A Primer on Paint Primers
Primers are not designed to cover dark or intense colors. I have seen this advice given so often on Internet bulletin boards and even in magazine articles. I imagine the primer industry loves it, but if you read the labels on just about any can of primer, nowhere will it suggest this as a purpose.
If you have a dark-red room you want to paint light taupe, don't bother with painting an entire coat of primer first just to cover. It will be a waste of time and money. Just do two coats of your taupe. Even if you prime the walls, you will still have to do two coats of taupe over the primer.
The term "cover" refers to how large an area your paint will cover. The correct term for how well paint hides the underlying color is "hide," As in "high-hiding" paint or primer. Most primers are low-hiding because they are not designed to hide.
Two exceptions
PVA or drywall primers serve several purposes. One is to provide high hide over new drywall.
Some intense colors, like blue-based reds, will take up to six coats to hide a previously white wall. There are tintable, high-hide primers that can be tinted to a shade close to your finish paint, allowing you to get away with painting two or maybe three coats, instead of a total of six.
Any primer can be tinted to a shade similar to your finish coats. Have the paint store do this for you. Primer comes in white, but it doesn't have to stay that way.
Interior Paint Articles, Videos & HowTos
Your paint project will only be as successful as the paint you choose to do the job. You need to consider more than the color.
Primers are not designed to cover dark or intense colors. I have seen this advice given so often on Internet bulletin boards and even in magazine articles. I imagine the primer industry loves it, but if you read the labels on just about any can of primer, nowhere will it suggest this as a purpose.
For both practical and aesthetic reasons, the finish of a paint makes a difference in durability and looks. Most paint companies carry paints in five basic sheens, from flat to high gloss.
Interior paint colors come in many, many forms and techniques. When it comes to paint these days, people are not just staying with the "safe" white eggshell anymore. They are going bold, loud, subtle soft colors, and the newest decor item these days for designers and homeowners alike is faux techniques.
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