Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Primer power

Yes, this is another post about my unnatural obsession with B-I-N Primer, my go-to product for all woodwork.
I love it so much it's really not normal.  This stuff works miracles!  It can stick to any surface without sanding (like laminate, metal, hardwood, etc) and any topcoat can go over it.  While I was redoing the master closet, I had the fun task of priming and painting all the trim and door.  The door to the hallway was in sad shape because BOOZIE painted over oil-based paint with latex throughout the entire house.  Thanks, Boozie!  I'm sure you all know what happens when you put latex over oil...that latex paint just flakes right off. 
The biggest problem is that any normal sanding you do has the potential to rip entire strips of the latex coat off.  And if you want to scrape off old paint drips or blemishes, you're pretty much done for.  Let's just say my newly finished floors had piles of latex strips laying on them.  And my door was splotchy because I don't have time to scrape the latex off the entire thing.
BIN saved the day, making my door smooth and ready for paint in no time!
It made all those lines where the top layer of paint came off invisible.  No other primer can do this as well!  BIN is extremely thin, yet covering, so the primer doesn't sit in those ridges like a thicker one would.  It also sands like a dream if there are any ridges or brush strokes.  I was so happy with the outcome that I did another bedroom door.  Ok, I just had primer left in my paint tray, but whatever.
This door used to have bright blue paint on the panels, like this closet door inside that particular bedroom:
GAH!  At least it was neatly painted....I had primed over the hallway door long ago with some inferior primer (can't remember which one) and never finished up what I started.  BIN made the hallway door look like this...
No trace of blue peeking through, and totally smooth!  If you haven't tried BIN yet, you really owe it to yourself to do so.  Here are my tips for success with this unique product:

~  BIN is shellac-based, so you need to use denatured alcohol to clean up, NOT mineral spirits.  You can buy it everywhere in the same section, though. 
~  Put down thick drop cloths because this primer is thin and will SPLATTER EVERYWHERE.  Trust me, even if you are a 'painting ninja' like me, you will splatter and there is no water clean-up!
~  You must mix this stuff with a drill attachment, a wooden stick just will not cut it.  The shellac separates from the pigment and will not go back together without a power mixing.  I love the Squirrel Mixer available at Home Depot for around 7 bucks... 
~  Be sure to use the DA (denatured alcohol) to clean off the squirrel right after using or it will build up and build up until your cage isn't very, uh, cagey anymore.   And don't get too fast with the mixing on a brand new can, because it will spill over the side!
~  While you are painting, give the primer in the can a little swirl with the brush periodically because it will develop a skin if you leave it alone for too long.  It dries SO FAST, which is a good and bad thing. 
~  I apply it with a foam roller and regular paint brush and have great success with those applicators.  I just make sure to swirl the brush really well in a cup of DA and then rinse until all the water runs clear.  It is sometimes tricky to know when it's clean, so don't use your favorite Purdy brush!

So, that's my ode to BIN.  Have you used it, and do you love it like I do?

Disclaimer - I wasn't paid by Zinsser to say all these lovely things about BIN, but I would love to be!  Zinsser people, email me!  Let's do a giveaway!  Or just give a can to me, that works too!

23 comments:

  1. Good to know! I am a huge fan of primer in general. But it's always good to know what products work best! Thanks :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perfect timing for me, thank you! I have an old, ugly, laminate bookcase I want to paint & wasn't sure what kind of primer to use. Will a regular drill attachment work for mixing it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Never even heard of BIN. Where do you find it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kate - as long as you use a drill attachment with some sort of paddle on the end, it should work with any drill. You can get mixing attachments them very cheap at HD, I just really like the squirrel one.

    Ethan - the biggest retailer is Home Depot, but I also buy mine at Menards (a midwest store chain) Farm and Fleet, True Value, and some Sherwin WIlliams stores carry it. Here's a link to the site where you can learn more!

    http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?productid=10

    ReplyDelete
  5. So that's why our paint peels off in huge sheets around here every time I paint wood! Thanks for solving the mystery. It's such a pain in the butt to deal with and it doesn't help that I can't seem to stop myself from picking at it once a piece comes up. When I run out of my current primer, I will have to give BIN a whirl.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! I've never heard of that stuff before, but it sounds pretty darn good. I've been using Kilz Oil-Based Primer with good results for awhile, especially while painting wood, but it's good to know of other great primers out there.

    Have I ever told you I love your subtitle? "DIY or Die Trying". LOVE it! Makes me smile everytime I see it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing! I have these old, ugly laminate nightstands I'm dying to fix with SOMETHING. This will definitely help! I'm going to head to home depot this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for posting this - we're about to start tackling some major painting projects so I will definitely look for it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Holy moses, I am so far behind on my blog reading! Your closet looks absolutely amazing!! How in the world do you complete such big projects so quickly? I have to admit that I'm starting to get burned out on home projects, but you just amaze me. Not only have you done so much, but every room looks incredible. Consider me one of your biggest fans!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very interesting...I wonder if it would work on furniture? Have you tried that? The thing that has me putting off my jewelry box redo is all that sanding that I'm dreading. If I could just use this stuff and then paint over it and be done...that would be fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just a tip to know when your brush is clean.....while washing it in the sick/with a hose, get it nice and wet and fold the bristles over at the base where it connects to the brush at about a 45 degree angle, if milky water (or slightly paint colored water) trickles down, the brush still has paint in it. Keep rinsing, and continue this trick till the water runs clear.

    LOVE your closet redo!

    ReplyDelete
  12. and by "washng it in the sick" I meant SINK :) :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sara - it will definitely work. I would recommend a light sanding first just around the front where the piece gets the most wear and tear from drawers/doors, but the sides, back, legs, etc should be fine with just the primer. It is amazing, you will see!

    Meryl - I do that brush trick, but sometimes it 'tricks' me! I think once in awhile the paint is lodged up too high and I'm not rinsing up high enough. Just another reason to only dip your brush halfway (or less) into the paint!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Another vote for this primer....I love it! I learned the mineral spirit vs. denatured alcohol thing the hard way.....and ruined a brush because of it. I only use it on things that need heavy duty priming or staining (like windows) but I agree with you on its fabulousness.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Am bookmarking this page for future DIY projects when I need a great primer - thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've never heard of this primer either. I'll definitely have to give it a try sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  17. LMAO at painting ninja. You should see my painting clothes. It's embarrassing. I think ninja would be a huge overstatment for me.

    I'm a Kilz girl myself, but I've used Zinsser with good luck, too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. never heard of it... but they should definitely send you a free can!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sara,

    I had this strange dream about how I found a secret stash of BIN primer and I was all excited. Kinda weird....

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ethan, you made me laugh out loud at work! I have probably had the same dream. Mostly because it's over $20 a can, so a 'stash' would save me tons! ha

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am in love with you---you may have just saved my bathroom mouldings!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Also---we have latex over oil based paint on every freaking surface throughout. Neil, my fiance', is in love with you now too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Great post! Ok, I have a few interior doors that have some of the paint peeling too. The previous owners did a quick paint job to freshen everything up and it didn't mix. These have been on my list FOREVER! Can I just lightly sand them and use this primer and it will come out ok? I thought I was going to have to get most of the paint off and make them smooth before painting.
    Thanks!

    Londen

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara