Interior paint - what to use?
- Thread starter levi
- Start date
I just did a room with Super Paint and it was a pleasure to use. Cant beat it for $30/gallon.
With paint there are 2 very important things to remember: 1) like alot of things you get what you pay for, high qualty pait has more pigments and yields better results with one or 2 coats. 2) paint surface prep is just as if not more important than the brand of paint you use, therefore you need to clean , fill holes and properly prime the surface you are painting. For example a kitchen wall needs to be free of oil and grease, bathrooms need to be free of mold and mildew. Proper paint surface prep is critical to a paint project and will also make the painted surface last longer
I've worked with just about all of them. I keep going back to Benjamin Moore paints though. OP I'd use the Benjamin Moore Select paint, no need to pay overly inflated prices for Aura. Select uses the same colorants as Aura and the cost is a lot less. Contrary to the pitch of Aura covering in one coat don't believe it. Especially if you're changing colors. I had a spirited discussion with a BM rep when Aura first came out and they were pitching it at a PDCA meeting. I invited him to a job site and if he could get the paint to cover properly in one coat as per PDCA specs on this job I'd use the product in the entire house, about 50 gallons IIRC. He quickly backed down! It doesn't live up to the hype. Select is a premium product, and self priming, however self priming paints should always be taken with a grain of salt. They will not replace a good primer followed by a top coat. They will however work over spackle repairs and not flash, if you're using flat paint. Any kinds of staining and all bets are off! If I were to use an Eggshell or a higher gloss product and I did spackle work I would use Fresh Start Latex Primer to spot prime the areas first so they don't flash. If BM paint is hard to get Behr Marquee paint isn't bad. My comments about using a primer over repairs, staining, etc. apply for all self priming latex paints.
I left out the how to do it part. If you need info about prep, etc. just ask.
I left out the how to do it part. If you need info about prep, etc. just ask.
Thanks, demarpaint.
SW Bought Pratt Lambert.
I have pretty much switched over to Behr - their mid-range Premium Plus has worked great for my use and has been 1 coat coverage with excellent results.
Glidden I bought a gallon of ceiling paint for a small area I was doing and it was complete trash, went on like water and covering oxidized yellowed white with bright white took two freakin coats. When I had the rest of the condo ceilings done (by contractor) I asked him to use the Behr ceiling paint and it turned out excellent with 1 coat.
Glidden I bought a gallon of ceiling paint for a small area I was doing and it was complete trash, went on like water and covering oxidized yellowed white with bright white took two freakin coats. When I had the rest of the condo ceilings done (by contractor) I asked him to use the Behr ceiling paint and it turned out excellent with 1 coat.
I have used most all of them. As far as durability I don't know but clearly Sherwin Williams Cashmere was by far the easiest and smoothest of them all. I added about a whisky glass of water to a gallon and it actually helped a lot. Good one coat coverage in my case. And of course quality rollers and brushes. And prep prep prep. A lot of times I spend more time in prep work than painting.
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Really? Glidden is my go to paint. I’ve had it in all of our rooms for years with no issues at all.
Yeah, it was their top paint before Duration. Now I think there's Emerald that beats duration. I just do Super Paint for rentals. I've been actually able to do one coat coverage on a color change. Cheaper paints would need two coats. Pay more for the paint, but you save on labor.
If money ain’t a thing, Ben Moore Aura.
I’ve used both ends of the Ben Moore spectrum(Ben and Aura), Behr Ultra(Premium Plus is meh but OK for rentals and things I don’t care for, Marquee is a hard pass) and Kelly-Moore with great success. On the inside of a house, brand isn’t as critical but Behr doesn’t “age” well compared to say, Ben Moore. They did improve on that aspect - though the local paint store switched back to CCA colorants after trying out BASF low-VOC colorants which are the same ones Behr uses. Ben Moore has the edge on colors since they make their own colorant, called Gennex. Glidden ain’t bad - PPG owns them, but Diamond is a nicer product than Glidden to apply.
Ben Moore is part of Warren Buffett’s empire which also includes Lubrizol - I wouldn’t doubt of the two worked very close on chemistry.
I’ve used both ends of the Ben Moore spectrum(Ben and Aura), Behr Ultra(Premium Plus is meh but OK for rentals and things I don’t care for, Marquee is a hard pass) and Kelly-Moore with great success. On the inside of a house, brand isn’t as critical but Behr doesn’t “age” well compared to say, Ben Moore. They did improve on that aspect - though the local paint store switched back to CCA colorants after trying out BASF low-VOC colorants which are the same ones Behr uses. Ben Moore has the edge on colors since they make their own colorant, called Gennex. Glidden ain’t bad - PPG owns them, but Diamond is a nicer product than Glidden to apply.
Ben Moore is part of Warren Buffett’s empire which also includes Lubrizol - I wouldn’t doubt of the two worked very close on chemistry.
All paint makers buy their resins, coalescing agents, pigments, rheology modifiers and UV/microbial agents from different companies. BASF, Dow/DuPont, Eastman Chemical and a few others. Ben Moore claims to make their own resins.
Also, there is some consolidation in paint - Valspar is now a Sherwin-Williams brand(but a much different quality level). Ace used to have Valspar and SW supply their in-house paints. Now, Ace Royal and Clark & Kensington are made by Ben Moore. Kilz is more or less rebranded Behr.
Only talking interior paints here.
Valspar Signature from Lowes is what we use.
Behr from Home Depot pretty much is top rated at consumer reports, no major brand come close and the ones that do are double the price..
If those are too expensive, Glidden on the interior works just as well, less durable if you actually clean your walls, which almost no one does..
As far as all the other brands, well, to me, they are just brands, much like expensive motor oil, your walls are not going to last any longer, but if it makes you happy, why not ...
Valspar Signature from Lowes is what we use.
Behr from Home Depot pretty much is top rated at consumer reports, no major brand come close and the ones that do are double the price..
If those are too expensive, Glidden on the interior works just as well, less durable if you actually clean your walls, which almost no one does..
As far as all the other brands, well, to me, they are just brands, much like expensive motor oil, your walls are not going to last any longer, but if it makes you happy, why not ...
and on the topic of Behr paint... 
I actually sold BM paint at the time of this switchover to Ultra Spec and the new Gennex tinting system. It replaced the old Super Spec that was the biggest seller at my store. The new computerized mixing system was pretty much fool-proof as long as you could remember the various paint item numbers. The old tinting system was all by hand and was a PITA to upkeep. I was constantly rebuilding cylinders throughout the years. Also if you were in the middle of tinting and you ran out of colorant, if you couldn't remember how much you put in there to the "oops paint" bin it went. The Gennex system did have its own share of issues. It needed to be kept clean and the tinter tip needed to be kept wet. I was on top of the upkeep on it as it was pretty much turned over to me to keep up. Ultra Spec and Ben we're the biggest sellers. I always tried to upsell to Aura if someone was needing a red color. Their waterborne alkyd is also an excellent trim paint. Had the flow and leveling characteristics of an oil base, but soap and water clean-up.
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?
You know, all I can say is for anyone that reads or subscribes to consumer reports. The Ben Moore name and Sherwin are not even close to the top rated Home Depot brand Behr. The Valspar name a little down the list still is rated the same or better then the Ben Moore and Sherwin names.
Keep in mind, the HD Behr and Lowes Valspar brands are almost HALF the cost and rated higher or the same.
So to answer your question, the low cost Behr paint is rated superior to the Ben Moore and Sherwin names at twice the cost and the Lowes Valspar brand is rated the same or close to the Ben Moore and Sherwin names, again, at half the cost.
