# Best primer for old interior doors and windows.



## sahk1942 (Sep 11, 2013)

I am renovating a 40 year old house. I have ten wooden interior closet slat doors that need to be refinished and they have many coats of old paint on them. During the prep phase of light sanding, the top coat of paint began to peel beneath the sander. The paint was coming off in small to medium sized sheets. 

It appears that the top coat(s) of paint is latex, and the bottom coat(s) is oil. I did the rubbing alcohol test and the top layer rubbed off, the bottom did not. 

So my question is now that various surfaces are exposed all over these doors, some which is latex, some which may or may not be oil, is there a primer that will seal both surfaces completely so that I can start from scratch?

Another twist is the house sat vacant for years and there are mildew spots on the interior windows. I would like to use the same primer for both doors and windows, if possible. The windows are the same as the doors -- mix of oil and latex. 

Primers have come a long way since the last time I worked on a surface like this. Do you think a Kilz or Zinnser primer would be best? I have recently heard great things about acrylic primers but have never worked with acrylic.

Thanks for your input. I don't want the homeowner calling me back in a month saying the paint is peeling or that mildew spots are coming through the new paint.


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## HJ61 (Nov 14, 2011)

Stix would work excellent for the doors. I believe you may need to kill the mildew before priming those windows. Bleach and water. There probably is a primer that is mildew resistant.


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## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

need to kill the mold or mildew first and stop the water intrusion that caused it in the first place. From there if they are wanting the place to look great they need to replace the doors as no primer or amount of sanding short of stripping the door will make it look great. Stix is a great bonding primer not so much for stain hold out.


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