The best primer for unfinished cabnets would be a slow drying oil that is sanded after drying. (IMO)Go to a real paintstore and ask them.

lily,

BM Fresh Start; Muralo Original Painter's Primer; or Zinsser Bulls Eye 1 2 3 are very sandable and are for new work and repaints.

Remember, you're going to sand with #220, lightly, very lightly to smooth away any irregularities.

There is no logical reason to use alkyd (oil) primer on your cabinets. Avoid it.

Michael

very good! Thank you. After all my reading I do want to avoid oil base paints, because of the yellowing over time. After all the hard work I don't want to have to do it over.
I looked for a #220 and I will have to keep looking, they were out.
Do the brushes matter for the primer?
I'll get the good brushes for the Cabinet Coat.
Michael, I looked on your page and sad your in Ohio, if you were in Oregon I'd talk you into a paint job ;)

Michael,

Is Kilz also a good primer/sealer? They also have a latex version, maybe a couple of them, so many that it hard to determine which. Kilz Premium sells for about the same price as Zinsser 1-2-3, is one better than the other? They look to be direct head-to-head competitors. Walmart carries both brands, along with their own "Color Place" for a lot less...but it doesn't claim to be a sealer.

Is a sealer better for drywall that has had wallpaper removed, could be some glue residue on the wall, even though it has been washed.

XIM- UMA waterborne primer is the best.

You probably won't find this at a larger box store. Will need to find at individual paint stores. Look for QUALITY, and XIM has it all. Zinsser's 2nd .

Wallpaper removal-possible glue residue- lock down with scotch drawtite or zinsser gardz

Ok, sounds like using Zinsser Gardz is the safest/sure-thing for setting up the drywall for a topcoat. Is Agrdz similar to latex paint in application? That is, does it handle about the same, or is it different, say thinner or something else?

Again, my application is drywall that has been painted 20+ years ago, and has had pre-pasted wall paper on it for the past 15 years. I think I have gotten all the wall paper off, and most of the glue...I can't see any glue residue, but it seems best to use Gardz just in case, especially if it also sets up a good base for the application of finish coat(s) of latex flat wall paint.

Yeah the Gardz will serve as a primer as well as locking down any residual wallpaper paste. You are right...you may think that you have gotten all the paste off, but it's likely that you haven't, so it's always safest to use Gardz so that there is no way that the paste can come back to haunt you later on. Gardz is a very thin product...almost like rolling on water. You want to use a very small nap sleeve like 1/4" or 3/8" to apply it.

paintguy,

Thanks for the insights on Gardz, I'm going out shortly to get some. Being thin, I'd assume Gardz doesn't have much hiding power. I have a considerable amount of speckling to cover as well. I'll read the can use information before throwing in my "basket".