"RicodJour" wrote in message
ups.com...
wrote:
I'm getting ready to paint my new apartment and am trying to figure out
the logistics.

I'm using Benjamin Moore's Regal Eggshell paint (latex). One room is
currently painted dark orange, the other lime green (both also with BJ
latex paint), and I'm planning to repaint both of them to light cream.
The third bedroom is standard white, and I"m planning to paint that one
a soft, baby blue. All three rooms are small (110-160 sq. ft) with
high, 9.5 foot ceilings, and don't get much natural light (especially
the orange one).

My plan is to use primer tinted close to my topcoat, and follow that
with only one coat of paint. The paint stores near my house charge an
arm and a leg for paint and I'm on a tight budget, so I'm hoping this
is doable.

My question is: Can I get away with using high-quality tinted primer
plus just one coat of paint? I'm especially concerned if that's
possible in the orange room.

I'm not looking to do a perfect job, just a decent one that I'll be
happy with for the year or two I'm living there. Any advice/experience
is much appreciated.

Primer is much thinner than the finish paint. It's designed to soak
in, seal surfaces and act as a bonding agent for the top coat. In
other words, it's not really a good choice if you're looking for
coverage over a darker paint. Tinting it won't improve the hiding
ability. The worst thing that could happen is to use primer and a
single top coat, then find out that it didn't cover to your
satisfaction so you'd be forced to buy more of the expensive top coat
anyway. In other words, you'd have totally wasted your time and money
on the primer.

Before I'd skimp on the top coat, I'd look into getting a less
expensive paint than Benjamin Moore. I'm shuddering as I type that.
In general, you get what you pay for in paint, so a less expensive
paint won't hide as well and won't last as long. The expensive
ingredients in paint are the solids and resins - you won't get as much
of those in a cheaper paint. But, since you're only looking to get a
couple of years out of the paint, the cheaper paint will suffice.

R


Primers like PVA type primer fit your description but stain blocking primers
like Kiltz cover up quite well. The difference shows in the price too.

One of the reasons Behr paint is less expensive is that it sells in higher
volume to cost consious consumers from a discount hardware store rather than
meduim volume to pros and elete consumers from specialty paint stores. Lets
not forget Sears (and sears owned OSH) where Glidden and Dutch Boy also have
good premium and high hiding versions. The Dutch Boy, Kids Room line touts
one coat coverage as a feature and they have those cool plastic paint cans
with the screw on lid.