5 Best Exterior Primer For Peeling Paint

Peeling paint can be irksome, especially when it comes to redecorating the exterior of your home.

If you don’t take the time to get rid of peeling paint on the exterior of your property, you can end up with a flaky, uneven paint job that ruins the aesthetics of your home.

An exterior primer for peeling paint can aid this problem so that repainting the exterior of your property is a stress-free experience.

Keep reading to find out more.

Top 5 Exterior Primers For Peeling Paint

INSL-X SXA11009A-01 Stix Acrylic Waterborne Bonding Primer, 1 Gallon, White

The INSL-X SXA11009A-01 Stix Acrylic Waterborne Bonding Primer is a premium-quality, acrylic-urethane bonding primer-sealer with unparalleled adhesion to the most challenging surfaces.

This primer bonds to hard-to-coat surfaces, and is great for priming drywall, plaster, ceiling, acoustical tile, wood trim and doors, ceramic tiles, glossy surfaces, and more!

Versatile! This particular primer can be top-coated with almost any product, making it super applicable to use with paint you already have around the house!

PROS

• Versatile – This product can be used to prime the majority of surfaces and can be applied in temperatures as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Low VOC – This particular primer is low VOC, meaning that you can rest assured that it is safe for you to use.
• Low maintenance cleanup – The INSL-X primer is water-based, making it super easy and hassle-free to clean up with soap and water.

CONS

• One customer noted that this particular primer had a tendency to dry quicker than anticipated in the can.

KILZ Premium High-Hide Stain Blocking Interior/Exterior Latex Primer/Sealer, White, 5 gallon

The KILZ Premium High-Hide Stain Blocking Interior/Exterior Latex Primer/Sealer is a powerful stain-blocking water-based formula that seals surfaces, helps to achieve a uniform finish.

With excellent adhesion for most surfaces, this versatile primer can be used on interior and exterior drywall, plaster, woodwork, paneling, masonry, and brick.

This primer dries quickly for your convenience, simply wait and recoat in as little as 1 hour!

PROS

• Zero VOCs – The low odor of this paint means that you can rest assured knowing that it is safe to use in and around all homes and workplaces!
• Low maintenance – This primer is easy and hassle-free to clean up, simply wipe away with soap and water.
• Mold resistant –  This KILZ primer features mildewcide protection to prevent mildew and mold.

CONS

• A few customers claimed that this particular primer arrived leaking.

KILZ 2 Multi-Surface Stain Blocking Interior/Exterior Latex Primer/Sealer, White, 1 quart

The KILZ Multi-Surface Stain Blocking Interior/Exterior Latex Primer/Sealer blocks mild to medium stains, hides previous colors, and has a mildew-resistant film.

This primer is great for a wide variety of surfaces, including brick, painted metal, properly prepared glossy surfaces, drywall, paneling, stucco, masonry, plaster, and wood.

Offering the perfect consistency for a smooth and level finish, this primer works well to seal porous surfaces and fills in small imperfections to leave the exterior of your property looking fresh!

PROS

• Stainblocking – This primer works to block staining from water, grease, ink, pencil, and felt marker and is ideal to hide previous colors. 
• Mildewcide protection – Helps to prevent mildew and mold from growing in and around your home, helping to maintain the paintwork for longer.
• Good coverage – Offers excellent adhesion and good coverage to most interior and exterior surfaces.

CONS

• A couple of customers noted that this particular primer didn’t cover big stains as well as they had hoped.

Prestige Exterior Paint and Primer In One, 1-Gallon, Flat, White

The Prestige Exterior Paint and Primer in One is designed for your convenience as a premium paint and primer in one!

This primer is specifically designed and intended to be used on exterior surfaces including properly prepared wood, masonry surfaces, cement board siding, vinyl, aluminum, and factory primed siding.

This durable primer features a premium mildew-resistant coating, meaning that you don’t have to worry about mold or mildew appearing on the exterior of your home or property.

PROS

• Primer and paint in one – This particular primer doesn't require a topcoat, meaning that you can save time and money by painting your exterior walls with it!
• Low VOC – This means that you can use this primer in and around your property without the fear of breathing in lots of harmful chemicals.
• Quick-drying – This primer dries in 1 to 2 hours, so you can efficiently work without being held up by long drying times!

CONS

• One customer noted that they needed more coats than they were expecting when it came to using this particular paint primer.

Rust-Oleum Corporation 260925 Triple Thick Primer, 1-Quart, White

The Rust-Oleum Corporation 260925 Triple Thick Primer is specifically designed for use on peeling or worn interior or exterior surfaces including wood, metal, concrete, and more!

The triple-thick formula works well to penetrate and bond with cracked or peeling surfaces to glue down edges and fill in gaps for a smooth finish for your topcoat.

This paint primer works to prevent paint from peeling in the future, leaving you with a beautifully smooth surface that the majority of topcoats will work with!

PROS

• Quick-drying – This primer dries to the touch within 30 minutes and can be recoated in 2 hours.
• Good coverage – This Rust-Oleum primer can cover between 12-50 sq. ft. per quart depending on surface porosity, so is excellent value for money.
• Easy to clean up – This primer is water-based, making it incredibly easy and hassle-free to clean up with soap and water.

CONS

• A few customers noted that the tin for this particular primer was hard to get into.

Buyer’s Guide

There are a few factors that you’ll need to take into consideration when purchasing exterior primer for peeling paint, but it mainly comes down to the type of surface, your safety, and durability.

It is important to mention that a primer for peeling paint will only work as well as it is designed to if the surface is properly prepped. That being said, for severe cases of peeling, you will need to either pressure wash the surface or sand it to ensure the surface is ready to be primed.

Taking this extra step might seem unnecessary, but if you fail to do so, you could severely impact the overall look of your exterior surface.

Prepping beforehand will allow you to achieve the smooth, professional finish that you’re looking for by using a primer first. As a result, then, preparation is key!

Check out the factors below to learn more.

Type of surface

An important factor to take into account when choosing a primer for peeling paint is the type of surface that you intend to paint.

Exterior primers are specially designed to protect exterior surfaces such as masonry from alkalinity and efflorescence, whilst also being formulated to resist cracking, peeling, and discoloration from extreme weather conditions.

That being said, you will need to take into consideration the type of exterior surface that you intend to prime and choose your primer in accordance with that.

A lot of primers are marketed as being suitable for all sorts of surfaces making them incredibly versatile, as they work to seal and fill in the imperfections of a variety of different surfaces.

The main thing to remember is that you will require a primer that is suitable for exterior surfaces, as it needs to be much tougher and be able to withstand more than a primer that is designed for interior use alone.

An interior only primer would be somewhat futile to use on the exterior of your property, as they’re simply not formulated to withstand bad weather conditions such as heavy rain.

Whichever primer you decide to use, make sure that it is suitable for the specific exterior surface you want to prime or is a primer that is suitable for a plethora of different exterior surfaces.

Type of primer

When finding the right exterior primer for peeling paint, you’ll need to consider the different types of primers available to buy on the market.

Typically speaking, exterior walls can be primed with an oil or latex primer. Generally, an oil primer can be more challenging to use as it takes longer to dry and the clean-up process requires harsh chemicals, such as paint thinner or mineral spirits, that can be toxic to breathe in due to their high levels of VOCs.

A water-based latex primer can be easier to use as it offers more flexibility, resists peeling and cracking, and can be cleaned up with soap and water.

As a result, it is generally less hassle than using an oil primer. However, it is worth mentioning that you make sure to match the primer to the type of finishing paint. People tend to use a latex primer due to its ease of use and hassle-free clean-up.

Safety

An incredibly important factor to take into consideration when using primer for peeling paint is your safety.

Depending on the primer that you use, you should still be aware that VOCs are something to be mindful of when working with paint primers, with regards to painting as well as cleaning up.

Although you’ll be painting outside of your property, and you therefore won’t need to worry as much about ventilation the same way as if you were inside, you shouldn’t underestimate toxic materials and still need to take caution when using them.

Generally speaking, oil-based paints generally will contain higher levels of VOCs, and thus have a higher odor, and are much more difficult to clean up without toxic solutions like white spirits.

Latex paint primers are generally low odor, low-VOC, and have an easier clean-up process as they are water-based and can easily be cleaned with soap and water in comparison to oil-based which require paint thinners with high levels of VOCs.

Protective gear, such as respirators are essential for your safety when it comes to undertaking tasks around your property such as painting, priming, or jobs that involve high-VOC paints, primers, or cleaning solutions.

The failure to wear proper protective gear when working with VOCs can lead to dizziness, headaches, and irritation of the eyes and nose that generally make working much more difficult.

You don’t want to be in a position whereby you have to cut the day working on painting your property short, so take care and be safe by taking the proper precautions.

Durability

An important factor you’ll need to take into consideration when choosing an exterior primer for peeling paint is durability.

A good indication of whether a product is durable or not is to check the product reviews section. Here, customers can leave feedback, good or bad on the primer and whether they are satisfied with it and would recommend it overall.

Alongside this, the product reviews section can also reveal useful information on a brand’s customer service. If a customer has had a bad experience with a company’s customer service, whether that be rude staff or that they couldn’t get hold of anyone to fix the issue, then it is likely that they will let you know, too.

Although problems occur in businesses every day that are often outside of the brand’s control, how they interact with their customers and work to rectify said issues will reveal a lot about whether you want to invest your money in them and their product.

I always recommend doing your own research and making sure that you are happy with the feedback that you find before going ahead with your purchase!

Coverage

When purchasing exterior paint primer for peeling paint, you will also need to take the coverage into account, which is the surface area that can be covered per liter of primer. This is important to bear in mind as it allows you to plan and lets you calculate how much paint you'll need to buy.

The greater the coverage, the less primer that you’ll need to use. Therefore, the greater the coverage, the better value the primer is and the more money you can save for paint!

Although primer differs to paint, you may still need a few cans of primer depending on the size of the surface that you intend to paint. Always do your own research and make sure that you are happy with the coverage of a primer before clicking ‘buy’.

Dry time

An important factor to take into consideration when choosing a paint primer is the dry time. You might not initially think of the dry time as being important, but think again.

Dry time will not only contribute to how convenient repainting the exterior of your property is but also how efficiently you’ll be able to work with the primer.

That being said, when you take into account the number of layers of primer alongside the paint you’re going to follow up with when you paint the topcoat, it can add up to a significant bit of time!

This is important to know because if you’re on a tight timescale, the dry time can hold up the process if you aren’t aware and accidentally pick a primer with a long drying time that eats into the time you have to tackle the project.

On average, primers can take anywhere between half an hour to 24 hours depending on the primer that you choose, so you’ll need to ensure that you check the product description before going ahead with your purchase.

Depending on the size of your project, you don’t want to find that you run out of time halfway through, as the outside of your house is for the world to see!

That being said, you want a primer that is going to make your life and redecorating the exterior of your property easier, not more hassle than it’s worth, so make sure that you choose one with a quick-drying time!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many coats of primer do I need?

How many coats of primer you’ll need will vary and tends to depend on the surface that you are painting.

If the exterior of your property is dark or is a particularly porous surface, then it might take more coats than a lighter color or a less porous surface would in order to achieve the finish that you are looking for.

Generally speaking, one or two coats of primer will suffice for painting the exterior of your house or property. However, something else that you’ll need to consider is the quality of the paint primer.

This is because the number of layers you need will depend on the quality of the paint primer that you buy as well as the color and type of surface that you’re working with.

Alongside this, surfaces that have more imperfections might require more primer, too, in order to fill in all of the gaps and make a clean, smooth finish for your topcoat.

How do you clean primer out of paint brushes?

There are many different types of paint brush cleaners on the market to help you clean primer and paint out of your brushes, and which you decide will largely come down to the type of exterior primer that you’re using.

If you’re using a water-based primer, then water and a cleaning tool to help you scrape off excessive paint will be more than effective to clean your paint brushes.

However, if you’re using an oil-based primer, then the process is going to be a little different. Generally speaking, oil-based primers and paints require more heavy-duty cleaning solutions than just water.

These cleaning solutions, such as white spirits and paint thinner are highly toxic and have high levels of VOCs, so you will need to take caution when it comes to cleaning your brushes.

That being said, you will need to pour a small amount of solvent-based cleaner into a small container and work the solution of your choice into the brush bristles by pushing the brush against the sides of the container to get the majority of the primer out of the brush.

You will then need to leave your brush to soak for about 2 hours, rinse off any residue, dry with a clean cloth, and store it in a dry place for future use.