canic ceilings and other "old" building materials

[unknownjulie]

I bought some copper stuff at ACE that I was going to paint my Ohia's with to preserve them, but i was thinking of using this as a "primer" under my paint on my new house. Is this the copper stuff you speak of? and can I use this as a primer under regular exterior housepaint? thanks. I'm also going to just paint this alone on the beams up in the attic etc.