Which is the best Sherwin Williams interior paint?

13 years ago

We are having our foyer, downstairs hallway, and upstairs hallway painted next week. It was originally painted about 5-6 yrs ago with Sherwin Williams Everclean paint, which was a bad product to begin with--it was supposed to be super washeable and it wasn't even slightly washeable. Ever mark and smudge remained after wiping with a damp cloth, and if you tried to apply the slightest amount of pressure to remove a mark, you may be able to remove the dirt, but the paint would come off with it. That is the reason we are repainting. Our painter uses SW paints, which is fine, but I'm not sure what will be best for our situation.

We have SW Cashmere paint in our formal living and dining rooms, and I love the look of it--buttery smooth. Since those rooms are rarely used, I've never had to wash the wall so I don't know about its washeability.

I want to find a paint with the beauty of Cashmere that is scrubable. Is Cashmere washeable/scrubable? Duration? I know it is supposed to be good, but how does it look? BTW, we are going to use an eggshell finish, which is like other manufacturers' satin. For some reason SW eggshell=other companies' satin. Thanks for any advice! Oh, and if it matters, we are using zero voc colorants in whichever formula we go with.

Featured Answer

PRO

Lori A. Sawaya

13 years ago

Cashmere - gently wipe off at best. It is not meant for hi-traffic areas.

Duration runs notoriously shinier on gloss levels than the typical perception of egshell and satin. You should sample Duration matte and see what you think - that could be your solution if your painter insists on SW.

Not sure how you intend to use zeo voc colorants in SW paint bases, like Duration, because SW doesn't have zero voc colorants.

That I am aware of I should say.

Comments (9)

mybrowneyedgirls
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, they are testing the zero voc colorants in about 12 SW stores nationwide, and one of them happens to be my local SW store. They don't even carry the regular colorant at that store anymore. The zero voc colorant can be added to any of their paints. I have had it added to the Cashmere I just used in my guest room.

I will have to do a sample of the Duration in matte. I'm so nervous to use matte since originally the house was painted in matte (cheap builder paint) so we had the foyer and halls painted with SW Everclean in satin (which was like others' eggshell). So in the almost 10 yrs we've lived here we've never had washable walls in our highest traffic areas. Using matte goes against all of my instincts! Use Duration matte considered washable/scrubable?
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PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
13 years ago
After it's fully cured which is about 4 weeks, yes, I would say it is very washable. A magic eraser or a lot of elbow grease will remove a micro layer and change the eveness of the finish so I'd say scrubable is up for disucssion.
mybrowneyedgirls
Original Author
13 years ago
What about SW Superpaint? Would I have better luck with that? Does it have a nice-looking finish? Scrubable w/o removing a micro layer?
paintguy22
13 years ago
In my experience with using many high end brands of washable flats/mattes, none are truly 'scrubbable'. If you want the real durability, you probably need to use something with some sheen. It's possible that FPE or BM's Aura may be truly scrubbable in the matte finish, but this is also hard to gauge because every person has a different definition of what 'scrubbable' is. I don't buy much from Sherwin, but if you want the best chance at a durable paint you should buy their top line paint .... I think that is Duration. The only complaint I had about Duration in the past is that the dried paint film is sort of gritty looking and feeling so if you have smooth drywall you may not like that.
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
13 years ago
A Magic Eraser taken to any paint film is going to remove some of the final finish.

Magic Erasers are good for lots of things but should never be used on a painted wall IMO. When light hits the scrubbed spot just right, you can see how the Magic Eraser left an uneven finish behind.

SuperPaint is honestly one of the best values on the paint market today. Value meaning you get a lot of good stuff in the can for what you pay. Including a perfectly lovely final finish/result. Especially if you hit it on a sale or have coupons.

But Super Paint is not a top tier can of paint. The more upper tier, better grade of paint you go, the more durable. Usually.

In general people take the notion of "scrubbable" too far with all tiers of paint.

Better grades are going to be tougher, but they have limits. You can only clean within reason. There is a breakeven point where you have to objectively look at the ding or scuff and determine it needs to be touched-up, not scrubbed.
mybrowneyedgirls
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for the opinions. I think as long as I have something "washable" I will be okay. I currently have a finish that is neither washable nor wipeable, so anything will be better! I really like the look of the low-luster Cashmere we currently have, but it sounds like it will barely be wipeable. I will probably go with Duration or Superpaint...I just don't like the thought of the walls being gritty from Duration. But I'm sure either one will be fine. BTW, I do love FPE paint (used it on our cabinets and the finish is gorgeous) but I don't think we will be in our house more than 2 more years so I don't think it will be worth the extra money. If we were staying here forever it would be a no-brainer! Thanks again!
brede
13 years ago
I am painting a house in Duration Matte. It is absolutely the best paint I've ever used. It's not gritty at all, so don't understand this complaint.

It looks fairly flat when viewed straight on, but has a slight sheen (more eggshell than satin) when seen from an angle. It wipes/washes clean. I haven't had an area "burnish" from wiping yet.

Best of all, it gives absolutely invisible touch-ups. I know this because we had workmen come in and bang up the walls after painting, lol.
Darlene Demarest
7 years ago
I have used HD Byer scrubble paint in my rentals and it works, I have been able to clean in stead of repaint and on "Flat"..... and that saves big bucks.