Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum banner

Kilz or Zinsser?

  • Kilz

    Votes: 22 22%
  • Zinsser

    Votes: 80 78%
21 - 40 of 51 Posts
Argh! One of my customers bought the "Gold" version of that crap to use as a primer for an extreme yellow made by Behr. The primer was tinted but still didn't cover the old blue paint. We used two coats of it but the effect was negligible.

Topcoated three times with Behr and the room was still below standard. I initially told the customers to get SW or BM primer and paint for the room but they didn't listen. As much as I hated doing it, I told them I was done with the room unless they wanted to pay. They were previous customers that always haggled me when I cited extra work, but this time I stuck to my guns and told them they had to start respecting my advice, and time or find someone else. I actually lost money on that job (pre-school) because of bad information from them (ie. I had to sample old paint cans to find the right orange, or green) and they made me do the runs to the store- something that we agreed that they would do.

Oh, the point is Kilz Latex stinks. I don't understand why Behr doesn't have a deep-tint, ultra base, primer to go with their product. If you get stuck with a Home Depot paint guy having to make you the right tinted primer for an insane Red or Yellow, your up the creek.
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
Lobster

If you get stuck with a Home Depot paint guy having to make you the right tinted primer for an insane Red or Yellow, your up the creek.
I feel privileged to know more than a HD paint guy--but then again, they work like robots, doing the same humdrum every second and have no clue about actually painting and what is best...I haven't had 1 customer all year who made? me use Behr paint, mainly because I pick the paint and they fill out the checks. Period.

Being a professional painter and using Behr paint is like going to Mcdonalds to eat lobster-- a desirable product at a convenient place, but it would taste like complete crap I'm sure

Get that same lobster at a seafood restaurant and bingo...it's good, a bit more pricey, but the quality is top notch
 
I want to say zinser because eveyrone else is. But the truth is, I would "grab" original kilz off the shelf. I'm used to the smell and the buzz. I think zinser is "stronger" and I try to keep in mind the fumes in a residential situation, how it effects the animals, furnace etc.

I'm sure there is a difference, but in my mind, not enough to argue about.

I think zinser is a product that leaves a nice "finish" to sand or paint, but I don't care. I like a thin coat. I think it costs more, doesn't make much difference in the top coat, and I can do the work. Don't need the primer to do any more than cover up what I'm priming. I'll do the rest, thank you.

It's like a drywall patch. One where you can still see the hole. You touch it but don't believe your own hands, it can't be filled. But if you just paint it, it comes out smooth. you can't believe your own eyes sometimes if you're a painter.
 
Being a professional painter and using Behr paint is like going to Mcdonalds to eat lobster-- a desirable product at a convenient place, but it would taste like complete crap I'm sure
You got McLobster down there?
Man, that is some freaky, freaky, :censored: huh?
 
Image

Behr Paint
"When your painting project absolutely, positively, must have 5 top coats and still look like crap"
Shoulda done it...

200 dollar paint job -
500 man hours -
Being able to get yet another gallon from the corner store... priceless. :w00t:
 
Funny, I normally use BIN in the spray can, but today ran out. I went to the shop for the apartment complex where I was working, thinking to save a trip to the paint store, and searched for some BIN. Well, they had a can of Kilz spray so I grabbed it and used it on some black marker graffiti that some youhoo put on his bedroom wall. I think that it covered better than the BIN that I had previously been using. Seemed to me that there was more pigment in the can. I voted KILZ.
 
Zinsser - how To get smooth finish

Well I vote Zinsser.

Its stuck to everything I needed so far.


However, while I have all you Zinsser nuts to-gether what methods do you use to get a nice smooth flow and reduce brush strokes, when using Zinsser Cover stain.

If Penetrol what mix?

I'm Painting new Western Red Cedar (Trend - doors and windows)
1st Zinsser Cover stain
may second Zinsser if required
2nd Dulux Aquaenamel (Whisper White)
3rd Dulux Aquaenamel

Owner wants a very smooth result

Thanks for any help in advance,

Phantom
 
Right now the poll is at 52 for zinfer and 13 for kills....But all that means to me is that 52 of you are losing potential work to the 13 of you who are willing to give the HO what they want.....A great poll to survey would be to ask HO's if they prefer the Walmart brand paint at $12.00 per gallon and covers well, or the BM paint that costs $55.00 per gallon, emits zero odor, and adheres well....The thing that I always try to keep in mind is that I am not selling a product, I am selling a service....The product is ultimately up to the HO, and forcing one product on them is like a used car dealer only selling Ford F150's...What if the buyer is looking for a Toyota Camry?
 
I couldn't vote:

apples vs oranges

By Kilz I asume the original oil

by Zinsser I assume shellac based B.I.N.

Different products for different situations

now if it were 1-2-3 vs Kilz II for wood trim, I'd go Fresh Start :party:
 
21 - 40 of 51 Posts