The debate on priming bare wood before painting - do you still bother?

I used to always prime bare wood with a high-build primer, let it dry 24 hours, then sand and paint. Now I just use paint with primer built in on pine trim and call it a day, saved me about 2 hours on my last baseboard job in a 3 bedroom house. Old school guys swear you're asking for tannin bleed and poor adhesion, but the paint store guy told me modern formulas are good enough. Has anyone actually had a paint failure from skipping the primer step on interior trim?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_kelly774d agoTop Commenter

Right there with you. Switched to paint and primer in one for interior trim a few years back and haven't had a single issue. The old school guys act like the world's gonna end but the new stuff holds up fine, saves a ton of time.

kimw574d ago

Oh man, this is my exact experience too lol. I switched to the paint and primer combo about 4 years ago on a whole house full of pine trim and never looked back. The only time I still use separate primer is if the wood is super knotty or has any kind of stain on it from old water damage or something. For clean new pine, the combo stuff sticks fine and I haven't seen any bleed through at all. Just make sure you give it a good stir and don't cheap out on the brand, I use the mid tier stuff from the big box store and it's been solid.

sammartinez4d ago

Can't agree with @wade_kelly77, I've seen tannins bleed through two coats of that combo stuff before.