Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer-Sealer & Stain Killer 2.5 litre Ready Mixed Colour - White

I purchased this solely as a primer for painting matt emulsion over silk paint, so my review is purely for this, but I’m so impressed that I will absolutely consider using for other reasons. When painting over silk paint in the past, I made the mistake of thinking that a basic sand down and rinse off with sugar soap would suffice. Naturally, the matt emulsion crazed like mad, and I had the hideously boring job of much more extensive sanding, and the joy of repainting. Even after that, the finish wasn’t great. I’ve moved and, unfortunately, the living room was painted in silk, and in a colour I really don’t like. There was no chance I’d make same mistake this time, and after having a go at thoroughly sanding a patch of the existing silk and succeeding in doing very little, even after trying several different grits, I decided to eat the cost of a primer. Zinsser 123 was recommended by a decorating channel I like, and it’s water-based, which is a big plus, as I’m inexperienced with solvent-based paints. I also find strong smells give me nasty headaches and make my throat burn even when I use a mask, and felt this was more likely with a solvent based primer. This has a distinctive smell that I know I’ve smelled before, but can’t place where. It’s not particularly strong, and didn’t cause any headaches. It’s £10 a tin cheaper on Amazon than in B&Q, so I felt the risk of the tin arriving damaged and having to argue with Amazon about a return/refund was worth it. Thankfully, I didn’t have this issue. It came in a small, very sturdy cardboard box, with formed cardboard support trays at the top and bottom, the can was wrapped in a heavy duty clear plastic bag, then zip tied. The can itself had a 6-point star of clear duct tape across the lid, keeping it closed. Unlike some tins, I found this very easy to open with a flat-head screw driver. The tin size and its handle made pouring it into my tray easy. It’s a lot runnier than I expected, and I was a little concerned about coverage, but it was brilliant. I was only covering a mint green silk, but I wasn’t expecting it to provide such an even, opaque white base coat. The only other base coat I’ve used is Dulux “3 in 1 Problem Walls” (bought to block dark colour paint), and that’s so thick that it’s like painting cream cheese onto the walls. This was much drippier, which took a little getting used to, and I was very glad I had my drop cloths down. The cheap 4-inch roller sleeves I tend to use are prone to gumming up quickly, but they loved this stuff. The sleeves held loads of paint, laid it down beautifully, and each reapplication lasted ages—I’m really surprised at how much coverage I got out of each roller load of paint. I hate cutting in, so I use yellow Frog Tape for everything. This paint didn’t cause any issues with that at all. Someone in the reviews joked that this stuff dries in approximately 0.2 milliseconds. It’s not *that* much of an exaggeration. The tin says it’s touch dry in 30 minutes, and yes, it probably takes 30 minutes to dry if your house is in the rainforest. It was touch dry on my walls in about 5 minutes, and I’d started cutting in with my emulsion within 45 minutes, and that was only because I stopped for lunch. I used a basic Leyland magnolia matt emulsion over it, and I can now see why people recommend primers. It went on like a dream. Once the two coats had dried, it was even, no crazing, no patchiness, etc. Even the act of painting on the emulsion was easier than it’s ever been, and I’m sure I used less paint than I normally do. I’m really pleased with this purchase; it did exactly what I needed it to, and while it’s not the cheapest, it went further than I expected from the size of the tin, the quality is brilliant, and how much easier it made my job makes it worth it to me.

Zinsser 123 BullsEye is a superior primer, delivering flawless results where others fail. Previously, I used a shellac-based alternative which allowed yellow stains to bleed through the topcoat. For moisture-resistant MDF panelling, 123 proved perfect. Applied with a mohair roller, it provides superb adhesion and dries to a tough, even, smooth matte finish- a discernible transformation from the chalky texture of conventional primers like Leylands. This created an ideal substrate for my Farrow & Ball topcoat, with excellent final results. While slightly pricier, its performance on challenging materials like MDF is unmatched. Highly recommended. And thank you for the sellers exceptional packaging

I painted over varnished window sills and its covered it brilliantly!

I was recommended to use this over silk paint to prime the surface to then be able to use matt paint. I didn’t fancy having to sand all the silk surfaces if I’m honest so I gave this a go. You have to work quickly - it dries very fast and I think it stinks to high heaven so make sure your area is well ventilated but it’s very effective and durable. Doesn’t look like it’s covered well as it’s a watery consistency but trust the process, and I will definitely use it again, should I find more silk paint to eradicate. Just be careful to cover up well as because it’s thin, it’s easy to splatter. One tin will last a long time because of its consistency.

this product is just fantastic! I have been converting a cloakroom into a toilet and needed to put the electric cable into trunking and wanted to hide it as much as possible. I put this on the trunking and it instantly took, it did not run off or flake off. after the first coat I then switched to the green tin Zinsser and it went on perfectly with not issues!

Ok here's what I found out. If you paint a wall without sealing it first and you've ended up here then yeah it's going to satisfy your "whoopsie-daisies" schoolboy mistakes and - after brushing/blowing/wiping as much dust/chalky crap off your wall first - it solves your painting woes in one coat. Trust me I thought painting and decorating was as easy as it looks...no, not if you're dumb as I am. Save yourself money down the line. For the price it seems mildly overpriced - until you get it on the wall. 1 coat goes quite far. If you have a lot of problem walls (unsealed, chalky, paint coming off on your fingers) then after wiping it down this stuff is magic. What I would do first though: if you have mould, kids artwork or graffiti, damp on wood or walls then buy the smallest tin of Zinnser BIN and dab it over the worst problem areas. Be aware though it dries in 0.000007ms so don't paint the area with it cos you kill paintbrushes in a minute. Let that go off, have an hour break then come back and use Zinnser 1-2-3. Blast the wall/s with 1 coat using a roller - it goes quite far tbh. Go and do something else for 6 or so hours. Try your emulsion on small areas (try cutting in for example) - let it dry - come back to it in daylight. If it looks good, no crap comes off onto your hand then you're good. You save the need for a second coat of Zinnser and thus makes you glad you spent the money. Doesn't work using my method, then hit it with a second coat before you use your desired emulsion or gloss if it's wood.

Zinsser 1-2--3 fus reccomender par un specialiste du peinture en Angleterre. Nous sommes user sur les portes des placards plastique dans le cuisine. Le Zinsser 1-2-3 est tres facile pour user et il fait une superbe bas pour couverture par une autre peinte colouris Dulux. Zinsser 1-2-3 est le meilleur!

Il a fallu 5 fois pour couvrir certaines taches d'eau. J'avais espéré que ce serait moins transparent et qu'il valait mieux cacher les taches brunes.