There is no single "best" Zinsser primer; the right choice depends on your specific project. However, Zinsser makes two industry-leading options that handle most jobs: B-I-N for tough stains and odors, and Bulls Eye 1-2-3 for general-purpose use.
Choose the best Zinsser primer based on your specific project needs. Their three most popular primers cater to different challenges:
Choose Zinsser BIN for tough stain-blocking, odors, and raw wood/MDF. Choose Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 for general interior/exterior adhesion, masonry, and painting over glossy surfaces.
Zinsser Gardz and Zinsser Peel Stop are both specialty binding primers, but they address different surface failures. Use Peel Stop for gluing down peeling or flaking paint. Use Gardz for sealing porous, chalky, or crumbling surfaces like damaged drywall and torn wallpaper paste.
Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is a versatile, water-based primer-sealer. It is used to prepare interior and exterior surfaces by providing a strong "bond coat" that sticks to hard-to-paint materials without sanding. It also blocks common stains, prevents rust, and resists mildew.
The primer effectively blocks stains and often requires only 1-2 coats to cover dark or stained areas. While a few customers noted limitations in covering extremely dark colors or stubborn stains, the majority praised the primer's performance and value, considering it a reliable, high-quality product.
Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 Primer is a fast-drying white-pigmented acrylic latex (water-thinnable) primer and undercoat. It is formulated for use on most types of exterior and interior surfaces - previously painted or new work. Any oil or latex finish paint can be applied over Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3.
Kilz and Zinsser are the two heavyweight titans of the primer world, but they excel in slightly different applications.
GARDZ is recommend for sealing problem porous surfaces such as bare or damaged drywall, plaster, cement and cementitious coatings, spackling paste and joint compound, calcimine, stucco, acoustic and texture finishes, and uncoated wallpaper.
SURFACE PREPARATION
Remove any peeling and/or unsound coatings. Scuff sand bare aluminum. Sand any remaining paint film edges smooth. Spot prime knots and sap streaks with Zinsser B-I-N Primer Stain Blocker.
Exceptional Stain-Blocking Power
Zinsser B-I-N Primer doesn't just stick to tricky surfaces; it also excels at covering and sealing stains. Whether you're dealing with water stains, smoke damage, or even knots and sap streaks in wood, this primer locks them in and prevents them from bleeding through your paint.
As you might guess, a primer that bonds peeling paint is not suited for use on substrates such as glass, glazed brick or Kynar.
For most surfaces, one coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer is sufficient. However, two coats are recommended for high-porosity surfaces (like raw wood), severe water stains, or when covering, high-contrast colors to prevent bleed-through. The product dries in 1 hour and can be recoated after that time.
Most of the time you only need to apply one coat of Zinsser BIN Primer. This is particularly true when you're using it as an adhesion primer. The only time I'd ever consider applying two coats is when I'm blocking a particularly bad stain.
Zinsser B-I-N and Bulls-Eye 1-2-3 are both excellent primers, but they serve entirely different purposes. B-I-N is a shellac-based stain and odor blocker, whereas 1-2-3 is a water-based all-purpose primer and adhesion promoter.
Red is universally considered the hardest paint color to cover. Vibrant red pigments are highly transparent and inherently prone to bleeding through subsequent layers. Other notoriously difficult colors to cover include black, dark blue, dark green, and bright yellow.
Ideally, you'd size walls before wallpapering, or use a primer like Beeline, but if the walls are in particularly bad nick, then Gardz is brilliant. You just use it like any other primer, but it really bonds an unstable surface.
Yes, you can paint directly over Zinsser Gardz. Once it dries, you do not need an additional primer; you can apply your standard water-based or oil-based topcoat paint straight over it.
Rolling is generally better for primer because it physically pushes the product into the surface fibers, ensuring stronger adhesion. However, spraying is significantly faster for large, empty spaces. Professionals often combine both by spraying and immediately "back-rolling" to get the best of both worlds.
Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is a versatile, water-based primer-sealer. It is used to prepare interior and exterior surfaces by providing a strong "bond coat" that sticks to hard-to-paint materials without sanding. It also blocks common stains, prevents rust, and resists mildew.
With an ultra-low odour and innovative water-based formula, B-I-N® AQUA differs from the world-renowned Zinsser B-I-N® as it contains only trace elements of VOCs (<0.1%) and provides easy soap and water clean-up. B-I-N® AQUA is also the only full surface, knot blocking primer in the Zinsser range.
We recommend using Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 or Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Plus for glossy surfaces like varnished wood. Both are 'bond coat' primers that are great for hard-to-stick surfaces, offering excellent adhesion without sanding.
On walls there's no need to sand the primer. On trim/millwork you do for smoothness.
Yes, Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is a versatile, high-performance bonding primer. Designed to stick to challenging and slick surfaces, it is formulated to bond tightly to materials like glossy paints, varnished wood, tile, fiberglass, glass, and PVC without the need for scuff sanding.