Covering between 200 and 400 square feet per gallon, this primer is exceedingly thick, making it difficult to handle, so use sparingly. But the product’s thickness is inescapable since most bonding primers rely on thick viscosity to help paint adhere not just to ordinary surfaces like drywall but to problem surfaces like metal and plastic. Bonding primers are also the way to begin if you intend to paint melamine, tile, or laminate. In most cases with bonding primers, the per-gallon cost is more than the cost of comparably sized interior or exterior acrylic-latex paint. However, this cost usually evens out in the end since fewer coats of bonding primers are required. In many cases, only one coat is needed in order to help subsequent layers of paint adhere.
How to Use Bonding-Primer Sealers
If you are accustomed only to working with acrylic-latex paint, Valspar Bonding Primer-Sealer and other brands of primer-sealers operate generally the same way. There are a few exceptions, though. Bonding primer-sealers are very thick, which makes them difficult to pour, roll, and brush. Valspar Stainblocking Bonding Primer can be used with an airless sprayer at 2,000 PSI with a standard 0.015–inch to 0.021-inch size tip. Use only a high-quality, sturdy roller and a medium-nap (3/8-inch to 1/2-inch) roller cover. When using a brush, opt for a polyester brush, rather than horse hair.
Review of Valspar Stainblocking Bonding Primer-Sealer
If you are tired of priming and re-priming, then a bonding primer may be what you need. When you have a difficult surface such as knotty or tannin-releasing wood, slick glass or metal, or even weathered paint on wood, you need a bonding primer. This primer bonds especially well to highly porous and otherwise poor surfaces because, physically, it lays on and stays on like a thick plastic blanket. This is a one-coat primer you can apply to almost anything prior to painting. After the product has completely dried, it is sandable down to a smooth surface suitable for painting. This primer can be used on brick, natural stone, veneer stone, new and old drywall, plaster, bare wood, painted wood, wood paneling, PVC, all types of metal including aluminum, ceramic tile, porcelain tile, glass, and some weathered paint. Though this product can cover up many issues on a surface, all mildew must first be completely removed. Keep in mind that you pay the price for this by having to deal with its very thick consistency. But this is typical for any of these one-step, thick primers, Masterchem’s KILZ being Valspar’s most prominent competitor. Bonding primer is often touted as the miracle subsurface for porous surfaces like weathered wood or masonry because its thickness bridges cellular spaces. But for those who need to paint slick items like laminate, melamine cabinets, glass tile, ceramic or porcelain tile, a bonding primer is the only way to begin.
