# Cockroach waste?



## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

I just went through a condo today to get ready to do an estimate. I will go over the whole place in person with the owner later, but I took photos and made notes today. In the kitchen I came across some spots on the soffit above the upper cabinets. The photos below show the highest concentrations of spots, but there are spots over most of the kitchen and living room ceilings. I am trying to tell myself that this is some sort of faux type stuff, but I think it actually is cockroach doo-doo. This unit is in some condo towers I do work in and I have never come across any cockroach infestations in any of the units I have worked in over the last 5 years. Any thoughts?

























If in fact these spots are cockroach poo, can I just paint over it or should it all be cleaned thoroughly first? I would probably clean the worst areas anyway before painting, but there are spots here and there all over the place.

futtyos


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

Just slap a couple of coats of Gardz on those areas, all will be good!:surprise:


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Paint Talk*



Brushman4 said:


> Just slap a couple of coats of Gardz on those areas, all will be good!:surprise:


Gosh, Brushman4! Thanks for the advice.

futtyos


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## Vylum (May 12, 2016)

id tell them to get it professionally cleaned before they saw me again. unreal the bs the average painter puts up with


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Kind of weird that there's that much poop and you haven't seen any of them. Dead or alive. If they are in there, bring as little of your gear into that place as you can and inspect it very thoroughly when you take it out. Not good to bring a problem like that home.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Wildbill7145 said:


> Kind of weird that there's that much poop and you haven't seen any of them. Dead or alive. If they are in there, bring as little of your gear into that place as you can and inspect it very thoroughly when you take it out. Not good to bring a problem like that home.


I always found a good way to check on roaches is to have all the lights turned off and then, as it's getting dark, turn on the lights. If there are many roaches, you will see movement on counter tops and ceilings as the little suckers run to hide. With that much Doo Doo I am surprised you have not seen any of the beasts! Possibly, the unit had an exterminator in and the dirt is all that remains. BUT, STILL BE CAREFUL NOT TO TRANSPORT ANY IN YOUR STUFF!!! They are exceptionally able hitch hikers!


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Personally, I would never agree to work in a place that had roaches. One good reason I would never live in Florida areas, roaches are a constant battle in that Southern state. It's also the reason I visit my in-laws a little as possible and when I do, I fumigate the car and luggage just before heading north to home. (Yup, I prefer to shovel snow to battling roaches!)


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Roaches aren’t typically a problem up where we are. In fact I had never seen one inside a home or building until we were in Rome this past fall. Saw one in a hotel elevator while there. But I have thought about the chances of transporting bedbugs home in drops or what have you. Not a pleasant thought.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

It looks like it's above where the stove used to be. It's probably, grease that was aspirated in steam and settled on the soffit. 

Just get some neoprene gloves, P95 dust mask, and some cleanser. It'll wipe right up. don't forget the safety glasses.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Grease spots?*



CApainter said:


> It looks like it's above where the stove used to be. It's probably, grease that was aspirated in steam and settled on the soffit.
> 
> Just get some neoprene gloves, P95 dust mask, and some cleanser. It'll wipe right up. don't forget the safety glasses.


CApainter, thanks for this alternate explanation. These little specks are most numerous in the kitchen and specifically in the photos I posted, but they can be found all the way on the living room ceiling next to the windows, at least 20 or mor feet away from the kitchen stove area. I would like to think that these are little grease spots rather than cockroach poo, but if you are correct, I wonder if these grease spots will come through the paint where I haven't washed them away.

futtyos


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## Fman (Aug 20, 2011)

Probably is roach poop.

https://thecockroachguide.com/cockroach-poop/


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Pretty sure I told ya all about this one but what the hell...

Doing a house for this couple and the wife was this older and super fastidious lady. I have to move stuff off the kitchen counter and back in a corner behind some counter top appliances (including her coffee maker) I see mouse droppings. I have her come into the kitchen so I can show her and give them a heads up and she just comes unglued. Not because of the evidence of the mice, but because she thought that - instead of mouse poop - they were bits of coffee beans and she'd been sweeping them into her grinder for the past few months or so.

You can't make some of this stuff up.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

RH said:


> Roaches aren’t typically a problem up where we are. In fact I had never seen one inside a home or building until we were in Rome this past fall. Saw one in a hotel elevator while there. But I have thought about the chances of transporting bedbugs home in drops or what have you. Not a pleasant thought.


Oregon is not their native soil. The problem in Florida is they live all over the place outside, keeping them out is a challenge. Worse, some people there have given up as though they were nothing worse than house flies.


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## Fman (Aug 20, 2011)

RH said:


> Pretty sure I told ya all about this one but what the hell...
> 
> Doing a house for this couple and the wife was this older and super fastidious lady. I have to move stuff off the kitchen counter and back in a corner behind some counter top appliances (including her coffee maker) I see mouse droppings. I have her come into the kitchen so I can show her and give them a heads up and she just comes unglued. Not because of the evidence of the mice, but because she thought that - instead of mouse poop - they were bits of coffee beans and she'd been sweeping them into her grinder for the past few months or so.
> 
> You can't make some of this stuff up.


Maxwell Mouse coffee...


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

CApainter said:


> It looks like it's above where the stove used to be. It's probably, grease that was aspirated in steam and settled on the soffit.
> 
> Just get some neoprene gloves, P95 dust mask, and some cleanser. It'll wipe right up. don't forget the safety glasses.


And headphones...or AirPods:walkman:

I've never seen a cockroach in my life.


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

RH said:


> Pretty sure I told ya all about this one but what the hell...
> 
> Doing a house for this couple and the wife was this older and super fastidious lady. I have to move stuff off the kitchen counter and back in a corner behind some counter top appliances (including her coffee maker) I see mouse droppings. I have her come into the kitchen so I can show her and give them a heads up and she just comes unglued. Not because of the evidence of the mice, but because she thought that - instead of mouse poop - they were bits of coffee beans and she'd been sweeping them into her grinder for the past few months or so.
> 
> You can't make some of this stuff up.


Who in the heck thinks wiping crumbs off the countertop should go anywhere but the trash? That’s one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard. 

One day I was waiting for my toast to pop up and I imagined that a mouse could have a field day inside a toaster. I threw the whole darned toaster away right then. 

I don’t remember who here brought about Jackson Browne, but I’m playing The Pretender right now. RIP, Gwennie. Gotta be in my top 5 albums (for me). 

People in Baltimore call roaches,’waterbugs’. That’s so you don’t think they have roaches.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

When I lived out in Vancouver, I painted for a non profit organization I was formally a social worker for. They ran a few larger low income housing projects. One of them was completely infested with fleas because they allowed people to have cats and the tenants didn't exactly take care of their animals. It was awful. You'd get eaten alive.


The other place housed people with mental health issues who frequented the scum bag hotels on the downtown East side. Canada's poorest postal code. V6A 1N6. Constantly infested with bed bugs. They'd fumigate regularly, but couldn't convince the tenants to stop visiting their 'friends' in the scum bag hotels thus bringing the bed bugs back again.



I was terrified of bringing them home (the bed bugs, not the tenants) as I was sure my landlord would kick me out. I was told by people I'd have to strip down to buck naked in the back yard, put my clothes into a garbage bag and as soon as I got in the house to put them in the laundry with hot water and bleach. Then jump in a hot shower. Over time, doing this as quickly as possible in the interests of not having people catch me disrobing in our back yard I began to pick this process apart. It seemed to me to be wrought with failure in so many regards. Thankfully, we left the province not long after that place opened.


I don't miss working in low income housing geared towards people being recently released from prison or mental health facilities. Not at all.


That being said, some of the nicest hotels out there have issues with bed bugs.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Lightningboy65 said:


> And headphones...or AirPods:walkman:
> 
> I've never seen a cockroach in my life.


LUCKY!!:vs_cool:


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

fauxlynn said:


> Who in the heck thinks wiping crumbs off the countertop should go anywhere but the trash? That’s one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard.
> 
> One day I was waiting for my toast to pop up and I imagined that a mouse could have a field day inside a toaster. I threw the whole darned toaster away right then.


Most toasters have a door on the bottom for emptying crumbs. At least they used to. I haven't had a toaster for years, using a toaster oven instead.


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## Fman (Aug 20, 2011)

Lightningboy65 said:


> Most toasters have a door on the bottom for emptying crumbs. At least they used to. I haven't had a toaster for years, using a toaster oven instead.


According to the Toastmaster General, yep, they all got that tray. The only time you should worry about mice is if you pull out that tray and there are no crumbs. That means you've got mice.


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

Lightningboy65 said:


> Most toasters have a door on the bottom for emptying crumbs. At least they used to. I haven't had a toaster for years, using a toaster oven instead.


You and I are on totally different planets I think. 

Have you ever looked inside a toaster after you’ve emptied the tray AND shook it over the sink upside for ten minutes? There’s still crumbs stuck to those sidewalls, everywhere. If I was a hangry mouse I’d climb right in there and get my dirty mouse fur all stuck in those coils, yeah buddy.


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

fauxlynn said:


> Who in the heck thinks wiping crumbs off the countertop should go anywhere but the trash? That’s one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard.
> 
> One day I was waiting for my toast to pop up and I imagined that a mouse could have a field day inside a toaster. I threw the whole darned toaster away right then.
> 
> ...


I've got most of Jackson's albums, but my fave is Running On Empty, which was recorded while on tour! 




This might be one of my all-time greatest recordings, which is on the same album.


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

jennifertemple said:


> Personally, I would never agree to work in a place that had roaches. One good reason I would never live in Florida areas, roaches are a constant battle in that Southern state. It's also the reason I visit my in-laws a little as possible and when I do, I fumigate the car and luggage just before heading north to home. (Yup, I prefer to shovel snow to battling roaches!)


Back in the '70s, we used to save our roaches and either do them in a car's repeatedly held in cigarette lighter or drop them on red hot butter knives on the stove top.

Oh, for those good old days!


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

fauxlynn said:


> You and I are on totally different planets I think.
> 
> Have you ever looked inside a toaster after you’ve emptied the tray AND shook it over the sink upside for ten minutes? There’s still crumbs stuck to those sidewalls, everywhere. If I was a hangry mouse I’d climb right in there and get my dirty mouse fur all stuck in those coils, yeah buddy.


Well, like I said...I'm a toaster oven guy. Except for a brief couple year stint in college, I've always been a toaster oven guy.....:biggrin:


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

duplicate post


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

.....


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

This thread is toast...

OK, OK. I'm working on my timing.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Wildbill7145 said:


> When I lived out in Vancouver, I painted for a non profit organization I was formally a social worker for. They ran a few larger low income housing projects. One of them was completely infested with fleas because they allowed people to have cats and the tenants didn't exactly take care of their animals. It was awful. You'd get eaten alive.
> 
> 
> The other place housed people with mental health issues who frequented the scum bag hotels on the downtown East side. Canada's poorest postal code. V6A 1N6. Constantly infested with bed bugs. They'd fumigate regularly, but couldn't convince the tenants to stop visiting their 'friends' in the scum bag hotels thus bringing the bed bugs back again.
> ...


 Interesting WildBill. My Dad use to work on all the city houses downtown Vancouver for years back in the 80's..I would help him on weekends..


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*How far to go?*



futtyos said:


> I just went through a condo today to get ready to do an estimate. I will go over the whole place in person with the owner later, but I took photos and made notes today. In the kitchen I came across some spots on the soffit above the upper cabinets. The photos below show the highest concentrations of spots, but there are spots over most of the kitchen and living room ceilings. I am trying to tell myself that this is some sort of faux type stuff, but I think it actually is cockroach doo-doo. This unit is in some condo towers I do work in and I have never come across any cockroach infestations in any of the units I have worked in over the last 5 years. Any thoughts?
> 
> View attachment 105763
> 
> ...


I am not surprised at how far afield this thread has gone (tee hee), but i am still curious how far those here would go as far as doing a proper and serviceable painting job considering the roach droppings involved.

A few years ago i did a cigarette smoking job ranch house where I sprayed chemicals through a foaming sprayer onto ceiling and walls, scrubbed said areas with a brush on a pole, then wet vac'd the solution up, then rinsed same areas with water and wet vac. With 2 people this does move along and each person does not get overly tired by having to constantly be doing both chores. I could spray some king of sanitizing/cleaning solution, vac, then rinse with water. Here is the section on doing this from my proposal:

3.	Wash and rinse all areas of 1st floor that are reachable to wash: ceilings, walls, doors, windows, trim, cabinets, etc., to try and get as much cigarette smoke and nicotine off as possible. (Note: we use a wet vac to remove both the cleaning solution as well as the rinse water on ceilings and walls so that a minimum of cigarette smoke residue remains.) 
(Note: the cleaning of light fixtures and fans should not have been included in #2. All this cleaning takes time and needs to be thorough. My notes on cleaning ceilings, walls, trim and cabinets did not include light fixtures and fans. I don’t know why I included these in #2.)

Labor: 950.00
Materials: chemicals to clean nicotine and cigarette smoke 100.00
(Note: We plan to use special cleaning chemicals that are only available at janitorial supply houses. The cost of chemicals not to exceed 100.00. Receipts will be provided and you will only pay for the chemicals used.

Labor & Materials for #3: 1050.00

While I am at it, I can wash/sanitize the floors after the ceiling and walls are done in each room that needs roach poo cleaning.

Anyone ever gone this far before with such a situation?

futtyos


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

futtyos said:


> Anyone ever gone this far before with such a situation?
> 
> futtyos


I always second guess my prep, too much, not enough, not needed, or good to go. I have yet to paint a indoors smokers room. If I did I'd wash the walls and trim but prime the ceiling. 

However I usually wash the trim and walls. 

I have never washed a ceiling. That is nuts!


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*washing ceilings*



cardgunner said:


> I always second guess my prep, too much, not enough, not needed, or good to go. I have yet to paint a indoors smokers room. If I did I'd wash the walls and trim but prime the ceiling.
> 
> However I usually wash the trim and walls.
> 
> I have never washed a ceiling. That is nuts!


Washing a ceiling is not necessarily that nuts. Years ago I was asked by a realtor to clean a cigarette smoke filled bedroom. An older gentleman was selling his house. He only smoked cigs in his bedroom. The ceiling and walls were light amber in color from the tar and nicotine, some areas darker than others.

I got a 2 part cleaner from my local janitorial shop, 1 part H2O2 and 1 part cleaning solution with enzymes. I put drops down to catch the dripping solution. I mixed the 2 1 pint containers into a gallon of hot water in a garden sprayer and sprayed away, let sit, then wiped away with a sponge. When I was done, the ceiling and walls looked as if they had just been freshly painted with a very light off-white paint! All visible traces of cigarette discolorization were gone and the smell was also almost gone as well. I ran out of product, so I finished using a solution of Soilax, which also worked, but not as well as the 2 part mix.

Sadly, I have been unable to find this 2 part cleaning mix in recent time.

As far as washing a ceiling, last time I did that I sprayed a solution using a foaming sprayer, scrubbed with a brush, wet vac'd the solution off, sprayed with hot water and wet vac'd that off and was done. It was work, but it was not that hard, especially if one has the right equipment (vac, hose wand, good scrub brush on pole, squeegee attachment for vac, foaming sprayer, etc.).

futtyos


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

futtyos said:


> Washing a ceiling is not necessarily that nuts. Years ago I was asked by a realtor to clean a cigarette smoke filled bedroom. An older gentleman was selling his house. He only smoked cigs in his bedroom. The ceiling and walls were light amber in color from the tar and nicotine, some areas darker than others.
> 
> I got a 2 part cleaner from my local janitorial shop, 1 part H2O2 and 1 part cleaning solution with enzymes. I put drops down to catch the dripping solution. I mixed the 2 1 pint containers into a gallon of hot water in a garden sprayer and sprayed away, let sit, then wiped away with a sponge. When I was done, the ceiling and walls looked as if they had just been freshly painted with a very light off-white paint! All visible traces of cigarette discolorization were gone and the smell was also almost gone as well. I ran out of product, so I finished using a solution of Soilax, which also worked, but not as well as the 2 part mix.
> 
> ...


Vs a coat of primer.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Removal vs primer*



cardgunner said:


> Vs a coat of primer.


The interesting thing about priming over something that cn leach through the primer is that it is much more difficult to remedy the problem AFTER priming than before priming. If you prime and whatever you primed over outgases through the primer, how do you go back and clean the material that is under the primer?

If the primer works, great, but if it doesn't........

If cockroach droppings/saliva can leach through primer and cause illness for tenants, wouldn't it be wiser to remove the cockroach material BEFORE priming or painting? That is my question for this august group. Any thoughts based on research and/or experience with this particular problem?

futtyos


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I thankfully have not had to deal with these types of jobs in eons. If I were to take something like this on, I certainly would not let one of my dropsheets in the house..gross.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Forewarned is forearmed!*



finishesbykevyn said:


> I thankfully have not had to deal with these types of jobs in eons. If I were to take something like this on, I certainly would not let one of my dropsheets in the house..gross.


fbk, I was thinking the same thing. I believe I will include in the proposal those sturdy paper drops that have plastic on one side so I can just throw them away.

When I was at the condo, I set my man bag on the kitchen counter and took my camera out to take photos. When I got home and looked at the photos and determined that there may have been a bad cockroach infestation (the stove and refigerator were gone) I wondered if any passengers had made their way to my man bag. :O

futtyos


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## LibertyFreedomPaint (Oct 9, 2019)

Yes definitely looks like cockroaches, seen tons of that sh*t in Norristown PA, was just telling my buddy some stories just yesterday about all the hundreds of thousands of roaches I used to deal with. SO nasty!!!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Is a cockroach the same as a palmetto bug? When we were in Florida we heard people using the term. Thought it was funny that they were trying to make em’ sound less disgusting.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I stayed in a budget hotel somewhere in Mexico. As soon as the lights went out, you could hear them. Loud and scratchy. Very uncomfortable feeling.. ick and they're big. Most about the size of your thumb.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

finishesbykevyn said:


> I stayed in a budget hotel somewhere in Mexico. As soon as the lights went out, you could hear them. Loud and scratchy. Very uncomfortable feeling.. ick and they're big. Most about the size of your thumb.


Sounds like cockroaches should have been about the least of your concern. “Budget hotel in Mexico” has an ominous sound to it.:devil3:


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

futtyos said:


> fbk, I was thinking the same thing. I believe I will include in the proposal those sturdy paper drops that have plastic on one side so I can just throw them away.
> 
> When I was at the condo, I set my man bag on the kitchen counter and took my camera out to take photos. When I got home and looked at the photos and determined that there may have been a bad cockroach infestation (the stove and refigerator were gone) I wondered if any passengers had made their way to my man bag. :O
> 
> futtyos


Man bag...LOL!

It's a Murse!:biggrin:


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Just came across this*

https://www.mrlandlord.com/landlordforum/display.php?id=13709624

futtyos


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Cockroach is now gnat waste*

So, I met with the owner of the condo/rental and was told that the management told him that the insect infestation was from gnats. The owner had already primed a lot of dark green walls with Kilz 2 All-Purpose water based primer. Things looked okay to me, so I sent in a proposal and it was accepted. My partner and I started today doing prep work and such. I thought I saw some "gnat" spots bleeding thru the Kilz 2, so, since we wanted to get the ceilings done first, I rolled a few sections of ceiling paint over a few areas on the ceiling that looked like "spots" had blead through the Kilz 2. After the ceiling paint dried we could see spots bleeding through, so I rolled a few sections over with the Kilz 2. THey bled through.

I called the owner and said that I feared that the little spots might bleed thru the paint and that maybe the ceilings and walls should be primed with a non-water based primer like Cover Stain or BIN or whatever. The owner is aware of this problem and realizes that 

My question here for all my friends on Paint Talk is what primer they would recommend to seal over "bug poop?" Coverseal? BIN? 

tired-yos


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## deadend (Aug 1, 2013)

-CoverStain/Extreme Block...the lack of headaches well worth a few gallons and tools...


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