Customer Reviews for Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 1-Gal. Water-Based White Primer/Sealer-DISCONTINUED

I read about this product on many DIY blogs & everyone swore by it. I used it when refinishing a desk, trying to shortcut the sanding step. I applied 1 coat, waited 2 days and applied another. After 3 more days, even though it felt dry, the lightest touch chipped the primer & it then peeled off in sheets. Rather than waste any more time, I pulled it all off (quite easy to do, no tools needed), sanded & painted. What should have been an easy project turned into a frustrating experience.

I bought a great house with good bones but lots of mismatched paneling over plaster walls. I needed a quick fix without having to tear out the paneling and repair the walls or drywall over the paneling. I used Bullseye to prime the paneling. Some of the paneling was so dark it I had to use 3 coats of primer. This could be because I thinned the Bullseye to help roll it on easier. It dried rock hard and then the paint adhered well. Fifteen years later there has been no chipping or peeling. A maintenance man at work recommended Bullseye and I am so glad I used it. Have also used it to paint over previously glossy painted concrete block basement walls with excellent results. After taking down 3 layers of wallpaper in the old kitchen i reached a plaster wall that hadn't been painted in maybe 50 years. First coat sunk in and the second coat of primer set up for painting. I don't understand the bad reviews for this primer. I have used it in all my home and rental projects and it works great. It is somewhat thick and I often thin it to roll on easier for at least the first coat.

This is a substandard product. On my painting project I went with Gliden's Gripper. When I went back to the store for more, they were out. As a result I got this primer. I must say that there is no comparison in how they seal. After using Gripper, I felt I was priming with water. Also, you are much more likely to get runs if you are using an airless sprayer. I was very disappointed with this product. And, by the way, it smalls worse than an oil-based primer. Spend extra couple of bucks and get the real deal.

My expectation of this product is that it would be dry in an hour or two, certainly overnight. I was shocked to find that the manufacturer has very low expectations for this product, stating that it takes between a week and a month to dry. If you read the fine print on the can, they claim "adhesion begins after seven days of cure time, in ideal conditions." After allowing one day for the primer to dry, I leaned a clean ladder against a wall. It stuck, and the primer pulled off the wall in large sheets. The Zinsser people are sending some replacement primer, though there is no way they will provide the other materials lost, sandpaper, skim coat of drywall compound or any labour to undo the damage caused by this product and start over.

We used this product for priming Formica wood kitchen cabinets. It covered well and it was easy cleanup. It adhered to the Formica cabinet doors and the topcoat paint went on smoothly. We applied it with a foam roller.

I found this primer runny and unable to cover colors adequately. In addition to this it would blotch.

This is a great primer. Used it for painting peg board, and most recently Formica window sills and my downstairs bath laminate countertop. Goes on smooth (with good prep) and dries quickly. Will be purchasing this primer for my future projects as well!

I've painted professionally for about 9 years, and have experimented with many different paints and primers in the field and around my own residences. For the price, this is my top pick for peeling/flaky paint, and when I want to repaint oil based surfaces with water based. It doesn't adhere very well to metal, as months later I can still scrape the paint off to the bare metal with my fingernail, and it hasn't done a good job of covering water or oily stains either (stick with oil based for those instances). I learned the hard way how glossy it is when I spot primed a ceiling, then painted the whole thing flat, and that one spot was still shiny. Nice on bare wood if you know how to work with it, even nicer when you plan on finishing with a glossy white, but I don't recommend spot priming. I've also had sub-par results sealing masonry, unless you don't mind applying two coats.

After removing wallpaper, most experts recommend using an oil based primer. Does anyone know if this product will work in this application?

I bought this product specifically to block water stains on drywall and I also tried it outside to block bare wood that was staining thru paints. It does not work for stain blockage. After 7 coats I finally got blockage of the water stains- but who wants to apply 7 coats?. The label on the paint can specifically states "BLOCKS STAINS". It was nice white paint otherwise.

Easy to apply, appears white when painting and when dry. One gallon goes a long way, like painting with milk.

Having recently purchased a house in need of major work, I have tried quite a few primers. The primers we have used are as follows...Benjamin Moore Fresh Start, Kilz2, Gripper, Guardz and Bulleye 1-2-3. I liked bulleye 1-2-3 for ceilings and new drywall. While it is overkill for new drywall it worked amazingly well. The only negative is has a bit of sheen when done. For wood based projects I preferred Fresh Start. While it worked reasonably well on high gloss damaged walls for the price I will normally only use it on wood projects. I have not tried bulleye 1-2-3(on wood) as I still have fresh start which has given me amazing results. Guardz was best on damaged drywall after wall paper removal. Peel stop is an exceptionally close product. It could be used in areas which had previously peeling paint after necessary repairs.(ie try to remove as much as you can sand etc) Gripper is a little thicker than other primers so I did not like it on new ceilings, but enjoyed using it on new drywall(walls) or over high gloss paint.(after prep) I also used it in areas where the previous paint seemed to have low adhesion. Guardz would be another good choice in areas of low adhesion. You could use guardz then a good primer to make sure. Kilz2 was the only one I disliked in general. It might be good at stain blocking etc, but I rather used other combinations to fix whatever problems it excels at... Overall I really liked using bulls eye 1-2-3 especially compared to using kilz2 on my drywall ceilings. Coated well and made it easy to find flaws in my drywall work. Do not worry if you cover it with flat ceiling paint you can hide minor flaws still, but compared to kilz2 it simply seemed to adhere better and made my work easier.

We painted our entire 40 year old house's interior, priming first with 1-2-3, and couldn't stop exclaiming as to how well it went on and covered EVERYTHING! Rough walls, knocked around skirting boards, louvered doors, you name it. Our house is transformed, and because it dries so quickly, putting on the final coat was quick and easy. I would recommend this to anyone, particularly do-it-yourselfers, as it is a breeze to use, and makes you look like a pro.

This is the world's WORST primer. I've used 3 coats to try to get coverage and still have terrible lines. I eventually had to purchase a different product to finish my project. Many wasted hours and some waisted money. Perhaps for drywall or something which doesn't matter it'd be ok, but not for any kind of project where streaks/ lines/ even coats/ coverage matter.

I've used this since 2003. I was rehabbing an old house with wooden windows. We sanded like crazy, but there were still areas with old glossy oilbase enamel. This stuff covered beautifully. The new latex semigloss stuck to it really well. Only downside is that scraping it off the window itself is really hard, because it even bonds to glass!!! I used inside and outside. It spreads really well, and the top coat of paint has a nice surface (flat, if it's supposed to be, but nice semi gloss if that's what it is too). This is IMPORTANT for a great finish job. This will save you a ton of money in repaints, extra money for multiple topcoats (with the labor of finish sanding between multiple coats). When using, don't use same brush very long, keep switching and cleaning the brush every hour, cuz it will NEVER come out of the brush, if that's important to you. But this is true of all primers. If you don't get fantastic results with this on any surface, you screwed up somewhere. I'm not a pro, but I've done a lot of refinishing, and this stuff is great, lasts forever.

I used Zinsser on window trimming where there is allot of moisture due to steaming water from kitchen sink. I just loosened off paint that was chipping or blistering up, then primed it with Zinsser. 8 years later, simi-gloss paint hasn't blistered or chipped. I think this is great stuff.

I've been a professional painter for years and have used this primer on a wide variety of surfaces, interior and exterior. It covers great, has good body, and lasts (important if you can't get back to finish coat for a while). It's almost like satin finish white paint when it dries. It also has great adhesion. I've never had any problem with 123 sticking to any surfaces I've used it on. I've recommended it to several friends and customers over the years! Anyone who doesn't like this product probably didn't know what they were doing...seriously!

We were priming the siding on a building when we ran out of our normal primer. I picked up 2 gallons of this stuff to finish the job and we were sorry to have done that. This primer created a runny drippy mess and the coverage was poor.