Customer Reviews for Zinsser GARDZ 1 gal. Clear Water-Based Interior Problem Surface Sealer (Case of 4)

This product is AMAZING! I consider myself a beginner when it comes to home repair. I decided to tackle a project in my bathroom (standard 5' x 7') which entailed removing 1970's era tile and the drywall it was adhered to (half the bathroom drywall). I hung new sheets of drywall which I had to tape, apply a few coats of mud to and sand accordingly to blend it with the drywall I left in place. When it came time to priming for paint, I had a lot of bubbling. Now the bathroom was poorly painted before hand by the previous home owner. Well I discovered the bubbling was due to left over wallpaper adhesive. After some research, I learned latex primer I used (and the water it contains) reactivated the wallpaper adhesive causing the bubbling. I borrowed a wallpaper steamer from my brother and though that helped quite a bit with removing the adhesive, there was still much left that I couldn't get off (even with soapy water, sponges and trying to use a sharp 6" taping knife). With more research, I stumbled upon this product and read a few reviews and the product details and it seemed like it was exactly what I needed to fix adhesive issue. I purchased it from a local industrial supply vendor (took less than a day to get in) since Home Depot and other local hardware stores don't stock it (why, I have no clue). I used a foam 4" roller and applied the first coat. After 30 minutes it was dry to the touch and a few hours after that, WOW, what a glossy shine it had put on the walls. Touching the walls then where I had bubbling, it was pretty smooth. I applied a second coat then and even smoother now. My wife likes it and asked me to apply it to the walls in our daughter's bedroom figuring it would make it 100 times easier to remove boogers, markers and everything else children somehow put on the walls. I applied a skim coat of mud to the walls then followed by a third and final coat of Gardz and another coat of latex primer after that. For a beginner at this, I am very impressed with how well the walls in my bathroom now look and if it weren't for Gardz, I think I would be replacing the rest of the drywall in my bathroom (which I probably should have just done from the get-go, but you live and learn I suppose). Please take my word for it. If you are faced with a similar issue, spend $12, get a quart of this stuff, it's like magic in a can! It is so thin, I still have a half a quart left! Home Depot, you really need to consider stocking this item! - Jeremy (Catasauqua, PA)

This is absolutely the right thing for the job if you have skim coated your walls or ceilings with joint compound. After months of popcorn removal, skim coating, and sanding I was finally ready to paint my ceilings. The all-purpose joint compound left a chalky, powdery feel on the ceilings. The chalky surface would easily rub off on your fingertip and looked like it could absorb a lot of paint. After doing some research on various painting and drywall websites, the overall opinion was that Zinsser Gardz was the best product for the job to seal a level 5 finished wall or ceiling. Application was fast and easy with a short nap 9" roller. Simply load up the roller and spread across the ceiling evenly. Be liberal in application, but backroll if any runs appear. I had over 1500 sq ft of ceiling area to paint, and 5 gallons was more than enough. After one application of Zinsser Gardz I rolled on two coats of Behr Premium Plus ceiling paint with a lower-nap 18" roller. I think a better ceiling paint with more primer may have allowed me to do fewer coats, but the paint went on evenly and did not get absorbed into the ceiling, leaving a uniform texture.

We are renovating a home which required the removal of multiple layers of wallpaper. Unfortunately the walls were not primed prior to the application of the wall paper which made the job even more time consuming and labor intensive. We were left with torn and ripped drywall, paste residue (wheat paste as well as heavily flaking vynyl paste) and the fuzzy under paper of the drywall. We contemplated drywalling with 1/4 or 3/8 drywall over the top of the existing damaged drywall. That would have entailed removing door and window casings as well as base moulding not to mention lugging all the drywall throughout the house. So we researched on line for a solution. After hours of reading and jumping from site to site, one of the sites, written by a painter, recommended Zinsser's GARDZ. I ordered it on line since it was not carried in the store. I prepared the torn and ripped surfaces by vigorously sanding all the loose paper by both hand sanding and using an electric orbital sander. I dusted down the walls and applied GARDZ using a 3/4 inch roller knap. This product is slightly more viscous than water and milky white. When I intiated the first few strokes with the roller it ran like water and all over the the dropcloth and floor. I panicked a bit and thought, " great this stuff is going to be difficult to apply!" Once the product is thoroughly absorbed by the roller knap then it flows on evenly. You don't have to apply much pressure on the roller to apply GARDZ, it goes on milky white with little or no effort. When cutting in with a brush don't load up your brush, a little goes a long way. The product sealed the surface very well and leaves a eggshell finish which, by the way highlights any imperfections in your drywall. I waited a day before I lightly sanded the walls again and applied another coat of GARDZ. The following day I skim coated all the walls with joint compound. You won't believe the ease in which the joint compound glides on the drywall and it ensures a wetter edge is kept while applying the joint compound. It has saved me buying more joint compound because you use less of it. Thus far I have not seen the 100's of square feet I skim coated, to have any of the surface drywall paper blister, pucker or come loose after applying the joint compound. Most,if not all, of the water stains in the drywall from the paste and water used to remove the wallpaper have not struck through the joint compound. We did wash the walls pretty well of the paste before we used the product. You must prepare the wall surfaces very well if you want a good finished product in the end. This product saved us hundreds in material costs and probably thousands in labor costs. This is an awesome product that does just as promised on their label. I'm a retired educator looking to get the in-laws house in shape for sale since they unfortunately just passed. I was a painting contrator in a former life and owned my own business. I would recommend using gloves to apply the product because it drys clear and it takes days to get off your hands, it's that water resistant! Good luck on your project!

Did not do as advertised

I have used this product before from another distributor and never had no issues. First time is used HD and I got some stuff that either got frozen somewhere along the way or it was too old.

Great for sealing torn sheetrock paper.

Does what is says, problem surface sealer. Works well for sealing/binding chalky surfaces especially. My go-to product for sealing skim coats and spot priming damaged drywall. Glad this stuff comes in 5 gal.

This is the first time using this product. My hallway walls were a nitemare after removing old wallpaper. I researched online and found this product and decided to give a try.It has worked great! Now I'm fixing the drywall and it goes on like a charm I tried doing the repairs before using Gardz and the old paint just curled up around the patch and peeled off. I wish Home Depot carried this in store by the gallon.

I could tell you the whole story about removing 1995 wallpaper but nobody likes long reviews. This stuff is a semi transparent sealer that reminds me of thinned down Elmers glue. Applied with a roller or brush to the torn sheet rock paper and it hardened it right up. Hard as a rock. Then thinned +3, then primed and done. It also bonds well to exposed metal outside corners. Do not let it even remotely set up in your brush, roller or pan. Clean up immediately!

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Just what was needed to prep torn drywall and areas that still had some adhesive on it.

Was like water. Didnt do anything

It did what it said it would do for the removal of wallpaper!

Used it on very old drywall with stains, writing, gouges, and cracks that had previously been wallpapered, then stripped and cleaned, and spackled in problem areas. Used two coats because I spread the first coat too thinly and as a result the spackled areas were flashing. After a second more generously applied coat the problems were gone. I added a conventional primer after to make sure the writing and stains would be covered, then a paint topcoat, and it looks as good as possible. No flashing, no bubbling or cracking from any remaining wallpaper glue residue.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Simply there is no other product that works as good as guardz

I use a lot of this primer and that was a good price for me to purchase from Home Depot. Better than my contractor price at paint store.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Best sealer out there for problem surfaces. I've been using Gardz for 10 yrs now . We use it as a sealer/primer for wallcovering and have never it fail .