Zinsser 123

Label states it has great coverage- that's a bald face lie. I used BM fresh start everywhere except one room. The difference in thickness is noticeable. I didn't need to use a drop cloth with Fresh start. 123 is so thin it literally drips down the wall. Forget about back rolling or fixing any drips. It's already half dry by the time it's on your… Read more

roller. The smell from the latex version is so strong, I would def recommend a mask. Splotchy, drippy and barely covered the color of new drywall wall mud. I couldn't imagine using it as a primer to cover a dark wall color. I should have spent the extra $$ and bought something else. I'm literally going to have to resand the wall and redo it

Well, this was an epic fail of a product. Was undercoating Hume doors, that are ready to accept paint/undercoat whatever. Had to use three coats of this for it to BEGIN to hide the green/blue duracoat finish on the doors. I left it at three because I knew the solaguard paint had high pigmentation and would cover. Should have just gone straight… Read more

for the paint, but wasn't sure the paint binders would adhere correctly to the duracoat on the door. This primer was a peculiar consistency, it applied in rather a goopy way, didn't spread too well, started drying whilst applying, but if you look at it a minute later there's runs, and you have to go around and touch up. A lot of enamel paints behave that way, but it was unexpected in an undercoating primer.

I will never buy this undercoat again, I'll use it for a gesso finish with art projects where coverage isn't an issue. This product covers nothing unless it's too many coats to bother with. Glad I didn't buy a big tin!

Best so far – I am an amateur DIY painter. I had to repair holes in hollow doors, which meant i had to patch and sand back the previous oil enamel and repaint the lot. I've used both the smart prime water based and bullseye 123 water based. Both need a few coats which is no issue. I was very impressed with the way 123 levelled out that I almost didn't… Read more

bother sanding the primer. Shake the can well for a few minutes, otherwise you'll find the primer to be suspiciously sticky and inconsistent. Do not use mohair rollers.

I used a unipro microfiber 4mm nap roller and it applied, leveled and dried well, equal to the smoothness of the surface it was on applied on. I sanded the edges of the doors by hand first because the orbital never seems to do the edges properly. Then lightly sanded with 240grit ready for the first coat.

I've used smart prime, 123 and British 4-1 and I'll say, 123 doesn't cover as well as 4-1 but I reckon its a better primer.

I certainly recommend all 3 primers mentioned for any interior or exterior wood work. 123 is my preferred now. All will bond to an oil surface sanded 120grit first. It's improper not to sand- don't believe the claims - there's no shortcuts if you want a nice lasting finish. Maybe there is a product out there that can do it but I didn't bother gambling my time and money to find out.

Lay it well, and give it time to dry. 200mls was enough to prime 2 doors back and front with 2 coats. About equal with the british. Bit more needed with the smart prime.

Have fun

Rubbish, don’t believe the hype! – Absolute rubbish, all the hype about it is misleading when it comes to smooth surfaces. I used it on fibreglass after a good sand clean and dry. After 36 hours I lightly scratched it off with a fingernail. I then used wattyl super etch primer and that stuck. After 1 hour I couldn’t scratch it off. Show details

Poor quality – Poor quality primer, doesn't cover well, very thin paint with little coverage.. Show details

Very disappointing – When applied to aluminium the result was extremely patchy even though I followed all instructions. In order for the paint to adhere properly I had to sand all the areas- the result was still patchy though. In addition the paint felt extremely grainy on the brush. Show details

Disappointing – Please consider another brand - it has poor adhesion, and therefore difficult to apply (I used it on well prepared Masonite board) Also does not have excellent coverage, I had to apply 3 coats of this paint and still hasn't achieved what it states. Easily scratches off, so in an area that may get bumps and scratches, definitely don't use this paint. Cannot see it working on any surface it states or blocking any stains etc. Show details

Very poor performance priming oil based paint – I primed an oil based paint. According to the manufacturer it should be excellent for this application. The top coat peels away taking the primer with it. No adhesion to the oil based paint. Poor. Show details

Lowered my already pessimistic expectations – I'm not a professional painter, but I paint a lot. Normally, if I need to prime something stained or otherwise dark, I use Zinsser shellac based primer, but it's Winter in the ACT, so I'm confined to painting indoors with less ventilation (but way more warmth) - shellac and oil-based paints are not ideal right now. I grabbed the water-based… Read more

Zinsser Bulls Eye not expecting it to be as good as the shellac, but at least hoping it would do what it said on the tin. I was painting a pine chest of drawers which were stained a dark walnut and had a clear acrylic lacquer top coat. I sanded it back, (removed all lacquer) cleaned it, stirred the primer and commenced cutting in with a professional grade synthetic brush. Instantly I could see it wasn't great. It was streaky and in parts where the primer wasn't streaked it was not blocking the stain any more than putting regular acrylic top coat straight on. I switched to a roller, which gave slightly better blocking, so I decided to continue just with the roller where possible.

It needed a second coat of primer, which was disappointing, but not surprising. What was surprising was that when applying this 2nd coat it started to lift the first coat! I'd waited over 4 hrs between coats (though it was dry within 1hr). It simply was not behaving as it should. The label on the tin and the Zinsser website provided scant info.

I ended up applying ESP before applying a THIRD coat. That made the stuff stick, but there was no reason for it not to in the first place - Zinsser even market that it has exceptional adhesion and I wasn't even putting it on an unsanded surface!

To add salt to the wound this stuff is almost identical in price to the shellac-based version which I'd used on a matching desk without issue last Summer.

I estimate this product tripled the time I would have spent on the project if it had worked as described.

So why 2 stars and not 1? Well, I had a bit left on my brush after cutting in and I brushed it on some metal drawer pulls I'd planned on getting rid of. It stuck like glue to them and covered the dark grey completely- decided to paint and re-use them. I hadn't prepped them at all. Silver lining I suppose.

It's horribly thin – It has the most odd texture, maybe because it is meths based. I had to work quickly as it dries so quickly. You cannot be too fussy as it gets sticky and then drags. I had to take the doors off and lay them flat as it would have run. One door that I painted last year is now showing yellow in patches. I need to use a blocker on my bathroom… Read more

ceiling but this is so drippy, I will be looking for something else. While it went on well on the bathroom laminate, it is peeling in an area at the end of the bath that doesn't get wet. Never again.