Should I use oil primer underneath oil paint?

Question

Is it necessary to use oil primer underneath oil paint (for trim) or can I use latex primer? Do all primers work interchangeably with oil and latex paints?

Answer 1

The rule of thumb is you can use latex paints over oil primers and latex primers. Do not use oil based paints over any surface currently coated with a latex primer or paint. The oil based paint or primer will usually lift the latex product and leave you with a wrinkled surface that looks like alligator skin.

Answer 2

It depends. Newer paints/primers hold up a lot better. You need to check the manufacturers website. The biggest issue you will have with a latex primer is that it will need to be pretty far in the curing process to paint over it - meaning it could be a month or two. Again you need to check the individual manufacturer's website.

Answer 3

Of course you can use oil over Acrylic (Latex paint was phased out in 1950s) as long as it has had many days to cure. I did oil over Acrylic (3 day cure) for a restaurant for their pastry boards. Still in perfect shape 10 years later. I have also used oil primer on my house (exterior) over Acrylic 25 years ago. Still in good shape. The key is, if you start with water based, it needs to cure for at least 72 hours. Nowadays, acrylics and waterborne Alkyds are awesome, so there is no real reason to use an oil based product.