Primer for new Poplar Interior Trim

[Bob Deroeck]

Hi,

I'm about to start painting the newly installed interior trim in a bedroom. I'll be using a water-based enamel paint on top of new poplar. The poplar has some knots and a moderate amount of dark wood. I'm trying to figure out which primer to use.

I intend to apply 2 coats of primer, sanding with 220 grit paper between coats, then 2 coats of water-based enamel finish. I don't want to take any short cuts or use products that have easy cleanup or low VOC for environmental reasons. I want the best quality job.

The recommendations I've read on the web are all over the map, from shellac-based Zinsser BIN, to water-based primers (Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3), to oil-based primers (Zinsser CoverStain or Bellseye Oil Base).

I'd appreciate if you guys could point me in the right direction.

Thanks.


Bob DeRoeck
Thank you.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Bob, I always prime knots with shellac, then a latex primer and two coats of paint..........And I always consider the VOC content when making a product decision.........Regards, Rod.

[Brian Ross]

I have always used Benjamin More Fresh Start as a primer on raw wood and drywall and have had great success. The bleeding through of knots is a problem in pine due to the sap content and I too have used shellac. I do not believe it is a problem with knots in poplar. I have a friend that milled beveled siding and switched from pine to spruce for that very reason as spruce does not bleed through on the knots. I am definitely not a professional painter and am quoting what I have experienced and the advice of others who are in the paint business.

Brian

[Peter Quinn]

The choices are quite simple regardless of brands involved. If you choose a water based primer, you will have raised grain to sand out which may require as many as 3-4 coats to seal and stop raising, and IME you will have to retard/thin most water based latex primers to the limits of their working range to eliminate ropy brush marks and get a surface quality like a good old oil or shellac based primer. But you will have less to no stink and easier clean up. Breathing fumes is not a great long term plan for you central nervous system, so latex has its befits. You could pre raise all the grain with distilled water and do a light sanding to minimize grain raise issues.

If you use oil base, you ma still have to thin a hight hiding primer like cover stain from zinzer, I prefer the old benjamin moore oil based primer which dries more slowly but levels very well and leaves a great smooth surface mostly free of brush marks if your technique is decent. But it stinks, it can tend to drip on vertical surface and pool in corners, so you really have to have good brush technique and control over how you let the paint flow out. It wont make rough amateur work look great. In that regard latex may be easier to use.

As to shellac, you could but its not usually necessary for poplar trim even at nots. Wood with lots of natural resin like pine, fir, cedar etc. typically need at least a spot prime to keep nots from bleeding through painted surfaces, but poplar has little natural pitch and IME requires no such treatment. But if you would like to use shellac based sealer it wont hurt as its generally a universal undercoat meaning everything sticks to it. But shellac is typically very thin and can be challenging to apply over broad surface areas like paint with a brush in any clean fashion, so get a small can and practice before committing to that.

Still confused? Don't feel bad, any one of the choices can make a fine under coat if the proper schedule is followed and good technique is used. If you go water based, and even if you just use a latex top coat, get some XIM latex extender/retarder/thinner to condition your paint for proper applications. Out of the can most latex goes on like mud, dries very quickly, and has minimal dripping but levels very poorly. If the temperature is too low, the paint is thick like mud and dries with rope like striations in the surface, If the paint is too warm, it dries too quickly and leaves rope like striations in the surface. If the humidity is too low the paint dries too quickly and.....well, you get the idea. Try some latex conditioner, experiment with a small amount first, don't blow a full gallon by over thinning, DAMHIK.

[Paul Symchych]

The key for sealing things like knots or a color that is apt to bleed through is shellac. You can put whatever finish you want over shellac. Shellac alone is great for sealing clear finished wood. My favorite for paint is BIN shellac based primer which has white pigment added to not only prevent bleed through but to cover a dark surface prior to painting. This single product does the work of a sealer and a pigmented primer. I don't think the latex [water] based primers do all that well on bleed through.
Then don't economize on paint quality if you want to cover in one coat.

[scott vroom]

I've done a fair amount of poplar trim...primarily built out jambs. I've always used a waterborne primer & finish and have never had a problem with bleed out. You can't go wrong with shellac, I just don't think it's necessary with poplar.

[Bob Deroeck]

Thanks for the useful replies, guys.

Bob