Wood Primer

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What is wood primer for?

Wood primer seals bare timber so your topcoat sticks and lasts. Bare wood soaks up paint unevenly. Without primer, the topcoat dries patchy and starts to flake once moisture gets underneath. Primer also blocks resin and tannin stains from bleeding through light colours.

How do I prepare wood for primer?

Most paint failures we hear about are prep failures, so do this first:

1. Check it's dry and sound. Primer won't save wet or rotten timber. Cut out soft wood and fill it before you start.
2. Sand with 120–180 grit, along the grain. Sand back any loose or flaking old paint to a firm edge.
3. Remove dust and grease. Vacuum, then wipe with a damp lint-free cloth and let it dry.
4. Seal knots with knotting solution, or use a self-knotting primer like our Aluminium Wood Primer.
5. Prime the end grain twice. It soaks up the most and is where exterior wood fails first.

What's the best primer for interior wood?

For skirting, doors and frames, use a primer undercoat. It primes and builds a base in one product, so you can go straight on with your topcoat. Our Acrylic Primer and Undercoat dries fast with little smell, which helps in rooms you're living in. For knotty pine, use the Aluminium Wood Primer instead, or the knots will show through as yellow-brown patches.

What's the best primer for exterior wood?

Outdoors, the primer has to cope with rain and movement. Use Aluminium Wood Primer on softwood windows, doors and fascias, especially if they're knotty. Use Coo-Var Penetrating Wood Primer on hardwoods like oak and iroko. Prime on a dry day above the minimum application temperature 10°C, and don't leave primed wood outside unpainted for longer than 14-30 days time before a topcoat is applied.

Do I need primer and undercoat?

On bare wood, you need both a primer and an undercoat, or one primer undercoat that does both jobs. Primer makes the paint stick. Undercoat builds an even, opaque base so your topcoat colour comes out right. On wood that's already painted and in good condition, you don't need primer. Wash it, sand it lightly to give it a key, and go straight to undercoat.

How long does wood primer take to dry?

It depends on the primer and the weather. As a guide, our acrylic primer undercoat is touch dry in 30 minutes and ready to recoat in 6 hours or overnight. Our solvent-based primers take longer, typically 16 hours. Cold or damp weather slows all of them down. Check each product's data sheet before you plan the job.

Can I use emulsion as a wood primer?

No. Emulsion is made for walls. It won't seal bare wood or stop knots bleeding, and it will flake on doors and skirting that get knocked. Use a proper wood primer and keep emulsion for plaster.

Not sure which wood primer you need?

Call our technical team on 01942 884122 or email sales@palatinepaints.co.uk. Tell us the wood and where it is, and we'll tell you straight, even if the answer isn't one of ours.

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