My neighbor in Phoenix said I should always prime drywall, but my buddy says skip it

So I was redoing a bedroom last fall, first time tackling a full drywall job. I ran into my neighbor, Mike, at the hardware store getting supplies. He's been a contractor for like 20 years. He saw my cart and said, 'You got the mud, but where's your primer? You gotta seal that fresh drywall or your paint will look blotchy and suck up a ton of coats.' I listened, primed everything, and it turned out great. But then my friend Jake, who flips houses, came over and said I wasted a whole day and a gallon of primer. He claims with today's paint-and-primer-in-one stuff, you can just do two coats directly on the drywall and save the cash and time. Now I'm stuck between two opinions from people who both know their stuff. For a basic bedroom, is the separate primer step still a must-do, or is it an old-school rule that doesn't apply anymore?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam_baker5d ago

Ever see a buddy cut a corner and it totally backfires? My friend tried skipping primer on a basement drywall patch, used that fancy two-in-one paint. Looked fine at first, but a year later you could see every single seam and patch glowing through like a weird map. Had to strip it all and start over. That primer seals the paper and mud so the color goes on even, no way around it. Your neighbor's old school advice is still gold, the all-in-one stuff is for already painted walls.

aaron8805d ago

That's the DIY version of a magic trick, where the hidden seams slowly appear over time. Those all-in-one paints promise a shortcut, but they always seem to forget to mention the long road back. Some lessons just have to be learned the hard, splotchy way.

emma_garcia4d ago

Read a pro painter call those paints a band-aid, not a cure.