My house has that cheap contractor paint

[luvmyfam444]

on all the walls, & naturally every fingerprint is showing - I plan to repaint BUT do I need to use Kilz or anything? I only plan to do 1 coat (I'm lazy!) & I think I bought paint that's 1 coat coverage - semigloss...PLEASE tell me I don't need to do anything to keep those handprints from showing thru...

 

[ChrisnSteph]

You don't need Kilz to cover handprints, but if you don't prime the walls, they're going to suck up the paint. You'll use way less paint and need less coats if you prime first.

 

[beckmrk04]

I say just buy the Kilz brand of paint- I recently redid every room in my house and after going through 3 gallons of expensive paint in the kitchen, someone reccommended Kilz paint, and OMG!! That stuff is amazing. It really covers everything well, and in only one coat.

 

[Aidensmom]

We are in the middle of repainting most of our house for the same reason, and regular paint has done the job. We are using 2 coats and darker colors though.

 

[golfgal]

I think you will find you need 2 coats of paint no matter what you do unless you buy a tinted primer (I know you can't tint the Kliz primer). Your paint job will look much, much better with 2 coats.

 

[Skatermom23]

Two coats is definitely needed if it is going on top of contractors paint. Your walls will suck up the first coat and the second will smooth it all out.

 

[bicker]

We had our home painted with high-quality paint, Sherwin-Williams best, painted over contractor paint, and it covered completely and perfectly. Painted on sheetrock, yes, you will need primer, but a light-colored (or white) contractor paint, unless it was just whitewash, serves well-enough as primer, if you cover it with a high-quality paint.

 

[mickeysgal]

I thought Kilz was for high humidity areas like bathrooms. Or if the walls had mold on it or a tendency toward mold. The only time we used it was in our bathroom. We had been handing bath towels on a hook on the wall that was done with that cheap contractor paint. We started to get mold spots on it. Kilz fixed that beautifully.