not harder — that’s what primer helps you do.

Having an ideal base coat to which your topcoat can adhere makes your job easier. It looks better and lasts longer, too, cutting down on the hassle of extra, unnecessary work.

Choosing the right primer

KILZ offers a primer for all types of substrate and surface challenges you may face.

For example, KILZ 2® ALL-PURPOSE Primer is a fast-drying, water-based, multi-surface primer, sealer, and stain blocker that provides excellent adhesion on interior and exterior surfaces. That includes woodwork, drywall, plaster, paneling, masonry, brick, stucco, painted metal, and properly prepared glossy surfaces. It’s also mildew resistant, with a very mild odor. Intended to block medium stains — such as minor water stains, rust, grease, ink, pencil, and felt marker — it’s perfect for color changes, lessening the number of topcoats required.

Meanwhile, thicker, high-hiding KILZ 3® PREMIUM primer is a heavy-duty water-based primer, sealer, and stain blocker — one that’s fast drying, low odor, and very low VOC. On top of having excellent adhesion, it provides a mildew-resistant coating. That makes it ideal for use in moisture-prone areas, like bathrooms. It’s ideal for most medium to heavy stains caused by water, tannin, ink, pencil, felt marker, and grease.

KILZ RESTORATION® Primer, on the other hand, is a new-generation water-based primer, sealer, and stain-blocker that performs like traditional oil and shellac-based primers. Perfect for tough and severe stains — think heavy water damage, rust, smoke, nicotine, grease, tannin, ink, pencil, felt marker, or pet stains — it successfully seals persistent odors and can be used on a wide array of surfaces, including drywall, woodwork, plaster, masonry, brick, painted metal, ceramic tile, and glass. It can also be used to block subfloor orders when carpet or wood flooring is being replaced.

Regardless of the issue at hand — and no matter the project you face — the high-performing indoor and outdoor primers from KILZ set the tone for doing your best work. Standing up to what the weather and daily life have in store, primer is the difference between a job that’s done and a job that’s done well. Bringing value to the work that you do, enlisting the right primer maximizes your efforts and time — and that directly impacts your bottom line.