Wood filler on top of new primer paint

[greenlikeapples]

Hi

We are edging towards the end of a three year whole house renovation. Running out of steam we have got some decorators in.

Their method is to paint the wood with primer and then use wood filler over that to repair the wood. This seems wrong to me - wood filler is for wood, and introducing another layer between these two materials 1. disrupts the intended chemical/mechanical bond and 2. adds a further two layers of bond (wood to pain, paint to filler) that can potentially fail.

Am I right, and should I raise a fuss, or are they okay with their methods?

Many thanks

Jon

 

[Crystalclear]

Raise a fuss! Were British! Politely mind?!

If they sand it down, then no issue, as both the filler and primer are gonna be a 'key' for your top coat.

 

[Crystalclear]

Is the paint gonna be oil based gloss?

 

[joe-90]

They are doing it the right way. The primer sinks below the surface and hardens. Filler doesn't do that.

 

[greenlikeapples]

Hi thanks for all the comments - slightly more reassured. Surprised/happy that no one has gone "oh my God that's awful", as can happen on this forum, so I guess it's not too bad.

In response:

It's not oil based it's water based. Final coat will be water based satin gloss.

Interesting re paint sinking in. Only thing is we are using this zero VOC stuff (Ecos brand, not sure if I rate them, especially their wall paints definitely need testing before use) which I am not sure acts like normal primer. guess it probably does. It dries like a rough looking undercoat, it doesn't look super sink-in-y. I'll look into it more. It definitely will key well with stuff though, it is nice and rough.

Anyway, de-stress time I guess.

Unless people start going "oh my God"..!

Thanks again

Jon

 

[Crystalclear]

Oh myyyyyy .......

Jokes.

 

[misterhelpful]

The primer appears rough because it raises the grain of the bare wood. This is why the primer should always be sanded lightly after it dries and before the undercoat (or topcoat if you use a combined prime/undercoat). The same goes for all subsequent coats if you want the very best looking finish.

As for filling after priming....OH MY GOD!!! Just kidding - bare timber sometimes absorbs too much moisture from the filler, allowing it to shrink below the surface and even crack. Priming first stops this occurring, and also highlights other imperfections that may need some filling which can often be missed if you fill first. It's advisable to spot prime the filler afterwards though to avoid any issues with it 'flashing' through your finish coats.

 

[greenlikeapples]

Oh my...

Thanks again for all the feedback

 

[sparkwright]

I think wood filler on top of primer is best.

This is particularly true with caulk.

Caulk sticks better to primer than it does to wood.

 

[greenlikeapples]

So much to know eh