Do I NEED to put a topcoat over primer on a sheet of UPDATED pg.1 w/ pics

What kind/brand of paint are you using?

I think that depends on what kind of primer you used. Primer may not last long outside in the weather like an outdoor weather resistant paint.

I would read the primer label and see what it says.

I'd put a coat of a quality paint over it.

Overkill rather than good enough seems to be the ticket when painting things that are gonna be exposed to the weather.

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What is it for? Are you needing it to stay looking good?

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I'm doing a crawfish table, that I plan to store outside when not in use.

I figure I'll go ahead and buy a gallon of some exterior paint and throw a coat or two of it one too.

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I would paint that up really good. Put many coats on it. Lots if water and abuse on something like that.

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This. I might even add another coat of primer. And a glossy paint would make it easier to clean.

Primer has no UV resistance nor will it be weather resistant for long. Primer merely makes the surface less porous so it will accept the paint better. If it is going to ever see water or sunlight then you need to put an exterior paint on it.

+1 on the glossy. Really good for cleaning.

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You should have known she wouldn't let you leave it with some crappy primer in it.

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I know.

Well here's the rest of the story. Ran over to Sherwin Williams to get my P&G. Made the mistake of thinking that they would just "have" the LSU colors waiting for me. I pulled this website up on my phone:

https://www.lsu.edu/pa/identity/colors.shtml

And they said that didn't mean a thing to them. So they made a couple of phone calls to some Baton Rouge stores and came back with this:

They said everyone goes with this purple (Izmir purple):

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6825-izmir-purple/

And she said people choose from a couple of different golds, depending on how "gold" or "yellow" you want it. I ended up picking "citrus":

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6906/?WT.mc_id=Old%20DIY%20Color%20Redirect

The purple shows up funky on my computer but looks much better in the store. I always liked more a bright yellow gold. And then they couldn't make just a quart of the yellow for some reason, so there will be a lot more yellow around the house soon.

LSU colors Sherwin Williams

Bring a sample of the color you want and, typically, S-W can match it pretty closely. Paint chip, football program, book, tee-shirt, whatever...

FYI - Like a previous poster mentioned, primer seals the substrate and is formulated to bond with the intermediate and/or topcoat. Primer is not usually UV stabilized/resistant and will breakdown when exposed to the sun.

Re: Sheen
Flat paint is more forgiving if the substrate has surface imperfections. The glossier the sheen, the greater the scrubability of the painted surface, but imperfections are magnified.

Bottom Line: I've got gloss and semi-gloss on my crawfish table. It's done well for me. Good luck!