When you buy paint primer?

Question

do you have to get it mixed for what color you're going to paint or can you buy it off the shelf?

Answer 1

You can do either one. If you're painting a light colour, the primer will be fine off the shelf. If you're painting a darker colour, it often helps to have the primer tinted so the finish colour achieves its true depth of colour, and tinting the primer can save painting one coat of the colour. Ask which will be best when you choose your colour.

Answer 2

You can buy it straight off the shelf and paint it directly on your walls.  Primer is what goes under the colored paint.  It acts as a grip for paint (and in our case it helps keep the nicotine from bleeding through the walls, the previous owner was a smoker.)  

Answer 3

Primer can be bought off the shelf because it just primes the wall so that the paint will apply smoothly to the wall.

Answer 4

You can buy it off the shelf, however if you have it tinted close to the color you are painting it makes complete coverage easier to achieve.