Primer is a coating that prepares the surface for subsequent painting. Its function is to seal the pores of the surfaces and provide the substrate with greater adhesion.
Why spray canvas before painting?
The world of art is a realm of boundless creativity, where artists channel their thoughts, emotions, and visions onto canvas. But did you know that the process of preparing your canvas can significantly impact the final outcome of your masterpiece? Spray-priming, a technique that involves applying a thin layer of primer onto the canvas surface before painting, has gained popularity among artists as a crucial step in the artistic process. This article delves into the reasons why spray-priming canvas is essential for artists, exploring its benefits and addressing common queries about this practice.
Spray-priming, also known as canvas priming, involves the application of a primer layer onto the canvas surface before actual painting begins. Traditionally, artists would apply primer using brushes, rollers, or palette knives, but the advent of spray-priming has introduced a more convenient and efficient method. This technique ensures a consistent and even distribution of the primer, creating a smooth and well-prepared surface for your artistic endeavors.
Enhancing Paint Adhesion and Color Brilliance
One of the primary reasons artists turn to spray-priming is its ability to enhance paint adhesion and color brilliance. The primer layer provides a slightly textured and absorbent surface that allows the paint to grip onto the canvas more effectively. This results in a stronger bond between the paint and the canvas, reducing the risk of peeling or flaking over time. Moreover, the increased adhesion contributes to more vibrant and intense colors, as the paint remains securely attached to the canvas.
Artists invest countless hours into creating their works of art, and preserving them for posterity is of paramount importance. Spray-priming plays a crucial role in extending the longevity of your artwork. By creating a barrier between the canvas and the paint, the primer helps prevent the paint from deteriorating the canvas fibers over time. This is particularly important for acrylic and oil paintings, where the chemicals in the paint can react with the canvas and lead to degradation.
Achieving a Uniform and Smooth Surface
Creating a canvas with a uniform and smooth surface is often a challenge, especially when working with traditional priming methods. Spray-priming, however, offers a solution to this predicament. The spray application ensures an even distribution of the primer, eliminating the visible brush strokes or uneven texture that can sometimes occur with manual priming. As a result, your final artwork will have a professional and polished appearance.
While pre-primed canvases are available, adding an extra layer of spray primer can still be beneficial. Pre-primed canvases may not always have the ideal level of texture or absorbency for your specific artistic style. Spray-priming allows you to customize the canvas surface to better suit your needs.
Advantages of applying a primer before painting
Priming before painting does not have to be time-consuming or costly and has great advantages, whether you are a professional or undertaking a DIY project at home:
- It reduces paint consumption, as fewer coats will be needed to ensure an excellent result.
- It allows you to change the colour of the decoration of any surface. If you wish to change from a dark colour to a lighter one which provides more luminosity, the primer will facilitate this process, resulting in a uniform finish without irregularities in the colour.
- It adheres better to the substrate, allowing the paint and colour to remain good-as-new for much longer.
- It prevents the appearance of possible issues such as humidity, condensation or oxidation on surfaces exposed to the elements.
Types of primers
There are a wide variety of primers with different functionalities, but like topcoats, primers can be divided into the following types:
Water-based primers: these are water-based, fast-drying, non-flammable and virtually odourless. Moreover, they are environmentally friendly coatings.
Synthetic primers: these are solvent-based and consist of synthetic resins. They have a stronger odour.
However, the most important thing when choosing a primer type is to take into account the nature of the substrate and the capabilities required.
Pinturas MONTÓ Primers
At Pinturas MONTÓ we offer various professional solutions for different areas, such as industry, construction or decoration, and we have a range of products for priming that respond to the different needs and requirements of each substrate.
Primer for walls and ceilings
Emulsión fijadora: this universal fixing primer for porous surfaces is highly penetrant and adhesive. It regulates absorption during new-build and restoration work. It also has the ability to harden and heal substandard base layers.
Universal Primer
Pinturas MONTÓ offers a universal primer that’s suitable for most surfaces and very easy to use:
Montoprimer total acqua: this universal, water-based, multi-adhesive, single-component primer suits most substrates. It’s rustproof, fast-drying and can be repainted with plastic paints, enamels, polyurethanes, epoxies, etc.
Montoprimer total: this universal synthetic, multi-adhesive, single-component primer suits most substrates. It’s also rustproof, fast-drying and can be repainted with plastic paints, enamels, polyurethanes, epoxies, etc.
Metal primer
Impripol: A dual-component, white polyurethane anticorrosive primer that adheres very well to metal. Ideal for demanding applications such as marine environments or galvanised surfaces and structures.
IMPRIEPOX M-10: a dual-component white epoxy anticorrosive primer that adheres very well to metal and other substrates such as polyester.
Imprimación sintética: an anticorrosive primer based on alkyd resins. Fast air drying.
Façade primer
To ensure maximum durability and to protect façades from the appearance of issues such as damp or saltpetre, it is advisable to use a façade primer:
Fijamont: a solvent-based fixative primer that guarantees maximum penetration on porous, painted or newly constructed surfaces. It is an anti-humidity product with maximum adherence that avoids salts and glazes.
Fijamont acqua: this is also a water-based fixing primer for façades, which offers maximum adhesion and penetration and prevents the appearance of damp and saltpetre.
Floor primer
Imprimación Epoxi Suelos: a clear, water-based product for application on a wide variety of substrates, based on epoxy resin and modified polyamide. It is designed to act as a bridge between difficult-to-bond substrates and other finishing products.
These are our products for priming. If you have any questions or need help in choosing the most suitable primer for your project, please contact us on (+34) 961648339 or by filling in our contact form. We will be happy to help and advise you on anything you need.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIMER WHEN PAINTING
With the variety of paints available today to reduce labour costs and make painting and decorating easier, it’s very easy to be drawn in by all the hype; and leave out one of the most important stages of the painting process – priming.
Primer is a key part to any professional painter and decorators work, it is defined as a preparatory coating which should be put onto surfaces prior to any painting activity. The benefits of this can be long-lasting, better protected and stronger adhesion between painted surfaces.
What does a primer do
Priming provides a strong base surface that your undercoat or topcoat will bond to, but there are a host of other benefits. There is hardly a surface that won’t benefit from being primed. Existing paintwork that has been rubbed down, new timber surfaces, plaster, masonry, drywall and metals, all benefit from being correctly prepared. It is also popularly used when painting porous materials such as concrete and wood. Priming provides a sticky surface, which ensures following coats bind to it. It also helps cover wood grain and knots, hides joints, stops previous colours bleeding through, and reduces the need for additional finishing coats.
A key benefit of using a primer when painting is that if the material you are painting is not water resistant, or it is going to be exposed to the elements. It therefore acts as a seal and aids the prevention of mould, this is particularly prevalent in newly constructed buildings.
Also primers can aid you in being able to paint surfaces that are dirty and unable to be cleaned as it provides a base for new paint to go on. Primer can be used to create a light surfaces over existing dark colours without having to go through a more difficult process. You can get primers that are of a similar colour to the final colour you want to use on the top.
Time scale: As a general rule of thumb, after the primer has been applied it can be applied as quickly as 24 hours after application (depending on the brand – best to always check the label). Most primers can last between 24 hours – 2 weeks. If you do decide to this time frame then the quality of the final finish may be compromised.
Water Based Priming
For best results, seek out a water based product which uses acrylic resins for the base. This makes the primer more pleasant to use than a solvent based primer. The advantages that a water based primer has is that they are quick drying, have a brilliant opacity and have a lower VOC levels within the paint so can be less harmful. Cleaning your equipment will be easier with water based primer as brushes can be cleaned with water.
Water based primer is excellent for use on bare drywall and new timber, they are also great where wood damage has been filled, and depending on product formulation, excellent on brickwork, rendering, plaster and metal, where they maintain a malleable, crack resistant layer, with good adhesive properties for subsequent painting.
Oil Based Priming
Less frequently applied than water-based products, oil-based priming is more often used on surfaces likely to be in frequent contact with hands and fingers such as doors, wooden sash windows, stairway banisters, and cupboards; or heavily stained or marked woods. A big benefit of oil based primer is that they are great for getting rid of stains and preventing them in the future. Oil based primer can prevent stains such as ink, nicotine and water.
Oil based primers work with oil based paints, which makes them very versatile and can be applied to a variety of surfaces such as wood, steel, metal, interior walls, exterior walls and surfaces that are already painted.
When using an oil based primer and paints it is good to keep in mind, that they can be slow drying and also can release high amounts of volatile organic compounds. The VOCs can in some cases be harmful to people when they are exposed for a long period of time and in a high concentration. Plus when cleaning your painting equipment you will require different solvents.
Save Time and Money
You wouldn’t begin to build a house without ensuring it had adequate foundations. Why do it with your next paint job? No matter what the trade, time spent on preparation pays dividends in the long term. With all surfaces gently rubbed down, the extra thickness of your priming coat will fill those microscopic pores, cover up those hard to remove blemishes, and provide a surface just waiting to bond with your next coat of paint. Using a primer of a similar hue to your undercoat and topcoat, will ensure an even, more consistent colour finish across the completed product.
Although there are instances where all-in-one prime and paint products may be adequate for certain jobs, never lose sight of the benefits obtained by using a good quality, formulated for purpose primer, and begin to increase your reputation for long term, high quality painting and decorating.
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