Comparing 5 Different Primers for Furniture Painting.

Don’t grab just any can on the shelf. The good news is, I’ve narrowed it down for you to 2 hard working inexpensive primers to keep on-hand. Sorry, there’s not a one kind fits all.

UPDATE 2024

See my latest post on getting a better tannin fighting prime job that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

1. All-Purpose Latex Primer

Nope. I don’t keep this on-hand. Any brand all-purpose water-based primer helps paint adhere to your project. This is one of two reasons to use primer. The second reason is to block stains.

They all claim to block stain, but I learned the hard way, they don’t. It is soooo disappointing when, after two coats of paint, at the first top coat the nasty wood stain appears. That’s when it shows up, at top coat. Funny, not funny.

The stain that water-based primer does not block comes directly from the wood called tannin. I’ll never forget the first time it happened to me. I kept painting over the stain thinking it will disappear. Never did until I re-applied a different kind of primer.

Almost all furniture has mild to severe tannin staining depending on the age of the piece and wood type. Figure the older the wood, the more tannin. Cherry, mahogany and old oak seem to be the worse but I take no chances. Maple and pine have tannin too. The picture below is a water-based primer over mahogany.

2. Did You Know Shellac Blocks Tannin?

I switched to using shellac as primer. It requires ammonia for brush clean up. That doesn’t bother me plus it has a few other things going for it. It comes in clear and white pigmented, it’s not expensive, it dries really fast and it blocks tannin but, for paint adhesion it’s not so good.

I noticed paint crackle effect after using shellac as a primer. Why? Shellac produces a very smooth slick finish as it dries, perfect for paint crackle. It’s not horrible but it shows up here and there, just enough to be annoying. Plus, it goes on with drag and non-uniformly because it dries so quickly. So, nope. I keep this on-hand for to spot blocking only.

3. What About Boutique Primers like Dixie Belle and General Finishes?

I love them! Dixie Belle brand primer is “BOSS”. General Finishes makes “Stain Blocker”.

I love they are water based AND block tannin. Pigment and coverage is awesome with both. They go on so smooth, no tugging or dragging. Dry time is only a couple hours! Brush cleaning is super easy with soap and water. Only two bummers.

First, they require 2 coats. I can deal with that – just barely. Here’s why I don’t keep them in my studio, they very expensive, around $45 per quart. Holy smokes. Flipping furniture has barely any profit margin for a cup of coffee.

4. Kilz Oil-Based Quick Dry – My Winner.

2020 brought many things. One of them is Kilz quick dry oil-based primer. It performs in one coat, blocks tannin, inexpensive at all hardware stores, and goes on easy, (maybe a bit gooey). It IS very stinky and requires mineral spirit clean up. Ventilation is highly recommended. I guess no primer is bummer free. Since it covers in one coat and is affordable I keep this primer on hand.

6. Super Adhesion STIX

Stix is a water-based super bonding primer. I also keep this one on hand despite it’s inability to block tannin. Here’s why . . . on occasion I’m painting a piece with a laminate or near laminate veneer. Stix’s super boding quality is necessary for a good paint job. Since laminates don’t contain tannin, there is no need to block them.

I hope this helps beginner painters and anyone else struggling with primer. This post has been on my mind to write for a few months and today’s winter weather is perfect for a good write. Enjoy!