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Cabin John Builders For the best results use a high quality separate primer then two finish coats of paint. Can/do some of the 2/1 products like the Behr work in specific cases yes, but we are painting several homes as year and no solution out there is a consistent and effective from our experience as primer then finish coats. Zinsser and Kilz both make nice primers for various applications.

olldbobbi I have painted almost every room in my house with Behr Ultra Premium Plus, paint and primer combined. I love it. I have had no problems whatsoever and I wouldn't use any other paint.

One of the walls I painted was a medium to dark blue and I painted it light gray. I gave it two coats because that's what was recommended and it turned out perfect!

orangecamera Hope I'm not hijacking the thread, but I think my question fits in. I'm painting over a former owner's nicotine stained bright yellow walls. My contractor is suggesting tinted Kilz, and then 1 coat of paint. Does tinting the primer help enough to avoid putting a 2nd coat of paint on, and will it really seal in the smell as well as the stains? New color will be SW6660 Honey Blush. Thanks.

houssaon have you tried to wash the walls with TSP? I bet most of the stains will come off making the painting much easier.

orangecamera I asked my contractor about that, she said just using Kilz will be enough. I'll talk to her again about washing the walls, since I really do NOT want the smell or the stains to linger. Thanks houssaon.

Deb Reinhart Kilz does work..it is a very effective product.

That said, the 'out gassing' can make people sick. I have done homes where Kilz is banned. If any person is sensitive to chemicals or has allergies, this product needs careful application, proper ventilation and no occupancy until the paint is completely dry with no odor possible.

orangecamera Wow, thanks for that heads up, Deb Reinhart!

Cabin John Builders The kilz should be fine, make sure the proper one is used and Deb is 100% right about wanting to be out of the house.

jmoye Sounds like you definitely need a seperate primer. I've been painting over some really challenging & horrendous surfaces in my recently purchased home as well & primed nearly everything with Kilz and Zinser -both are great, but indeed "fume-y".

Shawn Lagemann Tinting the primer helps to not have to have 4-5 coats of dark paint for sure, If you will be painting with a darker color especially, it is very difficult to get good coverage over the top of white primer, reds are the greatest challenge for coverage. Having said that, you sould always use 2 coats of paint to get the best coverage and truist color. Kilz will help with staining bleeding through the paint, but nicotine has a greasy residue and the walls should be washed first. Use a mop as you would on the floor, get a bucket of warm water and a little tide or Era detergent. Wash the walls from the bottom up ALWAYS, dirty water over a clean wall will not leave marks, dirty water running down a dirty wall DOES leave marks. Then do a quick once over with the cleaner, let it dry and prime and paint. The detergent will get out grease and sticky residue without creating it's own residue.

creeser We used Kilz when painting over my daughter's bright red, semi-gloss room after she moved out. Worked great and we used light cream to repaint.