Hi "ICI Dave" and Trudy!

I work at a fairly busy ACE/independant hardware store that has a big Home-Decor component. We go through TONS of ACE paint; but also sell a lot of Ralph Lauren (more than the HD in town!) and our C2 line is slowly ramping up ($40-$48/gal).
* I agree, Ralph Lauren is a nice paint. I've got "Brittany-Blue" in our family-room. Seems like every day we make some Cottonwood, #TH29. Just did an order the other day that had about 12 gal's of various RL, & some C2 colors!
* I just placed an order for a few hundred gallons of RL to get a special qty.-discount promo. Might last us through June. Comes up from Texas I guess.
* The ONLY "contractor"-grades we even bother with is an ACE-produced line for apartment re-do's; and the occasional person who thinks paint over $15/gal is a rip-off! We sell very little of it! Paints in "this" class cause more problems than they solve.
* Trudymom...try to avoid the low-line stuff. It's never worth it.

Thanks!
Faron

Thank you Faron and icidave for the explanation of why buying the better grade of paint is always worth it. I try to buy quality since I want my walls to look nice and hold up well.

The paint store that I go to (frequented by lots of pros) told me that the main difference in BM contractor grade and regal is that Regal will cover more colors in one coat than the contractor grade. Since I was painting over a light colored wall I went with the less expensive paint and found it very nice to use, personally I like BM paints better than any paint that I have purchased at Home Depot or Lowes.

As a commercial and industrial painting contractor, I find that top brand paint stores offer more for our money than the cheaper prices at the "big box" stores. For us, pricing is one thing but service is the most important. The quality is there with most brands. This is based more by what product is specified on the plans. Job specifications can specify anything from whitewash (Contracrtor grade)up to Regal (top of line). Retail: that is $9.00/gal to $52.00gal.

But to have a paint rep from the store call or come by and assist with issues or conditions - that is hard to put find at a "big box", nor would I take their advise in most cases, if I had issues. In addition, brand paint stores will deliver just about anything straight to our job or shop - no extra cost - for us. Some areas may not offer delivery - we are luck, we have many paint stores around here that deliver.

Is price important - yes - it is based on what you bid, or for homeowners what you want or can afford.

Is Service important - YES YES! I can't put a price on real service.

Just my thoughts.

won't go into a long detail either,

just short and sweet. Didn't read through all the other info, but I can't emphasize enough about using higher volume solids in your paint. I have mentioned this time and time again. Makes all the difference . As ICIdave has also mentioned. :)

So the difference between BM contractors grade and Regal is price? Or the difference between contractors grade and the lower priced BM sold to homeowners is only price?

So the difference between BM contractors grade and Regal is price? Or the difference between contractors grade and the lower priced BM sold to homeowners is only price?

NO

You notice all the paint companies have several grades - not one of them explains why the more expensive is better than the midrange. If it costs more then it's better.

I am not a professional painter, but I'm a DIY engineer, and have applied 100's of gallons of paint and poly.

Paint covering in one coat? Yes it possible, but once you have it masked, covered the floor, etc, it doesn't take too long to apply a 2nd coat. Also with 2 coats you can eliminate small imperfections you may have missed the first time.

I can see someone who works by the hour wants just one coat and done.

I have seen product descriptions of BM Regal having a very high solid content compared to others. This makes sense to me as to wear and longevity. I love BM regal paints. Just painted with its knock off Coronado and it is no where near the same.

In my opinion only ,I think Regal is one of the best paints out there, with Aura being just above it. Then you get into FPOE which is just way too much $$

For me, solid content isn't the only thing to consider. For example, I have a heck of a time getting Aura to look good on the wall in critical lighting situations. I can't eliminate the lapping marks from the roller completely. With Regal, it's easier. Now, the difference in coverage and durability between Regal and Aura isn't much as far as I can tell, so I pretty much use Regal all the time, unless I have a customer that insists on it or wants the matte finish. Regal Matte is a terrible product, so I will use the Aura Matte in those situations. Point is, Aura may be more expensive because what is used to make that paint is higher quantity of expensive ingredients, but so what? Sometimes we need the paint to actually look good too.

I love to use Regal Eggshell wherever I can. For all the reasons you mention

The difference is that the pros know how to apply paint and can get away with a lower quality product and still have the same results. The typical home owner will not really know how to apply the product and needs a better quality in order to get the coverage they need. Buying a cheap paint and then having to apply 3 coats of paint really costs more than buying the top of the line. My experience is that C2 is the best although hard to find. Next is Ralph Lauren. C2 give natural colors that actually a true colors and NOONE in the industry can duplicate. Ralph Lauren give actual 1 coat coverage. Both are amazing. If you are a home owner or a pro but haven't tried either than you haven't ever experienced a good paint.

No paint covers in one coat in every color. Some colors just cover poorly and this isn't something that the industry has been able to solve, yet. We often wonder why they would even want to....if it covers in fewer coats, people would buy less paint.

Seems regal select matte was recomend to me on here for interior walls,how much more sheen is the eggshell?

I’m a hairdresser, so since I mix color all day, I have a nuanced eye for color.

That said, I notice a marked difference in the color between the Ben line of paint( same sheen) and the Regal Select line, even though I’m to,d they now use the same type of pigment for both lines.

i accidentally bought the Ben , and now I need to re paint a room. SO BE CAREFUL.

Frankly, it’s BS. I’m sorry I even started w Ben Moore, because, in this day and age, you’d think they could formulate so that the color would be consistent across their lines.