Over the last 35 years I have lived in my home I have started many projects with Zinsser Qt BIN Primer Sealer. This stuff seals hard to cover stains better than any other product I know.

What Is It?

Zinsser is a shellac based stain-killing primer-sealer. It stinks to high-heaven but if the strong odor indicates how well it does the job, it's a BIG winner...and it is. It's been around as long as I have been a home owner and recall seeing it in my dads shop area too. They must be doing something right.

The odor does take some getting used to. They state to use it in a well ventilated area but if it's winter and you are painting a small room all you can do is crack a window slightly. Personally, I like the smell. I wouldn't however use it in a children's room when they are present. A day after covering the Zinsser with a cover coat, and you are just fine letting the kiddies run and play and put finger prints on the clean walls.

This is also very fast drying. After just 45 minutes it's ready for a coat to be applied. That's a real time saver!

What Does It Do

Zinsser BIN is noted to seal hard to cover stains. I have used it for knots in wood that come through even after a number of coats of regular paints. One coat of Zinsser and the knot is never to be seen again. I have found that I can purchase a cheaper grade of moulding with many knots and save money if I plan to paint it anyways. The Zinsser leads to a nice smooth coat without any bleeding through. I don't see any shadows or ridges of the knots either. It's like I painted on a perfectly smooth and knot free piece of wood. It is that good.

This is a fast drying sealer that allows a top coat to be placed on much sooner than other primer sealers. It's good for oil or latex paints.

Our Use At Home

I have used this in our bathroom when I picked up water stains on tile. I didn't have top apply this to the full ceiling. I just spot applied and painted the whole ceiling afterward. All looked good.

We had a puff-back in our home years back. Zinsser helped cover the soot left after the cleaners left. All odors were gone afterward.

What I like is that it brushes on easily. I do seem to use a lot of the product when using a roller.

I did use this product in our bedroom when I decided I did NOT want to take off the floor to ceiling wall paper. I took some dry wall paste and made the seams even smoother than they were. I then applied Zinsser BIN to all the seams and paper. When it was time for the top coat, one coat did the job and one would not be able to tell there is paper underneath. I am especially careful to do an excellent wall paper application because I do NOT remove them any longer. I smooth it out, seal it and top coat. DONE!!

That's the other thing. I have never had to apply two coats of paint when using Zinsser BIN as a base coat. I can slap on the Zinsser, let it dry and then apply the top-coat and know the finish will be perfect. Zinsser is also tenacious in how it grips the finish I apply it to. No seeming to be able to be "pealed" off like with latex applications. This stuff becomes part of what it covers. Using Zinsser also eliminates any sanding before covering. Like I said, the stuff attaches itself to most anything well.

Don't let the smell keep you from doing a job that will be easier to perform and have a better finish too.







Recommended: Yes