Zinsser Smart Prime Water-Based Primer, Quart

I’ve used many different primers over the years and this one is one of, if not, the best! If I needed a primer tomorrow and didn have any on hand, this is the one I’d be looking for. Milkshake thick. Easy application and clean up make this one a winner. Two thumbs up!

Excellent coverage with 20% h2o! I didn't have an airless sprayer handy to shoot it full strength, so I used a cheap 22v turbine sprayer. No tannins or anything bled through. Easy to sand. I like using better than Bin. Which is saying alot because I preferred Bin primmer for years. I just tried this Smart Primer on a whim.. Now it is my favorite.

I read reviews about this water based primer before buying and was still a bit skeptical since I was changing my black bedroom furniture white. This is the best primer I have ever used, I lightly sanded my wood furniture and since it was black and I didn't want any bleeding I used two coats of primer. This goes on like butter, total coverage with not a lot of waste. This gallon was just the right amount for two coats on 2 nightstands; a king size bed headboard and frame; and two large dressers. I did not take a lot of before pictures which makes me mad but I did have a picture of the nightstand to show how black it was. This is well worth the price.

I’m a big fan of Zinsser BIN, but I’m not a big fan of the ammonia clean up. I was hoping that this product would combine the features that make me love BIN with a soap and water clean up. Well, Smart Prime isn’t a water-based clone of BIN. It’s much thicker and doesn’t self level well. I do like it more when thinned with a bit of water, and it does sand easily. And it seems to be an effective bonding primer. (I haven’t had an opportunity to test its blocking ability.) Overall, I’ll keep using it, but I’m not ready to throw away my BIN just yet.

Good product for the use we had, thanks !

Painting all our oak and pine trim white. Used oil based primer for the kitchen cabinets - hated the smell and tannins were still seeping through. Smart prime seems to fix all that with nothing more than a standard low VOC smell. Just open the windows after a few hours, and it goes away quickly. Covers great (work with small amounts at a time as it does thicken quickly), lays flat well with a quality brush. "Sandability" is comparable to oil base - excellent. Just make sure it dries completely first. It also seems to completely block tannins as the label notes as I have not had to deal with any bleed through yet.

I recommend this primer; it is very effective and easy to use. However, I recommend you find some other place to purchase it. Amazon shipped the can of primer on a loose box without the appropriate clips on the lid so the primer had leaked all over the inside of the box. The same day I received the bad shipment, I tried to return it. The Whole Foods Amazon desk had me call Amazon Customer Service who insisted that I had to return the product to get a refund. So we sealed up the box, just like they shipped it to me, and returned it. To date, I have not had my money refunded. All of this is very frustrating because I made every good faith effort to to follow Amazon's systems and the result is that I'm out the cost of the product because Amazon messed up. No thank you. I no longer recommend buying paint or primer from Amazon. I have found local sources for the same products I use, often for the same or better price. (Ace)

Game changer in my opinion. ALMOST as good as an oil base primer as far as covering stains and tannins but with the ease of use and lack of fumes that you would expect from a water based product. Two coats completely covered a pure black creosote stain. If you’ve ever tried to paint over creosote stains you know how impressive this is. Adhesion is excellent assuming the prep work is done correctly and it sands with relative ease.