What Is Primer and Why Does It Matter?

Primer is the coat applied under the paint — invisible, but it decides the result. The secret to a good paint job is often the right primer.

What does primer do?

• Adhesion: makes the paint grip the surface firmly.
• Coverage: hides the underlying colour and unevenness — critical especially in a colour change.
• Corrosion protection: protects the metal on metal surfaces (especially aluminium).
• Barrier: after osmosis, the epoxy barrier keeps water out.

Choosing the right primer

Primer is chosen by surface (fibreglass, wood, metal), paint type and purpose. A primer before antifouling differs from a topside primer. The wrong primer makes the paint lift quickly.

What if primer is skipped?

Paint done without primer or with the wrong one blisters, flakes and must be redone. So primer is an inseparable part of surface prep.

We determine the right primer and paint system in our boat painting service.