I've had good luck with 1-2-3 and Ben Moore(in the Regal/Aura levels) and Kelly-Moore covering up some gnarly pink. Primer is there to help the finish coats hide but they also provide more stain-killing and sealing than today's "paint and primers". I like to use Glidden/PPG Gripper in pre-mix grey for deep reds - it works on the same principle as grey primer on cars. Oil-base is still the gold standard for gnarly stains and fire/water damage restoration, I still restoration companies in the Bay Area carry Cover-Stain on their trucks in SF. BAAQMD isn't as strict as SCAQMD in SoCal. We can still get oil-based and shellac primers here. I like BIN, but it's a pain to deal with, you'll get drunk off the fumes but it's good stuff in bathrooms if you need it.
On a recent paint job I've did at the parent's in the room I stay in, I was able to cover over a moderately dark blue with 2 coats of Kelly-Moore, the first coat was in their cheaper "professional" line, I went back and grabbed a can of the "premium" line - Acry-Plex and all the blue was gone. My dad recently redid their master bathroom in a Glidden off-white which I was shocked to see it cover up the Pepto-Bismol pink. He was able to completely hide some deep Behr red and Dunn-Edwards yellow with 2 coats of Ben Moore Regal Select. He likes Ben Moore but wasn't willing to go to Oakland for paint since OSH closed.
Behr ain't bad - it's durable but it has issues with colorfastness over time. I've been happy with PPU. Whites aren't an issue with them, as their Ultra Pure White is a very bright white with lots of TiO2 - which means less colorant is needed for tinting them unlike many tintable whites. A shed I painted with Behr Ultra for the adopted parents looks decent after 12 years, the trim needs to be redone as it did fade. I've seen the local yoga studios using Premium Plus only to have it fade. I would have suggested Ben Moore Natura if the owner asked me.
If you are looking at a "deep" color tinted in a medium/accent or deep/ultra base, go with Ben Moore first. Their Gennex colorants are no where near "universal" colorants. Behr/Home Depot is using BASF colorants, which Kelly-Moore used to use in-store but from what the guys at the Temescal store in Oakland tell me, their accounts came back with complaints of color fade. KM went back to CCA colorants - CCA also supplies the in-store colorants for Ace(stores not selling Ben Moore) and Lowe's which are Valspar customers. SW supplies their own colorants.
On a recent paint job I've did at the parent's in the room I stay in, I was able to cover over a moderately dark blue with 2 coats of Kelly-Moore, the first coat was in their cheaper "professional" line, I went back and grabbed a can of the "premium" line - Acry-Plex and all the blue was gone. My dad recently redid their master bathroom in a Glidden off-white which I was shocked to see it cover up the Pepto-Bismol pink. He was able to completely hide some deep Behr red and Dunn-Edwards yellow with 2 coats of Ben Moore Regal Select. He likes Ben Moore but wasn't willing to go to Oakland for paint since OSH closed.
Behr ain't bad - it's durable but it has issues with colorfastness over time. I've been happy with PPU. Whites aren't an issue with them, as their Ultra Pure White is a very bright white with lots of TiO2 - which means less colorant is needed for tinting them unlike many tintable whites. A shed I painted with Behr Ultra for the adopted parents looks decent after 12 years, the trim needs to be redone as it did fade. I've seen the local yoga studios using Premium Plus only to have it fade. I would have suggested Ben Moore Natura if the owner asked me.
If you are looking at a "deep" color tinted in a medium/accent or deep/ultra base, go with Ben Moore first. Their Gennex colorants are no where near "universal" colorants. Behr/Home Depot is using BASF colorants, which Kelly-Moore used to use in-store but from what the guys at the Temescal store in Oakland tell me, their accounts came back with complaints of color fade. KM went back to CCA colorants - CCA also supplies the in-store colorants for Ace(stores not selling Ben Moore) and Lowe's which are Valspar customers. SW supplies their own colorants.
