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Bin Primer vs Kilz for Cat Urine: The Right Choice

Is that stain on your wall from cat urine? It smells pretty bad too right? We know, it can be pretty annoying. 

But don’t stress on it because it can be cured using bin primer or Kilz primer. And we’ll guide you through it.

So which one to pick: Bin primer vs Kilz for cat urine?

Both the primers cover stain and smell. But bin primer has a faster drying time, gives a high coverage, can cover any surface and is quite durable. Moreover, it hides all stains. But it is quite expensive and can smell very strong. Whereas the Kilz primer is cheap, has a mild smell and a smooth finish. But the Kilz is not as easy to clean and gives less coverage. Besides, it’s hard to sand.

That’s not all, to know which one you should pick, read our article and get to know all about the two primers.

Bin Primer Vs Kilz Primer: Comparison Table

In case you’re in a rush, here’s a quick comparison between the two primers. From this, you can pick your choice of the primer. And finally, get rid of your cat’s urine smell and stains.

Bin Primer Kilz Primer
Dries fast Dries slow
High coverage  Low coverage
Durable Less durable
Strong smell Mild smell
Expensive Cheap
Hard to sand Easy to sand
Hide heavy stains better Can not hide heavy stains

Bin Primer

Bin primer is a shellac-based primer used for sealing and removing stains. These work best for blocking odors permanently. It’ll not only get rid of cat urine smell. But it’ll help you get rid of the made in China smell from your furniture. Moreover, bin primers work great for covering stains on interior surfaces.

Pros

Bin primers are a great option for blocking bad odor as well as stains. Moreover, you don’t need to thin out this primer in case of spray painting. Which makes your work a lot easier. 

So let’s look at some more bright sides of using this primer:

Dries fast

What makes this primer more convenient is that it dries off real quick. 

The first coat dries within just 15 minutes, which is remarkable. The primer can be re-coated within the next 45 minutes or so. So it makes the smell blocking process quite easier and quicker. The entire paint cures within 1-3 days. 

If you leave the paint overnight, you’ll find no urine smell or funky smell the next morning for sure. It’s that useful for blocking any kind of smell. 

Moreover, the primer doesn’t sag due to the fast drying time. So you don’t have to be worried about it being icky.

High Coverage

Bin primers have high coverage. You’ll only need one coat of paint and in severe cases maximum two. And that should be enough to remove the smell of cat pee. 

Now if your cat’s urine is too dark or tinted, it can ruin your wall pretty badly. But bin primers come to the rescue here. These primers are heavy-duty paints so it can really cover up and hide the mistakes of your pets. 

The high coverage and adhesion quality helps cover the roughest stains and makes your house look all clean again. 

Durable 

This one is highly durable so you don’t have to be worried about the paint scraping off. Or even your floor and wall smelling stinky. The primer contains a high adhesion shellac formula that seals porous surfaces with excellent enamel holdout. 

So the paint holds on to the floor very tightly and doesn’t let go easily. This is what helps the paint stay on for so long. This also makes the paint suitable to cover the caulk for sealing the gap between your slab and floor

Works on All Surface

The bin primer has a great advantage over the other oil-based primers. Because this primer works great on all surfaces. Whether it’s wooden or concrete, brick or drywall. The paint dries off the same way and requires the same amount of coats. 

This is very convenient for covering cat urine smell as well as stains. This is because you never know where your cat finished its business. It could be actually urinating or even marking its territory.

Moreover, the smells are different for urine and marking territory. Can you believe that?  Luckily, the primer works great for covering up both the smells.  So, you can rely on this for any surface at your home.

Cons

Even though the bin primers work really well and make things easier for a cat person, these also come along with a few disadvantages. You’ll need to deal with these bad sides of the bin primer if you want a good coverage paint.

Expensive

Now bin primers are comparatively more expensive. The other primers are quite cheaper. So for a good blockage of smell, you’d need to pay a god price. 

The primer is also more expensive because of its adhesive quality and how fast it dries. Which is obvious since it’s saving much of your precious time.

Strong Smell

The bin primer has a very strong smell due to denatured alcohol. Along with shellac, the primer also contains ammonia. This makes the paint smell so overbearing. So make sure to use the paint with proper ventilation. This will help you avoid being knocked out by the smell of it. 

But there’s not much you need to worry about because the smell only stays until the paint dries off. Once the paint dries off, there is no smell of the paint or the urine. 

Hard to sand

Bin primers dry faster and harder. This makes the paint harder to sand compared to other primers. The shellac reaches hardness quite easily within the first 3 days of application. Thus the sanding becomes a little tough when using this primer. 

Kilz Primer 

Kilz primer is a latex or oil-based paint. It is used for sealing funky smells and heavy stains. The primer works great as a stain and smell blocker because of its unique features. 

It has a good adhesion and mildew resistance that helps seal the stains on your properties and block the odors. So it’s quite convenient and easy to use. The primer can hide stains such as minor water stains, rust, grease, ink or pencil and marker stains. So it pretty much does the work of covering stains for you.

Pros

Kilz primers are quite easy and handy to use. It has quite a few advantages that make it stand out among all the other sealing primers. So let’s look at the advantages of this oil-based primer. 

Cheap

Kilz primer, being one the cheapest primers, really does pull off the smell removing procedure. Even though the primer may not hold on to the wall very tightly, it does a pretty good job at blocking the urine smell. It also gives pretty good coverage.

For such a low price, it does block funky smells pretty well. 

Mild smell

The Kilz primer doesn’t contain shellac or denatured alcohol. Hence the smell of the paint is moderate and can be tolerated compared to that of the bin primer. 

Even though you have to apply a few coats of this paint, the smell doesn’t get overbearing at all. This is a great quality offered by the primer as the paint smell matters quite a lot. 

Easy to sand

As the Kilz primer is an oil-based paint, it is a lot easier to sand. This is because the paint takes more time to dry and doesn’t harden right away. So sanding the primer becomes easier. 

Smooth finish

Kilz primers may not work well for all surfaces. But the surfaces it works on, it leaves the smoothest and finest finish. This makes the primer quite convenient and easy to use. It will not only get rid of the smell of cat urine and cigarettes but also rough surfaces. 

Cons

Everything has its good and bad side. The same way, Kilz primers also come with its own benefits and downsides. Here are a few disadvantages of the Kilz primers. 

Dries slow

As good as the Kilz primer is for blocking the smell of cat urine, it takes a huge amount of time to dry the paint. The curing process of Kilz primer takes about one to two weeks. Which is quite time-consuming.

Waiting for that long to remove the smell of cat urine or any other smell can be pretty annoying. Plus the smell could get unbearable by that point.

Less Coverage

To use the Kilz primer for blocking urine smell, you’ll need to apply at least two to three coats of the paint. As the paint takes more time to dry off, double or triple coating wastes a lot of time in the process.

Hard to clean

The Kilz primer is an oil-based paint. So the spills need to be cleaned with mineral spirits first and rubbed very well. Once the spills are gone, you need to wash it off with soap and water very well to ensure proper cleanup. 

This can be a little troublesome when trying to get over the cat urine smell. The cleanup adds an extra burden. Especially if you accidentally spill it on your wooden basement stairs.

The Verdict

Bin primer and Kilz primer both work great for getting rid of the smell and stain of cat urine. But both of these come with their own advantages and disadvantages. From the above discussion, it is pretty clear that bin primer wins the award for removing the smell of cat urine. 

Bin primer has a faster drying time and gives a very high coverage. This means the cat urine smell will not only disappear, so will the stain. Your wall will look brand new again in no time. Whereas the Kilz primer may not successfully do that.

So even though you’ll have to pay a high price if you go for bin primer, I’d say it’s worth the money. Because it makes your work easier and more convenient. 

But there’s a catch- both of these primers are said to be used on the wall surfaces. Even though bin primers can be used on your floor, it is recommended not to. And for Kilz primer, it is highly restricted to use on the floor. 

So, whichever you go for, keep this in your mind and choose accordingly. Also, remember your cat can mark its territory anywhere; next to a refrigerator door next to wall, near your bed or anywhere that you least notice.

FAQs

How do you treat cat urine in subflooring?

You can spray 3 percent hydrogen peroxide on the urine spot and let that sit for a few minutes. Then blot dry the spot with a clean cloth. If you want a stronger solution, use 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with a squirt of dish soap. Add a sprinkle baking soda as well.

What kills cat urine smell on floors?

If your floors aren’t sealed, clean the area first and then pour white vinegar on it. Let the vinegar sit for a few minutes and then blot it up with a paper towel. Finally, add more vinegar and gently scrub it with a sponge to remove the stain and smell.

How long does it take for Kilz to remove smell?

It takes about 3 to 4 days for the smell to be removed. The off-gassing tends to dissipate after 3 or 4 days depending on the ventilation of the house. 

Conclusion

That was all from our side. We hope from our detailed discussion about Bin primer vs Kilz for cat urine, you can now decide on which one to pick. 

But make sure to keep all your requirements in mind before you choose to buy the right paint. 

We hope this will be of help to you. Let us know which primer worked for you.