Sanded wall rough after brushing / rolling Kilz Original — should I sand or is this normal

oil-based-paintpaintpaintingprimer

I'm remodeling a pantry space in my home that had glossy dark purple paint on two walls and more matte gray paint on the other two. After removing shelving and wall anchors and completing wall repairs with spackle, I completely sanded the surface with an orbital sander using 120 grit to prepare for primer. I then swept, vacuumed, and rinsed the walls with a wet rag to remove dust; the walls were smooth to the touch. Last night, I rolled Kilz Original primer onto the walls. Today, the surface looks like this:

Wall corner

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I'm not sure if this is what it's supposed to look like, but I painted some finish coat (Ben Moore Regal, Eggshell) over it and it still seems to have the same rough surface qualities:

Test Ben Moore paint

Is this what Kilz Original primer is supposed to look like when applied? Should I sand the walls again before applying top coat? Could this be because I used the cheaper "Best" roller from Walmart (I think not, because the brush marks are also pronounced)? I tried sanding a small area today, but it clogged the paper. Am I overthinking this? I've never used Kilz Original primer before, but I have used BIN, and it didn't really look like this (but it was over a light color).

Best Answer

Could it be that your roller is a TEXTURED roller and not a smooth roller.

Many rollers that are available for purchase can have a texture by design and others by fault that they will leave on a smooth surface even 3/8 knap rollers, and some paints because of how they are made might be more susceptible to roller defects especially primers as the intent for a primer is coverage.

Search for a roller that has a very small knap or if the area is small enough prime it with a spray paint or a smooth flat style brush - typically a flat style brush is used for knockout work. I have used it on a small wall before with nice results.