Types of Primers for a Ceiling

Reasons to Use a Primer

• Primer is a paint product that is rolled or brushed onto your ceiling and acts as a basecoat. Some primers prevent stains and dark colors from showing through the surface paint. Primers also help new paint adhere to old surfaces. Latex paints do not stick to oil paints and will peel over time. The primer covers the old oil paint and creates a firm bond with the finish coat.

Stain-Blocking Primers

• Stain-blocking primers or sealers prevent shadows of water damage or old paint from discoloring your finish coat. A single coat of stain-blocking primer is sufficient to block most stains. However, for very dark stains or when covering dark paint, use two coats of primer. Stain-blocking primers block stains from the surface, but they do not hide them. A finish coat of regular ceiling paint will still be necessary to completely hide discolorations.

Tinted Primer

• A tinted primer has all of the stain-blocking properties of a sealer but is tinted to match the final color. Using a tinted primer enhances the color of your finish coat and may reduce the number of coats needed of your finish coat paint. However, if you are painting the ceiling white, a tinted primer is unnecessary.

Paint as Primer

• If you are not changing the color of the ceiling and there are no stains or other discolorations to hide, you can use your ceiling paint as your primer as well. However, the paint you are covering must be the same type of paint as you are using. Latex paint covers latex, and oil paint covers oil paint. Do not mix the two without first using a stain-blocking or tinted primer.