How important is using what is called a PVA on the interior walls prior to paint color of a new construction?
When is it applied?
Why is it applied?
Pros?
Cons?

This is for my own home (no small kids - pets to worry about finger prints) We plan on using flat med tone colors - no gloss on walls.

 

PVA is poly vinyl acetate. It's a sealer to seal the texture and sheetrock before painting. It's a thin material and soaks into the texture. It's pretty important in my opinion. You could use regular primer if you wish. Primer costs more than PVA. Sometimes regular primer is better to use anyways. It has a heavier body and pigment. The PVA has no pigment. < edit> let me correct myself here... PVA has a small amount of pigment just so you can tell where it is applied but it doesn't have near the amount of pigment that regular primer or paint has... especially the stain blocking primers. After the PVA is applied and is dried you can still see through it. It's semi- transparent and you can still see your joints etc.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I paint (or hire it done) about 20 homes a year. The single biggest mistake people make when painting is cheap paint. Do not get your paint from Walmart, Menards, Home Depot, ect. Paint is a side line to them. You never find professional painters using Kmart paint. Use a brand name and buy it from the paint store. Sherwin Williams, Diamond Vogle, Pittsburg Paint. You might pay alittle more (ask for a contractors discount) but you won't have to do it twice. You get what you pay for.

 

Exactly what he said. Use a good quality paint. We exclusively use Glidden.
I pay less at Glidden for good paint than jimmie joe homeowner would at Home Depot or Lowes for their junk. Also buy best quality roller sleeves, cages and brushes. We prefer Purdy brushes (available at HD) or Corona. A good brush makes the job much better. Overall you might spend 50 bucks more to paint a house with good paint vs crap paint.

 

But you only have to paint it once! No second coat with a good paint so sometimes you actually can save money & time by buying less paint.

No, I'm not gonna help paint.

 

I get my paint from Hirshfields (dont know if you have on in your area) and I exclusively use their Benjamin Moore Paints. They are more expensive, but 2 coats in almost any color is plenty, it doesnt seem to fade as fast as the cheap stuff, and it also cleans up nice if you get stuff on the wall and doesnt discolor if you wipe it down with a **** rag. It also evens out and has a very even texture to it. I also use the Purdy rollers and brushes... DONT chince out on the rollers! The cheap ones will end up making ya mad anyway, as they leave "fuzzies" on the wall, the Purdy ones are the best in my opinion.

Also, look for imperfections in the tape job first. fix them, then prime the walls. Then look for imperfections again after you prime, fix any tape marks that you didnt see before. Then prime those spots again before you paint the final colors. This will reduce the "flat, or shiney" spots of patches.

 

I've had really good luck with Para brand paint. It's a bit more expensive but coats very well and lasts. You can find it in better paint stores.

 

For yrs. I have always used American Tradition paint by Valspar. You can get it from Lowes at a good price and I've had good luck with it. I agree with the top quality rollers and brushes. Also the prep. is about 60% of the job.
With that being said, I absoultly hate to paint.

Jim

 

Also forgot: tint the primer. One less finish coat.

 

I have been painting professionally for the last 26 years.

Never buy paint from a big box store! EVER!

PVA is almost nenexistent any more as most of the higher quality products offer 2 coat sealing and priming. I personally only prime interior wall surfaces such as kitchen and bathrooms that will be enameled or subject to severe conditions.

I use 123 primer by Zinsser for most of my priming as it is a water based stain blocker and dries fast and hard.

For my doors/cabinetry/furniture I use Sorry trade secret These items are best left to the professionals, as even the best homeowner jobs still look amateur.

Should you require more info please feel free to pm me.

Rick

 

We did my sons room a few months ago. I thought it was pretty ingenious to have the ceiling paint go on pink and dry white.

I guess it doesn't take much to impress me, does it?

 

Rick, what ya think of this paint job on my cabinets?







I also use the 123 primer on all my painted cabintes as well as doors/trim. Then 3 coats of Benjamin Moore Satin Impervio 100% Acrylic Enamel. Stuff is NICE! Sanding between every coat as well. Stuff is Glass smooth! Man, I llove airless sprayers!

 

My Father-in-Law and his sons are third generation painters, have teh oldest established painting bussiness here....
When i first met them I was building a barn and they offered to help paint..
I showed up with a 5 gallon bucket of paint I got at Tractor Supply and I thought they were going to beat me to death with it!!! They were upset at running it through thier sprayers......
Over the years since I have learned.Never skimp on the quality of the paint......realy( still use cheap stuff for what the horsea will be pooping on tho)
you will save money in the long run due to the higher durability and such of a high quality paint.
And remember, 80% of the finished job is the prep work BEFORE you ever touch paint to the walls.........

 

I was working on a fairly expensive kitchen (Approx $175k) and the desiner decided to try a new painter for the walls (he has a guy that only does stainwork do the cabiets) and he showed up with paint from Wal-Mart! Needless to say he is not doing anymore paint on our jobs... The ney guy uses Pratt & Lambert and Porter paints...