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Zinzzer (and others) primer questions

8 years ago

I am researching best products for painting cabinets and need some help with primers. What is the difference in Zinzzer BIN and Zinzzer Bulls Eye 123? When should I use oil base vs water base? What about shellac base - what does that mean? I used the Bulls eye 123 today on a garage door frame that had hail damage because that was what I had - it covered great and dried fast but was thick and sticky and difficult to get smooth. Is BIN better? Several years ago, I pained a vanity using the Bullseye 123 and SW Proclassic and it is still perfect. Again, the 123 was difficult to apply. I have also used Kilz in the past on interior trim. It was OK.

My cabinets are polyurethane birch if that makes a difference. DD is also going to be painting basic builder oak cabinets.

Paint will be SW Proclassic water base (I think). Have been reading about Cabinet Coat - would that be better?

Also, if I go with Proclassic, should I use semi-gloss? does the cabinet Coat have different sheens?

Help me out here please!

Featured Answer

Michael

8 years ago

Results will depend on painting skill level.

If you're going to use SW Proclassic, then a primer will be required. If you choose Cabinet Coat, no primer required.

Regardless of primer or paint choices, the cabinets must be thoroughly cleaned, sanded dull and vacuumed dust free for best results.Besides obvious choices, I'm going to offer you a different option.

Pittsburgh Paints.

Primer: Seal Grip 17-951

Top coat: Manor Hall, semi-gloss.

Apply primer and paint with a 4" quality roller and lay it off with a quality brush for best finish. It's very important to get enough primer & paint on the surface so it can level as it dries.

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Comments (10)

paintguy22
8 years ago
No matter what the manufacturer claims, use a primer. Painting 101. BIN is better than 123 for this. 123 is more of a general purpose primer in my mind. I use it for priming drywall only.
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PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
8 years ago
I would go with the seal grip and manor hall
bob_cville
8 years ago
I'm interested to hear what the pros say. As a frequent DIYer, my opinion is the Zinser BIN is something of a specialty product. It works extremely well as a primer, and will work well in situations where other primers just plain won't work. Such as covering troublesome stains that will bleed through other primers, covering and sealing smoke/nicotine odors, adhering to surfaces that other primers will just peel off of.

On the other hand, it is somewhat hard to apply (it is drippy and splatters quite a bit) It doesn't do much in the way of smoothing out the surface, it is somewhat hard to clean up, and the smell as you are applying it can be overpowering (while applying it over paneling in a closet I literally got tipsy from breathing the alcohol vapors) Plus it costs about three times as much as the more general purpose primers.
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paintguy22
8 years ago
You are right. All primers have their job and there aren't any primers that do all the jobs at once.
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emmarene9
8 years ago
If it were legal in my state I would use oil base paint for any wood that needs paint. I swear nothing new has dried as hard as the old paint did. Not a painter, just a DIYer.
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Michael
8 years ago
Alkyd paints harden over time which causes chipping, flaking, cracking, etc. Acrylic latex is flexible and will last longer.
groundbeef1
8 years ago
I'm sure you are done at this point. If not, I'm a BIN fanatic. Great adhesion, no residual odor and easy to use. It's thin, so watch that. Topcoat-able in an hour (or less).
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tuesday_2008
Original Author
8 years ago
I didn't mean to post and run - but got busy with other things. Thanks to all for your advice. I just painted a fiberglass French door with the 123 today because I already had it. It lays on rather thick and sticky and I had to work fast, but it looks good. Will top paint tomorrow.

I definitely am going to try the BIN the next time - I think I would like working with a thinner primer better.

What is everyone's thought on Kilz primer? I have a supply of that on hand also from when I painted poplar trim and base.
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paintguy22
8 years ago
Depends on which Kilz primer you have. Kilz, the oil based version is good for stain killing and cat pee painting. Kilz2, the latex version is absolute garbage and shouldn't be used for anything.

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