Categories: Decorating & Design

My Kilz Primer and Paint Review

I used Kilz primer to cover terra cotta colored walls that my former tenants had painted their walls. At first, I did not think anything, not even Kilz primer would be able to cover the dark paint. In constructing this Kilz paint review, I am thinking back on how worried I was that the walls would not be covered adequately and that I would not be able to restore the walls back to their neutral off white color.

We went to the hardware store and bought 2 cans of Kilz primer. The guy at the hardware store said we might not even need the whole two cans, but just in case we did, we would have them on hand. It was reasonably priced. It cost around $11.00 per gallon, which was one of the more reasonably priced primers that they stocked. You can also purchase Kilz at any home improvement store. We have since purchased Kilz at Walmart too.

I was very pleased with Kilz primer to say the least. It went on very smoothly and easily. The texture of Kilz is rather thin, so be careful when apply it to your walls. The consistency is almost the same as water. When using Kilz paint, make sure that you take great care in covering your floors and furniture because it might drip. Much to my surprise, the Kilz primer totally covered the dark terra cotta colored walls and we only used one can. I believe Kilz is an excellent product and I continue to use it whenever I need a primer.

Another great feature about Kilz primer that I like is that it covers just about anything. It covers stains and marks caused by water damage. Another feature of Kilz primer that I was grateful for when I was a landlord, is Kilz paint gets rid of odors. My tenant had pets and the also smoked. In addition to covering the dark paint, Kilz got rid of the smoke and pet odors I have never used a product that covers stains and gets rid of odors in such a way as Kilz primer has. A little Kilz goes a long way. Since it’s consistency is thin, you get more bang for your buck.

On the less positive side, Kilz primer has a very strong smell to it. It is very important that you only use Kilz in a well ventilated area, preferably with the windows open. If you have a room or ceiling fan, put it on as well. If you have an attic fan or whole house fan, as they’re sometimes called, tuning it on would be ideal when working with Kilz.

My husband suggests that we wait about a week to paint over the Kilz, but I think the longest we waited was 2 days. In my opinion of Kilz, it’s a great product and gets the job done easily and cost effectively. My neighbor claimed that he used Kilz in an older home that he was restoring to remove mold and mildew stains. I was a little leery of this, since I did not think that you should just cover up mold and mildew. Maybe something in the Kilz paint has a chemical in it or something that is capable of killing the mold and mildew spores. Anyway, I do not – ever – recommend covering up any mold or mildew stains with Kilz or anything else. As a sidebar, to remove mold or mildew, I would use some bleach. But, I digress. Kilz worked like a charm when I needed it to cover dark paint and remove odors from the walls of my former tenants.