Bedec All-Prime is a new product – launched in the middle of 2023 – and hasn’t for some reason generated as much “buzz” or publicity as certain similar products have done. That’s a real shame, because Bedec as a rule, manufacture fantastic products, and Bedec All-Prime is a winner! Click here to see online prices.
What is Bedec All Prime and What is it Used for?
Bedec All Prime is an all-purpose water-based primer that will stick to almost any surface. It is suitable for both interior and exterior use. And when they say almost any surface, they give quite a list of examples; interior and exterior walls, ceilings, trim, doors, fascia, soffits, foundations, railings, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glossy enamel paints and clear finishes (by which I assume they mean varnishes etc), unpainted timber, MDF, PVC, fibreglass, vinyl, glass, ceramic tiles… that’s quite a list.
Not only that, but Bedec also claim All-Prime inhibits rust and blocks stains; they don’t offer an exhaustive list of which types of stains – they do mention wood knots, but also say that the product is not intended for blocking heavy water stains.
All-Prime is available in 750ml and 2.5L tins, in either white or dark grey (useful for all these people who want their banisters painted anthracite now!). It can be applied by brush, roller or spray (and there are helpful hints on tip sizes etc on the tin).
It is touch dry in 2 hours, recoatable in 4 (although it does go on to say that for optimum results it’s best to wait until the next day before painting over it, and that it only reaches its optimum adhesion and hardness after 7 days). The only other slight provisos are that some stains may need a second coat, as may very porous woods.
That’s quite a list of claims, and I haven’t had a chance to check all of them out yet, but I have been using it for the past few weeks. I thought I’d let you know how I’ve been getting on.
Bedec All Prime in Use
With a lot of these claims, the proof of the pudding is often in the longer term – is the adhesion still there a year later, do the stains come back through after a few months? But I’ve used this quite a few times recently on rusted ferrous metal, bare copper pipes, old oil-based gloss, melamine, MDF, and a couple of ropey old bits of wood I found at the back of a customer’s garage. I’ve actually been impressed with how well it dealt with all these different substrates; it’s stuck to everything, and so far, nothing has bled back through it.
Ropey old wood – this was a bit of a leap into the unknown, but I did that deliberately just to see how the All Prime would cope. I have no idea of the history of these pieces of wood. They were at the back of a customer’s garage, and she was about to take them to the tip.
One may have been part of an old picture frame or a piece of architrave; it has a mid-sheen finish to it which may be varnish or oil, the other looks like a very old dark-stained floorboard. I gave them minimal prep; a quick wipe with a damp cloth and a speedy once-over with a bit of scratch. Then I applied one coat of Bedec All Prime (left hand side of the photo) followed by a second coat 4 hours later (right hand side of photo). As you can see, the opacity is pretty good, especially with a second coat.
There was a small amount of bleed through (either tannins or wood stain) on the floorboard (top) after one coat, but the second coat seemed to stop it. I carried out a scratch test after a week; the Bedec All Prime stuck like glue and would definitely stand up to normal wear and tear.
Final Thoughts
In summary, Bedec All-Prime has stuck well to everything I have tried it on. I wouldn’t claim that I’ve carried out exhaustive scientific research, but I’ve tested it enough (including scratch tests on old oil-based gloss, the two above bits of wood, MDF and melamine) to convince myself that this is a great little grip primer.
Opacity is great, it’s easy to use, it doesn’t wreck your brushes, and it isn’t as expensive as a lot of the alternative products. I can’t fault it.
Review Summary
Bedec All Prime Review - Decorator's forum UK
A water-based primer that can be used as a base coat before applying other paint products.
Product Brand: Bedec
4.7
Pros
- Blocks stains.
- Is a great adhesion primer on loads of different surfaces.
- Good opacity.
- Quick and easy to apply.
- Can be used inside or out.
- Is available in grey as well as white.
- Can be used as an undercoat.
- Water-based.
- Quick drying.
- Blocks sap bleed.
- Inhibits rust.
- Reasonably priced.
Cons
- It takes two coats to cover some stains.
Another Decorator’s Review
I’ve been involved in decorating related social media for around 8 years now, and writing about the industry for 6 years. In that time, I’ve seen a lot of changes. The development of water-based satin, eggshell, and gloss is something that gets talked about regularly, but adhesion primers have also come on in leaps and bounds.
8 years ago, water-based adhesion primers were a hot topic, but there were only a couple of products that Decorators trusted, and adhesion was the only thing the products were capable of.
Then slowly, there were water-based adhesion primers that also stopped stains, meaning tannins were less of an issue. Then it was sap bleed from knots that they were also capable of holding back.
Now we have products like Bedec All Prime. This can be used inside or out, handles adhesion, blocks stains, stops knots, and even prevents rust. It’s also reasonably priced and has great opacity.
The ability to block both stains and rust is important. There are loads of water-based multi-surface paints, or gloss, satinwood, and eggshell paints that can be used on things like soffits and facias now, and they all look good after you use them to complete an outside job. But, then a year down the line when you’re driving past a job, you notice staining coming from rusty nails under the paint. Your paint job has essentially failed in 12-months!
Bedec All Prime solves that issue, and as far as I’m concerned, products like this are the next step in water-based adhesion primers.
Can vouch for this stuff, been using it for a couple of months now. Used most recently on a stripped Edwardian hall, stairs and landing woodwork and after one coat it had already blocked the majority of heavy tanin and knots. Cheaper than its Zinsser competitor and in my opinion just as good.