Ask Jon Eakes

Last Updated: Sunday, May 9th, 2010, Created: Monday, January 15th, 2001

How do you keep stains from showing through paint?

Wendy wants to clean years of nicotine off of her walls and repaint.

First, the best cleaner for any paint preparation is TSP, Tri-Sodium-Phosphate. There are now some more environmentally friendly "TSP Substitutes" available on the market as well. If no stain is left, use any paint you want. If there is a chance that there is still a bit of stain on the wall, then you should start with a stain block primer.

There are three kinds of stain block primers:

The easiest to work with, but least effective, are the latex stain blocks.

The oil-based stain blocks are better.

The shellac-based stain blocks are the best.

Any time you have tar or solvent based stains (like cigarettes or felt markers) you need to choose a shellac-based primer that acts as a stain block. Otherwise, with time the chemicals in the stains will work their way right through layers of new paint. The stain block primers are not all the best paint primers in the world, but they do block the stains extremely well.

Keywords: Blocks, Cleaning, Finishes, Paint, Primer, Stains, Walls

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