Can you paint over a dark color without using a primer? Is primer necessary for dark paint, or can you skip it altogether? In this article, we answer your top questions about covering dark colors and provide the answers you need.
Painting over Dark Color without Primer
The most effective way to cover dark colors is by using a primer. However, it is possible to paint over dark walls without one. Below, we’ve outlined several methods to help you cover dark paint without using a primer. That said, using the right primer is the easiest and most efficient approach for covering dark colors.
Applying a primer not only conceals the old color but also ensures better paint adhesion and reduces the amount of paint needed. For these reasons, we highly recommend using a primer before painting. But if you’re set on painting without one, we’ve listed some alternative methods below that may still give you the results you’re looking for.
How to Cover Dark Colors without Using Primer?
1-Do Not Thin The Paint
Many types of paint are sold ready to use. But some paints require a small amount of thinning. Water-based, latex, synthetic dyes, etc. Whatever paint you use, do not add thinners to your paint. The thinner makes the paint easier to apply but reduces the coverage of the paint.
2-Allow The Paint Coats to Dry Well
Do you know that you can’t cover dark colors even if you apply five coats of paint every 5 minutes? The covering power of paint depends on two things. The quality of the paint and the waiting time between coats.
The waiting time between coats is written on the box of each paint. This is approximately 5 hours for acrylic, latex, and water-based paints and one day for synthetic dyes. A long waiting time between coats of paint helps to cover dark colors without primer.
3-Use a Quality Roller
Quality rollers do not shed their threads, do not leave marks on the wall, and can absorb a lot of paint. “Related article: how to paint with a roller without streaks?” The excessive paint absorbed by the roller ensures that the paint layer is thick and helps to cover the dark color.
4-To Paint without Primer, You Need Quality Paint
The most basic step to cover a dark color on a wall without a primer is to apply plenty of paint. Wall paint must be top quality to cover a dark color.
If the wall paint you buy is not of good quality, you may regret not using a primer. You will forget the number of coats you applied to the wall and the price of the paint you bought will exceed the price of the primer. “To learn more about colors, you can read the color tips category and the article what is base paint?”
Frequently Asked Questions
Do You Need Primer for Dark Paint?
Depending on how dark the paint color is, you may need to use a primer. Primer is required in order to cover dark colors such as black, navy blue, red, dark gray, anthracite, etc. Otherwise, you have to apply too many coats of paint.
Can I Paint over Dark Colors without Primer?
Yes, you can paint over dark colors without primer. But you’ll waste a lot of paint. Primers are usually cheaper than paint. Using primer instead of paint, you can easily cover the bottom color and not consume much paint.
Do You Need Primer for Black Paint?
Yes, you should use several coats of primer for black paint. Otherwise, it is difficult to cover the black color. (Black is a difficult color to cover, even with primer.)
Do You Need a Dark Primer for Dark Paint?
No, you don’t need a dark liner to cover a dark color. You can use a white primer or mix some of the paint in your primer.
Can You Paint over The Red Color without Primer?
Painting over red walls without primer is laborious. You need to use a lot of paint. We recommend using a primer to cover the red color.
