Mystery Dots Killed With Kilz

Digital Image

This powder room was originally painted a very dark brown. The new homeowner had her painters cover it with a good quality sealer and stain blocker, oil-based KILZ Original. This makes a good wallpaper primer, too. So I didn’t need to do any prep, but could just start hanging wallpaper.

But when I looked at the walls, I noticed some light dots all over one area. It looked to me like possibly something bleeding through – as if oil or mold or something had gotten onto the wall. This is a problem, because these substances can bleed through wallpaper and stain the surface.

Or – the dots could have simply been because the painter had a lump stuck to his roller, and it was leaving this pattern with each rotation of the roller.

But you never know, and I didn’t want to risk having something stain the new wallpaper. Even though I had been told that the room had been painted with KILZ, and I know that that product seals off stains and prevents bleed-through, I wanted to be extra sure. So I got my “emergency” quart of KILZ out of my van and daubed more on, on top of each of those little dots.

In the photo, you see some dots, and some daubs of KILZ.

Tags: bleed-through, KILZ, mold, oil, painters, roller, wallpaper, wallpaper primer