# ZINSSER® Smart Prime



## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Has anyone used ZINSSER® Smart Prime for kitchen cabinets? I've got some old Oak cabinets to do.

I do plan on priming all the doors and drawers with BIN but want to do the on-site boxes with a low odor waterbased primer. I'll be using Advance Satin in a light gray. Will brush & roll the boxes and spray the rest off-site.

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/zinsser/primer-sealers/smart-prime/


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Every retailer i've worked at that got in Smart Prime for a special promo couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Most of the time at half price. That's pretty much the only experience i've had with it though.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

PACman said:


> Every retailer i've worked at that got in Smart Prime for a special promo couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Most of the time at half price. That's pretty much the only experience i've had with it though.


Expensive premium primers are probably a hard sell to most painters and homeowners. Any complaints about the quality?


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Mr Smith said:


> Expensive premium primers are probably a hard sell to most painters and homeowners. Any complaints about the quality?


No complaints that i remember. Just the price was too high for box store customers like you said.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

I tried to find the stuff. I wasnt able to find any anywhere. I dont think they make it anymore. I poked my head in a Sherwin today, and I saw a similar primer. Its an acrylic alkyd primer, like smartprime. Dunno if its any good though. You might wanna use XIM UMA. Its similar to stix, except it has stain blocking. And its sandable.


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## loaded brush (Dec 27, 2007)

Smart Prime is still produced.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Used quite a bit about eight years or so ago. Liked it. But I did have some trouble with bleed through on some dark stained cabinets I used it on. After that, I never used it for that type of situation again.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

RH said:


> Used quite a bit about eight years or so ago. Liked it. But I did have some trouble with bleed through on some dark stained cabinets I used it on. After that, I never used it for that type of situation again.


Most of those old cabinets are sealed with some sort of clear coating or poly. How can it bleed through that? I just wash them and degloss if necessary with Krud Cutter and then prime. I never want to break that barrier with sandpaper. That's when you get bleed through.


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## Tprice2193 (Oct 3, 2017)

Nearly every primer failure (bleed through of a stain) I have had has been on the frames particularly around the stove, sink, dishwasher, near the floor. It is just not as easy to prep these areas properly and they can get pretty funky. BIN will usually fix a less than optimal prep. I would go ahead and use BIN brush and roll on those frames. It wont stink that long and you will be confident in your process. I have not used smart prime.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Tprice2193 said:


> Nearly every primer failure (bleed through of a stain) I have had has been on the frames particularly around the stove, sink, dishwasher, near the floor. It is just not as easy to prep these areas properly and they can get pretty funky. BIN will usually fix a less than optimal prep. I would go ahead and use BIN brush and roll on those frames. It wont stink that long and you will be confident in your process. I have not used smart prime.


I didn't know you can brush and roll BIN. I just assumed that it was a spray only coating. Will the roll texture sand out for the boxes?


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Mr Smith said:


> Most of those old cabinets are sealed with some sort of clear coating or poly. How can it bleed through that? I just wash them and degloss if necessary with Krud Cutter and then prime. I never want to break that barrier with sandpaper. That's when you get bleed through.



Well, you asked if anyone had used it and I had. Then I described my experience. If you already have all the answers, not sure why you posted your question. Not unusual for cabinets getting painted to be in less than pristine condition.


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## KooLayed369 (Jan 8, 2018)

Kelly Moore makes a hybrid primer, 265 is the product number, that performs well. It is brushable, rollable and sprayable, as well as sandable. Low odor and price too.


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## Tprice2193 (Oct 3, 2017)

@Mr Smith, I prefer to spray BIN but when I cant I use a foam brush and roller. You get a texture that easily sands smooth. You will get some runs too but they readily sand out as well. Two thin coats are best...no need to sand between coats.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

KooLayed369 said:


> Kelly Moore makes a hybrid primer, 265 is the product number, that performs well. It is brushable, rollable and sprayable, as well as sandable. Low odor and price too.


Does it really take 4 hours to dry?


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## mudbone (Dec 26, 2011)

RH said:


> Well, you asked if anyone had used it and I had. Then I described my experience. If you already have all the answers, not sure why you posted your question. Not unusual for cabinets getting painted to be in less than pristine condition.


Mad-dog???


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

mudbone said:


> Mad-dog???


http://www.bumwine.com/md2020.html


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

RH said:


> Well, you asked if anyone had used it and I had. Then I described my experience. If you already have all the answers, not sure why you posted your question. Not unusual for cabinets getting painted to be in less than pristine condition.


I'm just saying that your experience MAY have been user error. Some painters mistakenly sand the clear coat and 'punch through' the barrier which can lead to bleed through. Not saying you did but that is certainly a possibility. Not sure why you came back with the snarky response. Also with the waterborne primers that claim to stop tannin bleed, they often state that a 2nd coat may be necessary to stop the bleed entirely.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Mr Smith said:


> I'm just saying that your experience MAY have been user error. Some painters mistakenly sand the clear coat and 'punch through' the barrier which can lead to bleed through. Not saying you did but that is certainly a possibility. Not sure why you came back with the snarky response. Also with the waterborne primers that claim to stop tannin bleed, they often state that a 2nd coat may be necessary to stop the bleed entirely.


Not snarky - you asked for members’ experiences with the product. I shared, then you proceeded to infer it was my incorrect process that caused it. Trust me, it wasn’t my first rodeo. So take heed, or not, I couldn’t care less.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

RH said:


> Not snarky - you asked for members’ experiences with the product. I shared, then you proceeded to infer it was my incorrect process that caused it. Trust me, it wasn’t my first rodeo. So take heed, or not, I couldn’t care less.


Yes your response was definitely snarky. I asked you how it can bleed through a clear coat barrier. Your answer was " *If you already have all the answers, not sure why you posted your question"
* 

All you had to do was explain further your situation. Instead, you get all defensive and give THAT response.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Mr Smith said:


> Yes your response was definitely snarky. I asked you how it can bleed through a clear coat barrier. Your answer was " *If you already have all the answers, not sure why you posted your question"
> *
> 
> All you had to do was explain further your situation. Instead, you get all defensive and give THAT response.


Nothing to explain. Now, just let it go - cause I am.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

RH said:


> Not snarky - you asked for members’ experiences with the product. I shared, then you proceeded to infer it was my incorrect process that caused it. Trust me, it wasn’t my first rodeo. So take heed, or not, I couldn’t care less.




“So take heed, or not, I couldn’t care less.”

You know, I keep thinking maybe someday admin will take heed that some hypersensitive mods are alienating some good members here at PT with their thinly veiled threats. Or maybe not. 

I know it’s their forum and they can run it as they wish. But just lately some great members have stopped participating, either from being banned, or voluntarily because they felt they were no longer welcome. 

I’m probably going to join the list along with CA Painter, Fauxlynn , Pac-Man and others. 

But hey, it was fun for a while. Until it wasn’t. Cheers, folks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

slinger58 said:


> “So take heed, or not, I couldn’t care less.”
> 
> You know, I keep thinking maybe someday admin will take heed that some hypersensitive mods are alienating some good members here at PT with their thinly veiled threats. Or maybe not.
> 
> ...


Get off your high horse slinger. My “take heed” comment referred to him proceeding to use Smart Prime for cabinets, not some veiled threat of a ban. Sheesh...

Also, even if it had been a ban threat, what part of communicating your displeasures/concerns to admin through a PM don’t some of you understand? I think it’s fair to say more members have recently been banned because they took their issues to the open forum than because of the initial infraction they committed. Wise up and quit being so quick to bitch publicly - suicide by moderating is a real thing.


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## KooLayed369 (Jan 8, 2018)

Woodco said:


> Does it really take 4 hours to dry?


4 hours to touch, overnight to re-coat. It forms a good film, but remains tacky for a while. 

That product along with Kelly Moore Epic paint line (their hybrid paint) are great. The only negative is the long dry time, but thats oil base for you.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

I didnt dig KM's hybrid. But every hybrid I've used, dried a lot quicker than 4 hours. Advance, Proclassic, Behr WB alkyd (which is actually a good product, believe it or not) all dried the same as a latex, even though I know why you shouldnt recoat till the next day. They all still dried to the touch in an hour or so.


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## KooLayed369 (Jan 8, 2018)

Its a unique beast. KM was one of the first manufacturers to make a hybrid paint in the US. We have people that only come to us for the hybrid paint (now reformulated and renamed to Epic). It self-levels, and a lot of the problems come from someone seeing a spot that has brush marks or something, trying to touch it up and causing a whole mess. Its one of those you have to learn to work with, but when you do, nothing will compare. Being a newew, small dealer store in an area not many people have heard of Kelly Moore, the Epic and Dura-Poxy have become the paints we let people try for cheap telling them they will be back for more at normal price, and that is usually the case. Sorry to hear you didnt have a good experience with it. Maybe give the new formulation a re-try if you can. Supposedly it wont yellow as easy, but its too new for me to know for sure.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

KooLayed369 said:


> Its a unique beast. KM was one of the first manufacturers to make a hybrid paint in the US. We have people that only come to us for the hybrid paint (now reformulated and renamed to Epic). It self-levels, and a lot of the problems come from someone seeing a spot that has brush marks or something, trying to touch it up and causing a whole mess. Its one of those you have to learn to work with, but when you do, nothing will compare. Being a newew, small dealer store in an area not many people have heard of Kelly Moore, the Epic and Dura-Poxy have become the paints we let people try for cheap telling them they will be back for more at normal price, and that is usually the case. Sorry to hear you didnt have a good experience with it. Maybe give the new formulation a re-try if you can. Supposedly it wont yellow as easy, but its too new for me to know for sure.


KM makes some good stuff. Unfortunately, here in Oregon most of their stores have closed down or been bought out by Miller Paint. Fortunately, Miller has had the good sense to continue to carry some of the KM line. I have used a fair amount of Dura-Poxy for door and trim work with good success.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

I like Durapoxy, but hell, the 1650 is a damn good trim paint in itself.


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