Prime Drywall Before Painting

LESLIE: Alan in Alaska, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

ALAN: I’m in the process of remodeling a duplex and I’ve got some new sheetrock up and some old, textured walls. I’m trying to figure out the best way to go over them. I’ve heard people say that I need to prime the walls before texturing, after doing the drywall work. What is your opinion on that?

TOM: Well, when you put fresh drywall up, you should always prime the wall because you’re going to find the drywall is very absorbent. And if you put a good coat of primer on there, it’s going to help anything that comes after that adhere better. So we do think that priming is always the first step.

ALAN: And after texturing, prime it again before painting?

TOM: No. I don’t think after texturing you need to prime it again. You can continue with the painting process and paint right over that. Now, if you’re painting over a textured surface, you’re going to have to use a very, very thick roller.

LESLIE: Yeah, like super-textured; like a thick nap on it. I’ve seen – and actually, you know, in the home makeover shows that I work on, a lot of the wall surfaces are textured in these newer homes and we’ve used, I mean, the thickest, napped roller I’ve ever seen in my life. And it coats those walls pretty much in one coat and it’s like the super-duperest, thickest roller I’ve seen. If you can get your hands on that, go for it.

ALAN: Well, great. Thank you very much.