Interior paint - what to use?

[wings&wheels]

Isn't Benjamin Moore the only one that hasn't gone cheap on their components? I read that SW made various cuts to quality and aren't really worth it any more.

Yes, as far as I know. I know one of the former execs there (has some great stories about the hand matching of batches, etc.) and yes, as of a year or so ago, despite the ownership change, the product quality has not been changed materially. The buyer intended to keep it a quality line. As for the future???

BM is my first choice and only choice for projects that matter, but I have to admit I will use Valspar as it is easier for me to get and easy to use, as long as you don't overwork it.

I'm a bit surprised by Behr, having used their stain on decks. I was not satisfied, but that was a few years ago.

 

[nthach]

Back in the day, brands like Valspar, Pittsburgh Paint, Pratt & Lambert, and others held their own with Ben Moore and Sherwin Williams. I wonder if these brands (PPG, Valspar,etc.) offered by the big box stores today are just a label slapped on a mediocre product?

Market segmentation. PPG bought out Glidden from AkzoNobel(who didn’t have much of a presence in the US outside of Sikkens and Lesonal car paint) who bought out ICI when it was split into three(Syngenta, AstraZeneca and Avecia). The Glidden brand was left to rot.

Sherwin-Williams owns Pratt & Lambert, Valspar and Dutch Boy. Sears had an contact with SW to make their Easy Living/Weatherbeater paint lines. Behr is part of the Masco conglomerate. PPG, Masco and SW know people don’t have the scratch for their “flagship” brands(PPG Paints/Pittsburgh or Sherwin-Williams namesake lines) or “luxury” lines like Ben Moore(owned by Berkshire Hathaway amongst other things like Geico, Lubrizol, Kirby vacuums and Duracell). Behr, Valspar and Pratt are seen as “premium” DIY lines, Glidden and Dutch Boy are “value” DIY.

SW is also losing money due to their distribution model and company stores. Ben Moore and Behr are profitable and have strong brand equity - Ben Moore doesn’t own stores, Behr enjoys the clout of Home Depot’s footprint and marketing machine(as well as CR and Discovery Networks).