Primer Worth the Price? Valspar, Behr, and Kilz Review
You may be thinking, “Wait, did I already read this post?” Congrats, you are not crazy, this is a sequel to Paint Worth the Price? Valspar, Duron, Behr, and Ralph Lauren Review AND Valspar One Coat Primer.
After my previous posts, I received a lot of good input from fabulous readers like yourself, who recommended Kilz Primer, since my experience with Valspar left me wanting more. So, I took your advice. But, just to make the research project a little more valid, I compared Kilz to both Behr and Valspar.
The project was to prime over my very red walls. On the top of the chair rail will be the color “Sea Star by Benjamin More” (review coming soon). Below, the chair rail will be painted white and will eventually be
wainscoting. Particularly for the bottom half, it was important to fully cover the red.
Valspar Primer
$17.98/gallon
Pros: Even coverage.
Cons: Higher cost comparatively, requires multiple coats of paint to provide full coverage and therefore is more work.
Conclusions: For a small job, you will need only one can of paint and therefore it may be the most cost
efficient. But it’s not worth the time and effort, in my opinion.
Behr Primer
$10.98/gallon
Pros: Even and full coverage, low cost, required one coat
Cons: None!
Conclusions: Behr is well worth the money! Buy Behr!
Kilz Primer
$13.78/gallon
Pros: Even coverage, lower coat than Valspar.
Cons: Required two coats, and on the bottom, still needed two coats of paint over that to cover the color.
Conclusions: For a small job, you will need only one can of paint and therefore it may be the most cost efficient
So was the cost worth it? Valspar and Kilz are not worth the cost, even though Kilz is comparatively inexpensive. Kilz was a little lumpy out of the can and for those of us with texture/sensory issues, this was a little gross, but it went on fine. Behr was worth the cost - it was by far superior, and in the end will save you money because you use less paint, and save time and effort.
What do you think? Do you agree with the pros and cons? What brand would you recommend?
June 19th, 2008 at 7:39 am
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…..
June 19th, 2008 at 8:54 am
While I haven’t used Behr primer, I love Behr paint and believe it is far superior to the higher priced brands.
In regards to KILZ, I’ve seen the magic it has worked on one of my own catastrophic rooms. I had to cover up neon blue and sponge-painted green walls. After 2 coats of Kilz, it was amazing the difference.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:55 am
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.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:00 am
We build six to ten houses a year plus at least one big commercial project and each time we’ve used Behr it’s been problematic. When we use Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore…..everyone compliments the paint instead of complaining. I guess I just see it from picky customers every day and complaints stick in my mind forever.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:47 am
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.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Thanks for posting this we need to do some painting this summer. I’ve always heard Kilz was the best so I was also surprised by the results.
Also, I had a quick question. We’re trying to cover up some small stains on white walls. Do we need to use primer on the entire room so it looks even or just the walls with stains? I’m guessing we have to do the entire room but I’d love to only have to do a wall or two.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
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.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:36 am
For new work Behr is the stuff, especially if you are using Behr finish paints. In terms of coverage, behr is a heavier bodied paint and does lay down a thicker coat.
Kilz is the product if you are painting over marker,especially ‘magic marker’ or ’sharpie’ ink, or smoke damage, either fire or bad habit.
The distinction between the two is that Kilz is a sealer primer, and behr is a primer.
I would not recommend valspar for any reason. As you mentioned it requires multiple coats, by virtue of being a much thinner bodied paint, both in primer and cover styles.
P.S. I hope your samples used dry erase marker or you will need Kilz to cover:)
June 20th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
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…
June 21st, 2008 at 9:35 am
Kilz works great. But I usually use Kilz 2 (latex). It covers stains and unwanted colors very well. With the additional benefit of cleaning up with water. And has almost no smell.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
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
June 28th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Using Valspar to cover a neon blue wall right now. Third coat - still can see through somewhat. It is very nice and smooth, even coverage, but you are right - several coats is not worth the time
June 29th, 2008 at 8:48 am
@Dmitriy, Thanks for the info. It’s always great when other people can share their own paint experiences. Good luck with the neon blue!