ok, I just painted the primer....?

[getusedtoit]

I had to repair holes in the walls...so I put up new sheetrock and used mud to repair all cracks. I waited a day to let it dry then put another layer of mud. I waited until today and went to sand it smooth and put the primer on. But the primer looks smeary and thin. I've never used primer before so is it supposed to look like this? Isn't it basically a base coat to put your paint on? It's not an oil based primer, so maybe that's why it's so thin looking on the walls??? It comes out of the can real thick. I just want to make sure I'm still doing this project correctly because I have sunk a lot of time into this.

All advice is appreciated!

[ozarks bum]

No problemo. Primers are meant to seal, not provide the same type of coverage that paint does. Even though it looks thin and possibly even transparent, if you applied it uniformly it should do the trick.

[the_prankster]

Mud will soak up primer (or paint if your don't use primer) you may need to put on a second coat before you paint. It is just a base coat like you said but when painting over a repair its important because without it the paint will soak into the repaired spot more than it will in the rest of the drywall, which will cause a light spots to show in the wall. (i think this is what you seeing now)

[Naranghi]

Primer always looks smeary and thin. It does not coat as well as paint, but as long as you have some on the entire surface you will be fine. Go ahead and paint your color and you will see a big difference! Good luck.

[Tina C]

All a primer is, is a flat based paint. Depending on if you go a deep color or not depends on tinting the primer. Like if you were to go bright red or royal blue you would want to tint your primer otherwise when you buy your paint to color your walls you would need multiple coats. If you tinted your primer you'd need half the amount of paint. The primer is also good for ceiling paint. Believe it or not ceiling paint, flat paint, and primer are alot alike.

[book writer]

Primer looks like this, but it's fine! Primer is a sealer and it has very little pigment in it, so it won't cover very well, the paint will cover it just fine!