It's $50-ish here in Maine.

I paid $55 a gallon here in the Philly burbs. One week later I went back for another color and it was $60 a gallon. It went up in price during that time - geez!!!

Don't let them fool you when they say it's a one-coat cover. It's not. We recently painted a light yellow over a white with a hint of gray (almost white), and it took 3 coats for our Dining Room It glides on nicely though.

Yeah, I agree with debi -- it is definitely NOT a one-coat paint -- light over light, dark over light, light over dark -- whatever, it requires at least two coats (and in my case, mostly three).

It is much less expensive to buy (and use) a primer and then paint with whatever color you want over that.

Also -- this paint is stinky! Granted, it doesn't linger for days like typical mutagen paints, but I was really surprised when it first went up.

My experience is also that the BM colors don't match perfectly when made as Aura -- the Aura colors are true, but when I tried having some BM colors made with an Aura base, the painter, the paint store owner and I were all continually bemused.

While there are some nice things about it, Aura is not the end-all of all paints.

Good luck with your project!

haley comet-

Aura is not going to cover orange in one coat, and you would be better, as suggested above, to prime with a good primer (BM Fresh Start is a good one), then paint the Aura. Also, anything less than 2 coats never works with any paint, that depth and richness of color can't be achieved in one coat, even of a full spectrum paint.

Farrow & Ball is the best covering paint I have ever used, and that is the only time I have used less than 3 coats.

I paid about $55/gal in Northern New York, about 20 miles from Kingston, ON.

Good luck-

sandyponder

Thanks everyone,

I called my BM dealer just to check and out here it is $70.00 a gallon (I am in Quebec Canada).
Yikes at first I thought it was expensive but then I thought if I have to buy a primer ($25) and then a paint of lets say Behr (40) it is pretty much the same price.

I am totally ok with 2 coats as I normally do this as a rule of thumb I am just hoping to skip the whole priming thing.

OMG I am really confused now. LOL

I have heard great things about Farrow and Ball but we don't have that here :(

Maybe I should just have Home Depot do a color match of Decatur Buff and buy it in Behr and then just buy a primer. Just sucks at this will mean 3 coats all together (1 primer, 2 color).

My painter painted my BM Blanched Almond (brown) to BM Gray Wisp in one coat. He did two but it looked great after one. I did notice the smell did not linger long. I paid $55 here in VA.

The very important thing about primer is that it not only covers a color like orange, it also sets you up with a better base for the new paint to adhere to. It seals in any kind of ick (think skin oil from dragged hands....a cardinal sin in my house!) or other surface problem that will compromise the finish and durability. It's a pain to prep, but there is nothing more important if you want the job to last.

Yellow pigments are inherently transparent which is why they don't cover so well. I agree with everyone who says there is no such thing as one-coat coverage. I always do two, except in my last bedroom where I did three because I was having so much fun.

It was my first experience using Farrow & Ball (Vert de Terre) and I just did an extra lap around the room. You can have the F&B shipped, you know. That's what I did...

Have painted with several of the Affinity colors in Aura. Just did a couple niches in Wenge today as a matter o'fact.

You *can* do one coat with several of the Affinity colors over many colors. For example, with Affinity's Peau de Soie covered a wall that had split color - top was pink primer under wallpaper and bottom half below chair rail was a raspberry. PDS is almost white and one coat looked pretty darn good. See pix.
BEFORE

I painted very slowly and carefully with the intent of seeing what one coat of a really light Affinity color looked like over a rather challenging wall; lots of patching and two very contrasting colors. Used best quality roller and brush. One coat was impressive and it could have passed, absolutely no flashing from the patchwork visible, but it wasn't perfection. The second coat was magic.

Two coats of Aura will get you perfection. No one in their right might should invest in this paint thinking they will get "the look" in one coat. It will cover, sure, but it isn't going to have that extra edge of lux look to it unless you do two coats.

Early on, I always over estimated how much Aura was needed. It goes a long way. The first coat seems to take a lot of paint, it's with the second coat that it seems to close a gap when it comes to per square foot spread rates -- you don't use nearly the same amount on second coat as you do the first.

I've done primer first. I've done a less expensive brand (SW Super Paint) tinted as close as I could get to an Affinity color to *save* some bucks per square. Here's where I've ended up.

It's easiest, more efficient in time and paint quantity, and it looks better to simply commit to two coats of Aura. Opting for primer simply for color change purposes when using Aura might be unnecessary -- as in two coats of Aura has not disappointed me yet when it comes to covering past colors.

If you need primer to properly prep for some kind of wall issue, then that's another story. If it's color related only, I'm not sold on needing primer under Aura.

A first coat of Aura seems to make the second coat of Aura go on easier, smoother and requires less paint. Aura seems to be the best primer for Aura especially with all the Affinty reds.

Your mileage may vary. :D

I order from www.myperfectcolor.com. It's $54.99 per gallon and orders over $50 ship for free -- obviously shipping is free for just one gallon.

Priced out per square foot and and considering savings in labor, Aura is probably the very best value on paint store shelves today and ideal for anyone on a budget.

FunColors,
Great post. Thanks. Those are pretty impressive photos of what Aura can do after just one coat.

I think I will give it a try.

I, like you, very much believe regardless of paint brand or color I always do 2 coats. I find the color is always truer and the finish product is more 'polished' with 2 coats rather then just one.

funcolors, great post and it correlates with my experience painting several rooms with it these past few weeks. I will also add that when I used the Aura Satin trim paint, I bought the Aura extender (not sure how different it is from Floetrol but I went for it just to be on the safe side) and used 2 oz of it for a quart of paint. Made *all the difference* in the world to the ease of application *and* final appearance. It settled beautifully.

I've been to our local BM store so often that they've given me a cash account, and I've been getting gallons for $47. They do go a long way and funcolors is completely right about one coat being acceptable, two being *fabulous*. I did Pleasant Valley over a dried-blood Devine deep red, and it covered in one. It's radiant in two. :)

Old Paint color Spanish Red (after sanding/patching)

New paint color, Wedgewood Gray in Aura, first coat

We did do a second coat, because we had 2 gallons and my DH is a perfectionist to the extreme, but I've NEVER seen a paint cover like this. If we hadn't done a second coat, no one would have known but us.

Well, another Aura fan here. I would agree that it has a scent, for some reason I wasn't expecting it to be quite so noticeable. But I painted a 10x12 room that was in BM Tropical Turquoise (think Ralph's deepest green with a blue hint) with BM Warm Apple Crisp, no primer, using a gallon and a half of paint. That was two coats, due to the heavy orange peel in my house, one coat covered 90%, two was perfection. I would agree with the other poster that BM colors mixed in Aura paint don't consistently match, the Warm Apple Crisp I got, lost a little in the translation. But I would certainly use the paint again. Don't know what a very light color over a very dark color would do, But I would certainly use the paint again.

terry

DLM those pictures are amazing I can't believe that was one coat.

I find it crazy that the BM colors don't jive correctly with the Aura line - seems a little odd to me. You would think this would never happen.

I will either be doing Dacatur Buff or Wilmington Tan (haven't decided between the two yet).

DLM, the color is really, really pretty!

Affinity colorants are different than the regular BenM colorants. As is the base. It's the same sitch if you try to match any other brand's color in another brand's base and colorants. It is unrealistic to expect a 100% match unless you buy your chosen color(s) in its own brand; have to be prepated when crossing brands to settle a little bit when it comes to color matching.

Aura is not odor free. It is no VOC. But no or lo VOC does not mean odor free. The best odor free and lo VOC paint, IMO, is ICI's LifeMaster in eggshell.

I like the way Aura smells. Seems to have an earthy, floral aroma to it. The no odor paints can be disappointing. I liken it to what if you bought a brand new car and it didn't have the expected new car smell. It'd be a disappointing. Same when painting a room. The fresh paint smell is part of the reward and thrills of a newly painted room.

Aura is,however, a little heady which can cause a bit of a problem because if the aroma gets to you the first thing you want to do is ventilate even more than normal when painting. Aura dries fast and additional ventilation doesn't help. Direct air flow will make it gummy very quickly. Extender, keep a shallow pan, pour often, keep stuff covered when not in use can help.

We just used it for the first time. Well, should I say our painter did. :) I am very happy with it. The blue I picked doesn't seem to be photographing well (it looks neon!) but DH and I are very happy with the color and it was true to the chip.

boopadaboo (what a fun name :) - what blue did you choose?

Thanks, it is the name of my oldest cat. :)

We used Exhale.

This might be a good picture of the blue. It is making everything else in pictures look Blah, and that really isnt the case. Those drapes are very vibrant and I think work well with exhale.

It is a bright color. Just not neon. When the painters first finished and nothing was in place I was a bit worried! With all the dark brown furniture back in place and the drapes up though we love it. I wanted one color since it is pretty open downstairs and not a very big space. I like the flow of one color in smaller spaces personally.

It was just a shock after changing all the floors too in the house. We didnt care for what the PO had in the rooms. Kitchen before:

thanks for posting the pics! the kitchen looks much nicer! :)

Aura is $52/gallon here in Dallas. I tried Aura, was disappointed, and went back to my good old BM Regal.

Got Aura matte and Regal flat in the same color (a special mix that is a warm medium tan) and put them side by side. Differences that I noted:

Aura matte has a lot of shine to it. Viewed at an angle the color of the Aura was amazingly and totally different from that of the Regal, because of the reflection factor. In fact, color was not very prsent at all because of this. Front-on view the shine shows up slightly as well. Store had told me there was no visible difference between flat and matte, and this is just not true. Front on you can see the diff too.

Aura dripped more than Regal, which it wasn't supposed to do.

Aura has a strong ammonia smell while going on. Regal has its nice painty smell. It is true that the smell from Aura goes away sooner after drying.

Aura covers just a hair better on coat #1 than Regal does. But in either case you have to put on two coats. (I was painting over a very light beige cheapo builder flat paint.)

Also used Aura semi-gloss to paint our pre-primed MDF baseboard on a flat surface (before it was installed). It dripped like crazy off the edges and ends of the boards. The claim that the paint is thicker doesn't seem valid. I will say it went on beautifully and looks really good with one coat. I think I MAY use Aura semi for trim despite the drip factor.

Many will probably disagree with me but I don't see what all the hype is about.

Nice to hear all the feedback and see the rooms here! I have only used Aura myself once in a small laundry room...used Ambiance, which is a pale yellow. I had to go back for more because it did not cover in one pass.

My painter used Aura in other rooms in the house and the only one where I really notice the sheen is DD's room, where we used Van Deusen Blue. It is very dark, and like other very dark matte colors I've used, it just isn't flat.

I agree with the poster that said the first coat uses the most paint, and the second and third coats don't use as much. We painted a 13.5 x 11 dining room in 3 coats using 1 gallon, and a quart with extra to spare for touch ups. I think when you break this down by square footage, the price isn't too bad.

This paint goes on very smooth.

By the way, I was told at the BM store that you CAN NOT color match to get Aura. You either buy the colors they sell in Aura, or get a different type. The color I wanted was a Regal but I wanted it in Aura. I was told they can't do it.

I must say I didn't notice much of an odor using Aura.

Debi - perhaps the colormatch problem you had was just from that practicular store?

I just called an Ottawa based store and asked them about it as the color I am looking at is from the historical collection and she said it is no problem at all. I told her I had read online about problems colormatching outside the Aura color collection and she was confused and stated she had never heard of that as you can do any BM color you want in the Aura line.

Strange.

Debi, I had a similar experience as Haley with the other color we tried. I just called the BM store that has Aura and said I'd like Davenport Tan (which is a color from the regular line) in the Aura paint, and they made it for me. Another store said they could do the same thing. However, I will say that there was a general sense of confusion at the store when I originally went in to pick up an Aura paint deck and they explained to me about the two different colors. It is so simple -- there's the Aura deck, and the regular deck; but they got into a big complicated explanation using several different terms, so I think we're all just getting used to what it's really about.

I went today and had them mix up a gallon of Wilmington Tan in Aura - she did not say 'boo' about anything..just 'sure'.

Now I just hope I love the paint and more so I hope I love the color!

We did our kitchen/dining room in Aura paints. One was an Affinity colour (Dinner Party) and one was a regular BM colour (Nantucket Gray) mixed into Aura base. Both came out fabulously!

We're around Toronto and I believe we paid $69.95, so your price sounds right to me.

Well I did it. Last night I painted my MBR with Aura paint.

I have to say I have painted more rooms with more cans of paint than I care to mention but that can of Aura was the best paint ever!

It covered over a pumpkin orange with such ease. A little goes a very long way with this paint as I was able to do 2 coats of paint with a quarter can of paint to spare.

I went with Wilmington Tan which is a beautiful color.

So I was overall very pleased with it. Dried super fast, great coverage and honestly the only complaint I have for it is the price.

Will post pictures soon.