As the saying goes; “It’s all in the prep.” At Any Season Painting, we couldn’t agree more, but as always, were constantly looking for better products to use, as we firmly believe a painter is only as good as the products he/she employs. This is true with brushes, paint, and especially primers, especially in New England.

A few years back, with the rise of several companies promising unrealistic warranties, and ‘never paint again’ paint systems, at Any Season Painting, we couldn’t help but wonder what these companies were using for products. We searched and searched, and eventually found that their magic bullet is the use of bonding primers.

Bonding primers, IMHO, should/can be used in nearly every instance of paint failure. The common primers that are available are latex, oil, and shellac based. All three however, have drawbacks from coverage, to mil thickness, to stain blocking, to elasticity.

Any Season Painting firmly stands behind XIM Peel Bond for all of our jobs. Although it is double or triple the cost of most primers painters use, I was taught long ago that, in the big picture, “paint is cheap, labor isn’t.” The XIM product lines address all of the cons of the aforementioned primers with the following features:

• Mil Thickness- XIM can be applied up to 30 mil thick, without any sagging or ‘mud cracking’. This is important because it allows me to confidently promise my customers that, even with the most damaged surfaces, I can deliver a smoother finished surface than the next guy.
• Fast Drying- Peel bond dries quickly and can be top coated in 60 minutes or less.
• Weather Conditions- Providing the substrate is dry, XIM can be applied in extreme temperature and humidity conditions.
• Adhesion- XIM’s bonding primer is different from regular primers because it penetrates that substrate on a microscopic level to create a secure bond with any surface.
• Elasticity- Peel Bond’s latex base is nearly 300 times more elastomeric than regular primers.
• Cleanup- XIM is latex based, non toxic, and cleans up with soap and water.
• Stain Blocking- XIM’s thickness and penetration usually neutralize bleeding, tannin, and knothole stains, but in the event those still peek through, XIM makes an additive called XIM Bleedstop that addresses this.

In short, my exterior projects live and die by this product, so unless your painter is using the exact same primer, as well as top of the line Ben Moore and California finish coats, the comparison is apples to acorns.