Make sure you prime the kilz/binz with latex or you could have texture bleed through.

Fwiw I've never primed over shellac. It is the primer.

I would contact Kilz and ask them what the best way to proceed was

There knots. There is no answer, just keep painting over them.

for what it's worth, my contractor told me that no matter how well knots in pine are sealed, they will eventually bleed through. however, it seems in worst case scenario an epoxy paint or epoxy patch then paint should work.

I'd ask a professional at Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams what product they recommend and then use it. They have come up w/ solutions to my "problem children" in the past. good luck.

I had the same problem with bleed through, but I had used B-I-N (Zinsser) oil based. I had done the knots once, then painted the entire tongue and groove wall with oil based paint. The knots bled through in a couple of months. I then repainted the wall and it still bled through. I then decided I should read the instructions on the can (oops) and it said to do the knots twice before painting. So I redid the knots, painted AGAIN and have had no "big" problems since then, (about 4 years ago now) although there are still a couple of minor spots, but hardly noticeable. I lightly sanded before I applied the BIN and again before I reapplied the paint.

Honestly, I don't really find that the BIN really does what it says. Maybe Kilz is different. But I had water stains on my ceiling and the BIN seemed to be only a temporary fix, until the stains bled through. The best solution I've encountered so far is to seal knots (pine) with actual shellac (if using an oil based paint, which alas is no longer available in Canada)

But maybe BIN used to work better when the wood being sold was drier (unlike now when H. depot appears to have just acquired lumber from a tree cut that morning)

Just use the white pigmented shellac. Two coats works nearly every time. Not oil based, definitely not water based.

There is no suitable substitute for the white pigmented shellac. I have recently seen synthetic shellac in the big box store but I don't have experience with it so wouldn't bother trying something different from what I know works.

The regular shellac should work just as well so I might substitute that if I didn't have the primer on hand. But, not many people keep shellac on hand as it has a limited shelf life.

Oops, the BIN is shellac based

If your ceiling is painted with water based paint it should not be a problem priming with a white shellac primer. I would sand the most offensive areas though and put on two coats. Shame on your contractor for not doing this properly in the first place.

these are what you want. I've used them on pine and on mahogany that is to be painted white. mahogany and the knots have tannins that bleed through. the shellac basically encapsulates it so it can't show through the paint. just do the 2nd one above over the knots. do two coats. do a fine sanding if necessary. then paint.

if you want it to be gone forever - those knots - then paint over them with wood glue. i know, sounds crazy, but knots can not bleed through the thin layer of glue

Just curious - why isn’t the builder fixing this?

Maybe he did - the post started over a year ago

@Betty Pepau: Curious to know what you ended up doing, and how it worked out. Because I'm facing the same problem with a tongue and groove ceiling installed a few months ago as part of a home renovation. The knots had initially been 'primed' with a stain primer, twice, but not the shellac-based primer most sites are recommending for wood knots. I'm trying to figure out the best way to solve this problem.

Hello! I know this convo is dead, but I would like to share my experience. Two identical porches, knottiness the same, spots the same as in your pics. Used BM high grade on one, Behr marquis on the other. Both primed with fresh start. Behr marquis has 0 spots, and Benjamin moore looks like total poop smear central. Tried it again to make sure it wasn’t a fluke on a closet done in wood paneling. Behr marquis still has no spots one year later.

Thanks for the info!

What is BM high grade?

which kind of Marquis did you use.…ENAMEL paint and primer?

Was the BM Fresh Start you used the ”High Hiding all purpose primer”?

Yes on the primer. I used behr marquis flat available in the us at home depot. Contractors definitely hate it but Its my go to for homes with children because its durability is bar none the best of any paint I have used. Benjamin moore aura is what I used on the failed walls.