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Should I ALWAYS use primer when painting? Or is it only needed when you want to make drastic changes to the color of a room? And should tint ever be added to the primer? Or is it best to use white?

You don't always have to use primer, but you can see if the paint is going to react with something on the surface. If so It's cheaper to find it with primer than your finish color.

Greg

On exterior painting, the primer can help with chalking and oxidation.

Personally I always use primer, to me it's cheap insurance of a good paint job. I also believe in using paint store paint, not the stuff from home depot or lowes. I've found that it takes less paint to cover and goes on easier and with less splatter. To me it's worth the extra cost. I get my paint at Sherwin Williams and they have a sale what seems to be once a month or so for 30-40% off paints. Which makes them almost as cheap as HD but you get a lot better paint. Painting is something everyone that walks in your house will see and it's not really a fun job so spending a few extra bucks on the paint is worth it in my opinion.

it would be best to state what exactly your painting, but it is always best to use one coat of primer and 2 thin coats of paint.

The problem with darker colors is paint stores need to add so much tint to the paint that it ruins the coverage and quality of the paint. So if your painting an ultra dark or bright color (which it sounds like because you are considering tinted primer), look into the high-end paints. they typically offer tint bases that start off red, blue or yellow and make it easier to achieve those type of colors. In my paint mixing days at Menards, those were Dutch boy Dimensions or Pittsburgh Grand Distinction...

My house is currently a gray color, but I want to paint it a light green that will match the surrounding sage brush. So I should use white primer, and then add my light green on top. Right? Just want to make sure I'm not needing to add any tint to my white primer paint bucket.

Thanks

Painting outside I would definitely use a primer and also lightly power wash it first. Adding a tint to the primer will help a little with the top coat. As stated above use a quality paint and primer. But I disagree about brands. I use to always use Duron Brand paint which was excellent but I have used a lot of Behr (Home Depot) paint and I find it has been improved a lot over the years. you would be surprised at who makes the paint for some of the big box stores.

Ron

Primer is not always needed. If the existing paint is in good shape - no bubbles, cracks, blisters, flakes - there is no need for primer. If there are parts where the surface has been broken in any way...then spot prime and move on. Trouble areas need to be scraped or lightly sanded, and then fully primed.

If you decide to primer the entire structure - then by all means - have them tint the primer to within a couple shades of your top coat. I don't recommend tinting to the same color as it can make it difficult to know when you have applied a full and consistent top coat.

The finest paint I have ever worked with was Benjamin -Moore. The stuff is like yogurt in a gallon can - and it slides on beautifully. Generally, one coat does it over like shades - two coats max. BTW, if you decide to keep the white trim, check out BM's Brilliant White. It will take at least two-three coats - and the finished product is a glorious white in all its purity.

Lastly, spend the extra bucks and get a thick AND real sheepskin or lambskin roller cover. You'll see much, much less roller splatter, and the clean up is painless. BM usually carries the sheepskins in 12", 15" and 18". The smaller one fits perfectly in a five gallon bucket with a grid in it. The larger ones work great in a rubbermaid storage tub - and you have a lid that snaps in place if you need to take a break. Just leave the roller submerged in the paint - even up to a couple days.

(For cleanup of the roller cover - just leave it on the roller. Use a hose to repeatedly rinse, then spin the roller until It's clean. The give it a high power spin until the strands of wool kind of stand straight out. Pop the cover off the roller, rinse out the inside, and you're done.)