I think you must "take one down and pass it around" 21 splotches of paint on the wall...

SORRY, couldn't resist :)

I would think something like kilz would be the ticket, better to start with a clean palate then risk it showing through.

Ha, rjinga, I was singing that too, lol.

Ditto, to the primer.

I'd just paint over it. Paint has more coverage than you might think.

The professional painters who did our two-story foyer went right over mold green with light taupe - no primer, two coats and it's lovely.

There is always a lot of discussion over to prime or not to prime - If I know I will need more than a gallon to do the job, sometimes I will get primer tinted for the first coat (cheaper. I always paint two coats as I am a very light painter. Another option, just paint over the splotches with BT, let them dry, then just start painting as usual. Assuming you will use two coats, you will have three over the splotches. Unconventional, but then again, that's how I usually paint!! HTH

not really as much as to whether to prime over or not because the paint you are using is a #2 base and will still have a sufficient amount of Ti02 and will cover with excellent results.

The one area of concern I do see however would be or could be from painting over your test samples multiple times and not knowing how neat the sample testing was applied and with what type of applicator tool. I have been in lots of homes doing repaints for customers only to see where they sloppily applied samples on their walls and left drips or built up ridges throughout the middle and edges of the samples. In these instances it is best to take your hand and lightly examine the wall for any ridges, raised edges or other areas of concern. If found, these would need to be feather sanded to align with the adjacent surrounding areas.

"As to priming in general with your room", would depend on where the room is and how much use the room gets? An example would be is it a bathroom used daily, kitchen, hallway that may get little fingerprints, etc. YKWIM.

Three other indicators would be how long has it been since the last repaint and what type of finish is presently on the walls as well as going from what existing color to what new chosen color?

Nothing wrong with painting over test samples or just repainting over existing walls, but there are questions one would need to answer as to the best situation and test samples should have as much care painting just as if one is painting the entire room. A primer doesn't need to be used on every paint job, but a thorough examination needs to be conducted first to determine.

kyjo,
forgot to mention, not to imply the test samples that were used on your walls were done poorly or sloppy; just using an example of what can go wrong.

Oh and samples are always best done on sample boards if at all possible.

"Take one down and pass it around; 20 splotches of paint on the wall!"

I'm not an expert, or even a seasoned amateur, but I'd check for ridges and drips as DecorativeWalls suggested, and then I'd prime. But I tend to overdo and overthink everything...to the point of not getting things accomplished.

OK decorativewalls you busted me!lol. I may have been 'alittle' sloppy with my paint splotches....
Also some samples are flat(2) and some satin(20) all over an eggshell finish.The walls were Laura ashley gold 2 BM matched and the splotches are from BM olive Branch, baby turtle, dry sage and others that are alittle lighter.
So I guess I have to sand all 22 splotches?I wish I could take them down and pass them around!

kyjo,

no you won't need to sand them down if YOU DON'T have any issues with your painted test samples. Don't create more work for yourself; and if you had to resort to that, hopefully it is just feather sanding to smooth out the areas (don't forget to dust, wipe off the sanding particles). Over an eggshell finish would be sufficient. No absorption, walls should not be porous.

Just do a touch/feel movement and check your samples; some of the samples may need a little added help and some might not, but do check for smoothness; matter of fact when painting or examining customer's walls in the initial prep stages, I always test the walls for little buggers and nubbies.
good luck.

Thanks decorativewalls. I just lightly sanded and wiped down a couple of places.

I got another sample in from UPS today. I forgot I ordered it. It's BM flowering herbs.

I wont be putting 23 splotches of paint on the wall...
This time I'm using a sample board.

Thanks everyone!

I primed my splotches. Just get a cheap quart of primer and paint over your splotches.

Splotching can be covered with just 2 coats of regular paint, but certain colors will not cover your splotches well, so I would prime them ;)

Even with sanding and priming, I still had some swatches in my LR flash on me after two nice coats of Farrow & Ball paint. I was the only one who could see 'em, and only when the light was "just so", but I knew they were there. :(

Here's a great trick I learned from bellaflora. If you absolutely must splotch paint on the wall (and I must) do it behind a piece of artwork. That way, you can take the painting down and admire the test color, then put the painting back up when you need the room to look "normal" again. Of course, this doesn't work with 21 splotches (I only had 15 in my LR!) but it is good for The Finalists.

I just painted a buttermilk yellow over a dark grey wall (don't ask) and for the first two walls I thought I should prime, but I still needed three coats of the yellow to cover (I paint mostly with a brush, it's only two coats with a roller). Then on the last wall I ran out of primer so used leftover beige paint... and it covered way better than the primer.

I'm no expert, but my conclusion is that primer doesn't cover as well as paint. It seems to me that primer is meant to promote adhesion, not to colour things.

In your situation the question is evenness, not coverage per se, so I could go over your splotches with the closest thing you have to the original wall colour. Then paint your final colour, probably two coats will do.

KarinL

I had a wall with about 30 splotches of samples. Some were sampled over more than a couple of times. I did not prime but did 2 coats of paint when I finally decided on a color. I wish I HAD primed, though. Even though it wasn't very noticeable (to anyone but me), I could tell where I'd had multiple sample coats versus a part of the wall that didn't get sampled. YMMV.

I wonder if I just got a paint with built in primer like aura? Or would I still need a seperate primer? The BM store I go to charges the same for regal as aura. I don't know how they can charge less than retail for it but they do.

Anyway the sample I got in mail yesterday also had BM peanut shell in there. I guess I forgot I ordered that too. Now DH likes that better than the greens. He had been the one to say no golds. He said he wanted green. Now he tells me this after the 22 splotches of green paint on the wall. AARRG!

My question is will peanut shell make a difference on coverage? Better, worse or no change?

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

With all this paint drama I'm going to need to drink 99 bottles of beer.

I used BM aura paint over my darker splotches, no primer, and it covered beautifully.

I want to see the pictures of the wall before you cover them up.

I would love to post pics but I can't. I am using a 35 camera I've had for about 10 years. I got a digital about 4 years ago and it doesnt work anymore.

Maybe santa will bring me a new one. I don't know if that will help or not because I am sooooo technology challenged. Obviously challenged enough to not be concerned enough to get a new one.
I do have a new video camera.I have'nt figured out to use it yet. Its been in the box for the last 2 months. That reminds me I need to figure it out before christmas. I better get to reading..........Thanks!