Depends somewhat on how long the primer is going to have to sit.More than a couple weeks, I would wait.

Okay. Definitely be longer than that. Months, probably. What is the saying about multiplying the time you think it'll take by three? I'm multiplying by six nowadays, :(

Just curious as to why this would be best to leave it bare if more than a couple weeks. Would it help if I finish painted the ceiling right away? I guess I was worried the finish paint would get banged up or dirty or something.

I do appreciate your time and help!

Actually, if there is going to be material stored in the MBR or work performed there, don't do anything at all until all the other work is done.

Then have that room done as a stand alone project. The difference in time/labor will be small. The sheetrock can be installed in one day, the mudding/taping possibly partially in that first day but easily by the second.

Priming could be done the afternoon of the second day.

Then wallpaper, trim, flooring treatment---possibly less than a week.

I agree that leaving the room completely unfinished is the best solution, but if that's not an option, then I'd go ahead and prime and one coat of finish paint on the walls. They will be much easier to clean then than the paper of bare drywall and if they've become stained, you can prime and paint again with no issues.

Good heavens! It never occurred to me to just leave the drywall off completely. Totally obvious, duh. This is why I love this website.

It's funny how tunnel-visioned one can get during this process.

Thank you. The drywall will stay off in that room. It can get put on with the other rooms later.

Just a quick follow-up: Here is an email that I received from Rustoleum on this question.

Thank you for contacting Rust-Oleum Product Support

We apologize for the delay in this response to your e-mail.

The Gardz is a penetrating surface sealer, so this should be acceptable if you are looking to hang paper at a later time. You just will have to thoroughly clean the surface before hanging the paper. This is unlike our primers, which build a film on the surface and should be topcoated within a few weeks of application.

If you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us

Sincerely,

Jason K.

It's bad to leave primer unpainted for long periods of time, that's true, because it may affect adhesion of the topcoat, but believe me....painters have been violating this rule for many, many years and I'm not sure how many times it has come back to bite them....for me, I've had zero callbacks on the matter. Sure, in an ideal world, it's best to prime one day and then apply finish coats the next, but in reality the schedule rarely falls into place like this. I have always just pole sanded the walls really well before topcoating to open up again the pores in the primer and remove any surface dirt that may affect adhesion.

The Gardz is a great idea, but I would still pole sand before applying topcoats. Also, I'm surprised that he wouldn't recommend Shieldz for priming where you are hanging wallpaper. Gardz is not the best primer for use under wallcoverings....Shieldz is. Maybe if you are leaving the Shieldz unpapered for many months, this could be a bad thing? It does not say anything about that in their technical sheets. The absolute best thing to do though is read the directions that come with the wallpaper to determine what primer to use....or if you are hiring a pro to hang paper, then he should do this step. I'm just not sure I would paper over Gardz, so really you will need to reprime those walls you painted with Gardz with the correct primer designed to be used under wallcoverings before you hang your paper...just seems like wasting a step here priming twice (once with Gardz and again with Shieldz).

The man that is going to hang my paper is a professional and he made a point of saying not to use any primer except the Gardz. It's going underneath Cole and Son pulp paper wallpaper.

It's just that he's out of commission for 3 months after a surgery and our drywall is going up on the 25th of this month. I just wanted to seal it to protect the bare drywall from moisture and dirt and such.

I'll check out the Shieldz, though. Thanks

I will respectfully disagree with paintguy;s statement that Shieldz is a better primer than Gardz. It is NOT.You're paper guy is correct in requesting Gardz, it is a MUCH better wall covering primer than Shieldz ever was or will ever be.Ask any professional paper hanger and they will agree.

Well, as a painter that strips wallpaper for a living, not sure I would trust the opinion of any professional wallpaper hanger. They don't give a crap what it's like to take that wallpaper down when it is time. This is why I got my information directly from the Zinnser site concerning Gardz and Shieldz. Again...depends on the paper being hung which is why I said read the directions.

Think I'll be going with Gardz as my paper guy requested. If I do what he says and it fails, then it's on him, no me.