Primer Worth the Price? Valspar, Behr, and Kilz Review

I’m really surprised that Behr covered the best. My past experiences wit Behr have been bad to say the least. I think one thing that may be an issue is which primer seals the best and creates the best base for accepting the top finish coat. Unfortunately you can’t really compare that visually.

Nice post…..I’m still shocked at the results…..

Surprised to hear that, Todd. Have had good experiences with Behr stain over the past decade and with their paint over the last 5-6 years. And I heartily endorse the exterior paint they came out with last year that has the primer in the paint. Used it to paint my whole house. While I did have to do two coats (dark colors are SO unforgiving) we had a harsh winter, a supersoaking spring, and the color looks like I just painted it. So, I have high hopes.

While I have not used the Behr primer, I am a big fan of Kilz. Most of my use of pimer is to prime (bare wood, plaster, drywall) or to seal stains (moisture, wood sap, etc.) This is very different than covering up paint. Of course it is much harder to prove in a quick side-by-side demo. The Kilz oil based is pretty smelly (though not so much as it was years ago) but the results are amazing.

BTW - when I have used primer to cover paint, I get it tinted to move towards the final wall color. Also, you can ask the paint store to shake up any can of paint, even if you don’t get it tinted. This is good for primer that may have sat on the shelf for a while.

Robin - Our experience here is that you can just do the wall. If there is a difference over the primer it will likely be minimal as long as you are painting similar colors. You wouldn’t want to do just a small part of the wall, though, as it is possible that you would be able to see the difference in that area.

I’m currently using a can of Valspar primer… it is VERY nice. OF course, my can cost me $4 at Habitat, so it’s worth the money for ME…

Hi all! Thanks so much for your thoughts and experiences. Sorry for not responding, I was lost in a cyber black whole while on vacation.

Tish - Great idea with tinting the primer. I have heard others with good experiences with this. I with I had known this when I originally painted the walls red! In this case, I chose not to tint the primer since the bottom was going to be white.

Alan - I used Sharpies to write on the primer and used KILZ over top. Interesting though, I wish I had thought to compare KILZ, Behr, abnd Valspar in covering the marker as well. Maybe next time…

-Jocie

@Dmitriy, Thanks for the info. It’s always great when other people can share their own paint experiences. Good luck with the neon blue!

Would anyone recommend any of these products for painting over a cheap wood-like desk (think IKEA or office store)? I’d like to get away from the blond wood color, but think that just painting it won’t work. Need to prime first. Thoughts?

I want to paint over cheap laminate paneling by doing some faux painting with Valspar interior acrylic granite paint. This product has texture in it. I had purchased Kilz primer but am not sure whether that will actually work adequately. Can anybody give me some guidance as to how to get this project accomplished? Is painting over this stuff even an option?

[...] 2. Prime each letter using your favorite primer. See my previous post on which primers work best. [...]

I’m in the process of priming my entire new addition. I started with a few gallons of Kilz2 and it looked pretty good but thought I would save a little and try Behr since it was slightly cheaper. It wasn’t worth it. With the Kilz2, I could stop with one coat and put my top coat on and be finished, but with Behr, I need to put another coat on just to try get it covered. There is more to paint than if it can just cover a darker color the way Jocie did her comparison. One thing I struggled with in Behr was trying to cut in the corners. I can really see a difference between the edges and the wall and if I didn’t go back right away to fix it, I have to now sand it. Kilz2 blended much nicer. Lastly, I’m not a big fan of paint odor, not sure anyone is, but be prepared to open all the windows with Behr. I didn’t have that problem with Kilz2. I’m going back to Kilz2.

I am a GC and I used Behr for many years. I used to stand by it but it has become nothing but a line of problems. I have had more complaints using Behr paints, primers and stains than I have with any other issues combined in the last 3 years and it has only gotten worse. And to make matters worse, whenever there has been a failure with any of their products, they have never once made good on a warranty. There is the usually response, “we feel the directions were not followed”, funny how that has never happened with any other brands or any other products for that matter. I would avoid Behr, unless you are forced to use it, and then you had better get a waiver to make sure it doesn’t come back on you!

I’m buying what I call a “Crayola-Condo” and want to make sure that Kilz 2 Latex Primer is what I need to use. I call it that because whoever lived there must have lost their mind when chosing colors…Orange-Yellow-Green-Dark Brown! Thank god they left the ceiling’s white. I’m going with either an off white or a very light tan throughout the entire unit. Should I expect to apply 2 coats of primer? Can the Kilz 2 be tinted towards the finish top coat? I’d hate to have to paint the entire place 3 times to achieve the final color…unless I have to.

I HEARD THAT IF YOU USE KILZ PRIMER YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WASH YOUR WALL iS THAT TRUE?????

Is there any certain primer that is good over wallpaper? We purchased a used mobile home in Florida. The walls are individual panels that are covered in what seems to be wallpaper that cannot be removed. The panels are put up and then a matching wallpapered strip runs from ceiling to floor to cover the seams. The patterns of the mobile home were picked out by an elderly lady. We want to prime the walls and paint a seashore light blue. Looking for the best primer and paint. Any suggestions?

I live in Florida and have home with a garage. When the car is parked and the garage door is closed after a rainstorm, the humidity and dampness has caused the ceiling popcorn and drywall tapes to loosen and fall off. I am having the popcorn removed and the ceiling repaired and coated with ‘orange peel’. I want a good water resistant finish using latex paint, if possible. If I prime with Kilz2 or with Behr Primer and then put a finish coat of Behr Premium Satin white, will that combination provide effective dampness resistance? Do I need to use Kilz oil based primer and then the Behr Prmium Satin? All coats will be white.

I have never seen such lousy paint primer as the Valspar that I am packing up the take back to Lowes. I should have listened to my head and past experiences than listen to that loser who was pushing the Valspar Primer. I doesn’t even stick to the paper around the can. If your taking the time to prime before you paint, I would you a good sealer/primer like Kilz…you won’t go wrong.