Haymes Ultracover: The Undercoat That Does Three Jobs

The tin that decides how the whole job looks

Most paint jobs that end up patchy did not go wrong at the colour coat, they went wrong underneath it, and the reason is almost always that the prep got rushed or skipped because it is the boring part. Haymes Ultracover is the tin that fixes that, and it is not flashy, it just does three jobs at once so there is less to get wrong.

It is a primer, a sealer and an undercoat in the one product. That means one tin instead of three, one coat instead of a sequence, and no working out which of them you actually needed for the surface in front of you.

What it is doing under there

• It grips. That is the primer half, and it matters most on the surfaces that fight you, like laminate, a glossy old cupboard door, or timber somebody varnished in 1985.
• It seals. Water marks, nicotine and old stains have a habit of bleeding back up through a fresh topcoat weeks later, and a sealer is what stops that happening.
• It fills and sands. Minor imperfections disappear, and it sands back smooth rather than gumming up the paper, which is the difference between a wall that looks flat and one that looks flat in the wrong way.

It also takes either a water based or an oil based topcoat over it, so you are not locked into a decision before you have picked a colour.

Where it earns its keep

Going light over dark is the obvious one. If you have ever tried to put a soft neutral straight over a deep red wall you will know you can be four coats in and still seeing it come through, and every one of those coats costs the same as a coat of undercoat would have. Blocking the colour once underneath is cheaper and faster than covering it four times on top.

Patched plasterboard is the other one. Fresh filler and old paint soak up a topcoat at completely different rates, so without a sealer you get a wall that looks fine wet and shows every patch once it dries.

The rest of what you need

• Sugar soap. Wash the surface down first, because Ultracover grips a clean wall and it cannot grip a greasy one.
• A soft sanding sponge, for a light rub back once the undercoat is dry.
• A microfibre roller cover and a tray. Microfibre lays down flatter than a cheap cover and leaves less texture behind.
• Drop sheets and tape, because the five minutes you save skipping them is not worth the afternoon you spend scrubbing.

None of that is complicated. It is just the difference between a job that looks like you had a go and one that looks finished, and the gap between those two is mostly preparation rather than skill.

Shop related products

• Sugar Soap for Floors 750ml. Washes the surface down so the undercoat has something clean to grip.
• UNIPRO Microfibre Cover 230mm 4mm Nap. A short nap cover for a flat finish on smooth walls and doors.
• UNIFIBER 230mm Roller Kit. Frame, cover and tray together, which is the easiest way to start from nothing.
• Uni-pro Masking Tape Pull Down Drop Sheet 2700mm x 17m. Tape and sheet in one pull down the wall.

Did you know the Haymes Ultracover itself lives on the shelf in the shop rather than on the website, because paint is not something we can post. Same goes for the interior fillers and the sanding gear. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf, or just come in and we will sort you out.

Where to go next

• Paint mixing at H. We mix and tint to order from the range we stock, so you get the amount you need in the colour you picked.
• Paint and accessories. Rollers, brushes, trays, tape, drop sheets and fillers.
• Getting the trims to sit right with the walls.
• Enamel that does not go yellow on you.

Come in and see us and we will walk you through it. Nobody gets the first one perfect and that is completely fine.

Cheers,
Candeece

Prep is the boring part and I am no keener on it than anybody else, which is exactly why a tin that does three jobs is worth knowing about.

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