Did you CLEAN the wall first?
Did you SAND the wall first?
Pitch the Kilz crap and go to a real paint store and buy the appropriate primer for the job
The people working there will give you all the help you need.

No, you don't need an oil based primer. And lots of people use Kilz products.

Especially given that it is a kitchen, it sounds like there may have been something on the wall that stopped the primer from attaching. Even if you don't do any deep frying, it seems as if oils still manage to get on walls. You should have cleaned and lightly sanded the eggshell paint to give the primer something to grip onto.

Kilz makes both a latex and an acrylic primer. I don't know when you would use one versus the other. A call to them would not hurt:
For Technical Service:
1-866-PRIMER-1 (866-774-6371)
techservice@masterchem.com

Thanks for the replies. I did wash the wall first but I didn't sand it. It sounds like I should have sanded it down before putting the primer on.

I've used Kilz for years in many different areas of my home and never had a problem before. I have always been happy with that brand of primer because its thick and very highly pigmented.

To each their own.
I get paid to paint peoples homes. Have been doing it successfully for almost 30 years. I do not use Kilz primers, except for the original oil, that one actually works well, the rest of them, not so much.If you all are happy with it, thats all that counts.

Christopher - can you tell what brand you use? I am willing to buy another brand to get this wall to turn out nice.

I wondered if the fact that the wall was painted red mattered. I know there are different bases for different colors. Would something in the red base have caused this?

More to the point-

* What exact product, brand/liquid/powder, was used to wash the wall??
* Was it rinsed (if directions required it)??
* Which exact Kilz-Latex(?) primer was used??
* Normally, a lower-sheen like Eggshell doesn't need sanding. It's just not that shiny!
* Existing color makes no difference....SHEEN does!

I'm willing to bet here that it's a cleaner issue...!

Faron

I suspect that a large portion of the population uses paint as a substitute for cleaning. While I have never been a painting contractor, I have done quite a lot while rehabbing properties. In a few instances, a good cleaning revealed that repainting was not needed.
Without cleaning, the new paint is adhered to a coat of dirt and grease.

I got the Zinnsers primer yesterday. It is great! The wall looks wonderful. Thanks so much, Christopher n, for that advice.

At the hardware store the Zinnsers display had a chart comparing it to Kilz. In the 'adhesion' line, Zinnsers was "excellent" and Kilz was 'poor.' I can attest to that fact! The Zinnsers adhered very well and covered the red wall 100%. It seems even more saturated with pigment than Kilz. I have a new favorite brand now.

AND it was significantly cheaper than Kilz!

There you go!

I seriously doubt the primer was the problem. Lack of prep was the problem. Applying another coat of primer over a poorly prepared wall will always improve the condition.

I use Zinsser 95% of the time, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable or works better over a dirty wall.

What he ^ said is very true

You should have tinted the primer though towards grey or red. Thinking that you need to go back to white is really the wrong logic. A red will have the hardest time covering a white than any other color.

Mamabird, that's quite a story regarding the paint that didn't adhere to your kitchen wall. Without doubt, grease/grime was the culprit. For what it's worth, I use a micro-sponge to clean my walls and ceilings in preparation for painting. It's shocking how much invisible dirt comes off on the sponge! After that, I wash walls and ceiling with Soilax, an old time product known to facilitate paint adhesion. The Soilax label claims that one washing is sufficient for excellent paint adhesion, but I seldom wash the walls/ceiling less than three times. This might sound like overkill, but it works.

It may have been humid in the house or to hot and he may put it on to thick or the wall as Greasy