What makes primer more "sticky" than paint?

My SIL is a painter by trade. He uses regular paint for everything. It’s just another coat to him. Any kind of paint will seal an unfinished surface making the second coat glide.

The only time he uses a primer is when he has to use Kilstain or some other product to stop bleeding from water stains, etc.

So it’s bogus?

sometimes primer is very useful, if you are painting a dark color, like red, you put down a pink based primer so you don’t have to do 5 coats

Also, if you are painting over a color, you put a primer down so you have a clean slate and get a true color with, hopefully one coat

Primer paint has more binders in it which will make it stickier. If you’re not an expert, like SIL, it certainly doesn’t hurt to pay for the slightly more expensive primer for a top-notch job.

“sometimes primer is very useful, if you are painting a dark color, like red, you put down a pink based primer so you don’t have to do 5 coats”

oh! good answer! I recently painted a red wall that started white, but I used a brown paint to help minimize coats. Red is the hardest color.

I just know from painting our office a deep cranberry red and not using a primer… It took me 5 coats and then I watched a home improvement show that said to prime it pink first, which the can also said, but I ignored…it would have saved me a lot of time and paint! Oh well, lesson learned. :)

I didn’t know primer had more “binders”, I usually never use it myself, does anyone know if you use primer first, does your paint wear better over time, or does that not affect it?

Use a primer if a surface has never been painted before, if you are using a different type of paint (especially important if the old paint is oil and the new is latex!) or you are painting a vastly different color (and, like miasmom said, use tinted primer for a dark color). If the surface is ‘slick’, use a special high-adhesion primer. For metals, use metal primer and paint. In my experience, primer is cheaper than paint in the long run, and the paint does go on better and look nicer afterwards.

Also wanted to add: buy good primer and good paint. I like Sherwin Williams best, much better than what I used to buy at Lowes or Home Depot!