AkzoNobel’s Tony Pearson-Young Opens the Lid on Primers
To deliver top results as efficiently as possible, decorators need products that work as hard as they do – reliable, timesaving, and built to perform across a range of tasks. To help decorators find the ideal primer for the job at hand, we spoke to Tony Pearson-Young, Skills Development Consultant for Dulux Academy at AkzoNobel, to find out more.
Do I need different primers for interior and exterior jobs – or different substrates?
With older systems, you’d often need separate primers depending on the location or surface. However, some modern solutions can do it all. Today’s products have been designed to adhere to a wide range of substrates, including wood, metal, uPVC, and glossy pre-painted surfaces. This means decorators can use the same product for interior and exterior work, reducing the number of products they need on site and ensuring a consistent finish across the project.
Can I use a water-based primer with a solvent-based topcoat?
Yes, as long as you have adhered to the recoat times for the primer. However, today’s water-based solutions are built to deliver the durability and quick drying times decorators need – with the added benefits of being safer for the applier and better for the environment. The industry is increasingly shifting away from solvent-based systems in favour of high-performance water-based options, wherever possible.
What’s the best way to tackle water, nicotine, or grease stains?
A stain-blocking primer can help to prevent stains from bleeding through and create a stable base for painting. For example, Dulux Trade Aqua UniPrimer – which acts as a primer, sealer, stain block and undercoat – penetrates porous substrates, seals surfaces, blocks significant stains and inhibits rust.
Before applying the primer, it is important to clean the area with mild soap and warm water, rinse thoroughly and dry. This removes dust, grease, and surface contaminants that could prevent the primer from adhering properly, giving your customers a smoother, longer-lasting finish. Unlike traditional primers, modern technology means that sanding is not normally required, making prep quicker and easier without compromising on performance.
Do I need separate products for undercoat, adhesion and stain blocking?
Modern primers are often formulated to handle all three, offering strong adhesion, stain blocking, and the opacity you’d expect from an undercoat. For most jobs, especially when using compatible water-based systems, one well-formulated primer can simplify your prep without cutting corners on performance.
How can I improve efficiency on site?
For preparation work, solutions like Dulux Trade Aqua UniPrimer are ideal. It can be used on all major interior and exterior surfaces and, as it can be used as a primer, sealer, stain block and undercoat, decorators only need to use one product, reducing trips to and from the van. Dulux Trade Aqua UniPrimer is also touch dry in just 30 minutes and can be re-coated in an hour for maximum efficiency.
For reassurance of its quality, it has also been tested and approved in the lab and by professional decorators – so you can trust it will do the job right first time.
Can I tint Dulux Trade Aqua UniPrimer?
To help achieve the desired finish in fewer coats, Dulux Trade Aqua UniPrimer can be tinted into the full Dulux Trade colour range. This is a real time-saver when working with bolder colours or overpainting with a contrasting shade as it will help with opacity, coverage and give that true depth of colour. In addition, it is possible to accurately re-create popular designer colours, which can be pre-loaded into our mixing machines to produce a spot-on colour match.
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