My only concern would be that putting red over red would show a deeper color then red over primer. I would prime it if it were mine.

I did a red over a prior burgundy red on a door and it took something insane like 5 coats. I didn't prime because the door was so heavy with paint already. Really needs to be pitched, we need a new door ;)

If it were me, I'd prime, then paint. For more uniform coverage of the new color. Priming could well save you extra unneeded coats, too, because red is notorious for needing more coats than average for color. (Not saying it will reach 5 like my door, tho!).

Gray primer is what is recommended beneath red paint over in Paint Forum here.

Red is one of the most difficult paints to work with. Apparently the molecules of the red compounds are larger, so you don't get as good coverage. Red paint also burnishes more easily, so if you wipe or rub the wall, it will usually leave a mark of some sort.

We painted a deep red over white primer in our renovation, and it took 4 coats for me to get the correct shade. It wasn't until the 3rd that the color appeared...up to that point it kept coming out pink.

I've always heard one should tint the primer pink with some of the red paint if you are putting down red. And when covering red paint to change to another color, you should use a gray tinted primer to help neutralize the red.

Either way, you'll probably be happier with a layer of primer down before you changed red tones.

You can always experiment if you still have some of your old red. Paint a 3 x 3 piece of primed wood or cardboard with your old red. Apply multiple coats until you get the exact same hue as your present wall. Then reprime half of it, let dry. Then paint the new red over all of it, apply as many coats as you need to get good coverage and see if you notice a difference between the primed and unprimed sections. This little exercise just might save you a lot of time, sweat, money, and frustration.

We used primer tinted with charcoal color when we painted red over white. It only needed one coat after the primer. Will it work for red over red? I don't know. A good "to the trade" paint store should be able to tell you what to use.

Hi there! I'm currently also painting Bangkok Rust over a previous layer of the "wrong" red. I got the Valspar Signature Satin, and it is covering beautifully in 2 coats! (Not all the reds have been like that, but the Bangkok Rust is doing a great job of covering.)

I love this color also... Nice choice!

Lis

Could you show a pic so i can see what Bangkok red looks like.

The reason red has poor coverage and requires multiple coats is because titanium white is what gives opacity to paint and the reds have the least amount of TW.

Your base red will peek through and alter the color of your top coat red. Best bet is to prime, use a mid to deep gray for best results.

Creekylis, you may be the dear who brought Bangkok Rust to my attention. If so, kudos to you! It is next to impossible to find a TRUE red; your hard work will pay off tenfold for many of us here. It's like finally finding that proverbial needle in the haystack and you did it.

n2cookin... I know what you mean... I actually tried 8 or 9 reds before I found it. Ironically, Tibetan Red was the first sample I tried too. Everything seemed to be too purple once on the walls. I had posted about it here a week or so ago when I *FINALLY* found it. Bangkok Rust is really great, isn't it? I bought another gallon of it this morning!

Lis

I would also worry about the red undercoat imparting its tone to the new paint and would prime.

I painted a dining room SW cajun red, SW gave me so black tint to add to my Zinser primer. One coat of primer and I did 2 coats of red for a even look. I was surprised it covered so well.

We just finished our "red" dining room and I lOVE IT! We used Bm's moroccan red, seems darker in our space. We too had the store, white primer & they added as much black to it that would fit in the 5 gallon container of paint. It ended up actually a really neat gray, blue shade. The red went on well over that, looked good with one coat and perfect with two.

mommyto4boys, please post pics of your moraccan red, I don't think I've seen that shade before.