Not ready for prime time

2/13/10 Ridiculously old can of primer paint, consumed

Does primer go bad? I sure hope not.

This is actually a case where my hoarding totally paid off. This mostly-empty can of primer was left behind, like so many other treasures, by the beloved Andrew Zipkin when he sold the house to us. It has sat in a box in the corner of the basement all of these years with no project to devote itself to. Until now.

I actually started the thoroughly unfun project of repainting our entire basement/entry before Christmas, but progress has ground to a halt with the arrival of a baby.

With Joanna's family here for the weekend, however, I was freed up to return to the job, and did so with all the gusto I could muster. I had purchased fancy paint that claimed "no primer needed," but like so much offered up by corporate America, this product fell short of the marketing campaign.

Most of the problem can be attributed to the fact that I'm trying to cover the dark industrial gray trim (probably a color choice of the aforementioned Mr. Zipkin), with some paint that is just far enough away from white to have a fancy name like "Snowbound Starlight." The name also allows the paint to be sold at prices that do, indeed, make me look to the heavens.

It became clear on my first attempt that, just as the label said, primer is not needed. As long as I didn't mind doing at least four coats with the fancy paint.

That stuff is expensive, so forget that.

Thus, the decade-old primer was called into action, and, as far as I can tell, it has done its job.

Of course, with Meyrick and Donna leaving tomorrow, it may be months before I have time to finish painting and actually find out for myself.