I'm a prior user/recommender of Valspar paints (e.g. Valspar Ultra Premium Interior) before introduction of the paint + primer and low VOC lines. Recently I purchased a gallon of their Ultra Interior Paint + Primer. I did not want the Primer mix but was told at Lowes that this line was the replacement for what I had been using. So I began cutting in the room with it. Thick like tapioca and when cleaning the brush afterwards, it was nearly impossible (in fact some of the nylon/polyester bristles broke when trying to remove the lodged in paint) and ruined my good Painters Collection 1.5" angle sash brush. Had the same problem with Behr interior paints once (I believe they were the first to introduce paint + primer-smaller molecule size on primer portion).

I immediately returned the gallon to Lowes for replacement with paint without the included primer. In order to exactly match color, went with Valspar 2000 (contractor series) type. Big mistake again. Thick as before, but now with the slight smell of ammonia (anti-fungal maybe??, Ok). Started brushing it on and the first thing I noticed is that it can only be minimally brushed out before beginning to show brush marks. Seemed to level out OK but also seemed to get tacky faster (may be a temp/humidity related). However, the brush cleaned as easily with water/soap as the Valspar's of the past (Ultra Premium Interior lines)-Yeah. Next day opened the can to begin rolling, and noticed the paint had already begun to separate with about a 1/8-1/4" of clear fluid on top of the pigmented portion. This is bizarre, as I've never seen paint separate after complete mixing in such a short time span (less than 24 hours). When rolling, it exhibited similar characteristics (unable to roll out very much). It required every trick in the book I'm aware of to 1 coat it over a properly prepared surface (.90 gallon over 324 square feet). Even then, I'll have to do some minimum touch-up.

In summation, I can no longer recommend Valspar interior paints (Signature Line-did not try) any longer due to clean-up (Valspar Ultra Premium Interior) and application/separation (Valspar 2000) issues after using/recommending their line for so long. I'd rather have a paint with a smell as it's drying and with no primer included that works well. Valspar's change in formulation to meet perceived consumer demand and competition has now yielded a paint of poor quality. Remember what happened when Coke changed their formula? Painting is arduous at best, and it makes a huge difference when you use good quality products (brushes, rollers, paints, and surface prep.) towards making it less arduous than it is. I can't believe that others haven't complained about their new line of products and how poorly they work now. Look at the can labeling; in somewhat good size print on the front of the label they call the base paint "Semi-mate/Interior". Hey mates, it's Semi-matte. I question the quality of products when a company can't even be bothered to proof read or use spell-check on their labels (made in China?).

Time to try Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. I'll gladly take the smell of drying paint (I like it) and no primer mixes any day for better quality.

Regards,

Tom Briggs

PS Valspar 2000 paint has dried now for several days, and I notice it has chalky feel to it and where you touch it, it becomes hazy.

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This post was edited by tbriggs on Mon, Jul 29, 13 at 11:44