Lookelo primer question count
Searched: October 31, 2026
Article: /blog/what-paint-customers-ask-about-primer

Purpose
Find what DIY paint shoppers asked most often before buying or applying paint in the last month, and record what their questions had in common, to inform a guide for independent hardware, paint, lumber and building-supply store owners. This is original desk research: Lookelo selected, paraphrased and coded public questions. We did not contact posters, test any primer, or check whether the advice they received was right.

How the topic was chosen
A first pass over r/paint posts from the past month (Reddit search "which paint", run October 31, 2026) showed primer as the most repeated buying question: which primer to use, and whether primer was needed at all. Broader first-pass searches in r/HomeImprovement, r/DIY and r/woodworking returned mixed topics with no larger single cluster.

Sources and queries
Reddit search through the Reddit API, restricted to posts from the past month, run October 31, 2026:
  subreddit:paint primer            (100 results, the API maximum)
  subreddit:HomeImprovement primer  (36 results)
  subreddit:DIY primer              (8 results)
  subreddit:Painting primer         (0 results)
  subreddit:fixit primer            (2 results)
  subreddit:homeowners primer       (5 results)
Every included post was then opened individually through the Reddit API (post and top comments) on October 31, 2026.

Eligibility
Window: original posts dated October 1 through October 31, 2026 (UTC). Posts found were dated October 1 to October 30.
Include: an original post that asks which primer to use, whether primer is needed, or how much primer to apply, for a project the poster is about to do or is doing.
Exclude: troubleshooting a finished job with no primer question; epoxy and floor-coating systems; posts that mention primer only in passing; posts outside the window.
After reading, 3 candidates were excluded (listed in observations.json). 31 posts were included. One post ID is one observation; no crossposts were found.

Codebook (1 = the original post says it, 0 = it doesn't; a post can score on several)
  ask_which            asks which primer product or type to use
  ask_whether          asks whether primer is needed, including spot priming, using primer as the finish, or whether a primer they have suits the job
  ask_coats            asks how many coats of primer
  owns_primer_already  says they already bought or own a primer and asks if it fits the job
  named_product        names a specific primer or paint product or line
  conflicting_advice   says they got conflicting answers, including from store staff
Surfaces (what the poster is priming; a post can have several): painted walls or a color change; bare wood, plywood or OSB; patches or joint compound; cabinets or furniture; slick or hard-to-coat surfaces (factory finishes, laminate panels, metal, vinyl-covered walls, tile); stain, odor, tannin or lead blocking; new drywall; exterior; unknown (photo-only posts).

Results (31 posts)
  ask_which 18, ask_whether 13 (2 posts asked both), ask_coats 3
  named_product 18, owns_primer_already 6, conflicting_advice 4
  Surfaces: bare wood/plywood/OSB 9, painted walls or color change 8, patches 5, slick or hard to coat 5, stain/odor/tannin/lead 4, exterior 4, cabinets or furniture 3, new drywall 1, unknown 2
  Communities: r/paint 26, r/HomeImprovement 4, r/DIY 1
  Roles: DIY 26, unclear 4, professional painter 1

Limits
This is a small sample from one platform and one month. Reddit search ranks results by relevance and the r/paint query hit the 100-result cap, so some eligible posts were likely missed. Posters are self-selected and many are outside New England. The counts don't measure how often shoppers ask about primer at a store counter, or whether any primer advice is correct. No usernames or comment text are published; questions are paraphrased.

Files
  questions.csv  one row per included post with URL, date, paraphrase and codes
  summary.json   the counts above