Thanks Catherine. I didn't realize it had no odor, that in itself is a huge plus as far as I'm concerned. I've only painted test boards with the Aura and it is definitely thick. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your experience.

Thanks for the info! I'm quite disappointed, there are still no dealers in my area with the Aura line yet.

Three coats over bare wood is very acceptable. Painting bare wood with any paint should be a three step process. Primer and two full topcoats.

Thanks for the feedback!

Michael

Catherine, thank you for posting re: your experience with Aura! I've been lurking for a while now and had read about Aura's good points and thought wistfully "could it really be that good?: ;~) I liked that you didn't think it spattered too much.

May I ask what your wall textures are and what kind of roller you used? I've read that Aura is very thick and takes some getting used to....some of my walls are textured with a rustic plaster texture which has dips and little holes in it, thus my question.

Hi briosafarm,

Our walls are 1950s plasterboard, or so I am told. Apparently this was the intermediate step between true plaster and drywall. They do not have much texture to them. I, sheepishly, admit that I have no idea what kind of roller I used. We just moved cross-country and MIL and SIL kindly procurred all painting supplies in advance for us. I used whatever they provided.

The areas on the ceiling I had to touch up were mostly due to small dimples needing to be filled in. I pushed a bit harder on the roller second time over those spots and it covered them just fine.

I think Aura is a bit thick and that is why it spattered less. I thought it was easy to work with.

Hope that helps a bit,
Catherine

Yes, Catherine, that helps and thanks! Knowing it is easy to touch up and that the touch-ups don't show makes this MY paint. I can always experiment with rollers and brushes!

Aura is not available in my area yet. I plan to paint my bedroom with one of the affinity colorsd in aura. Painterdepot.com can send you the paint to any area.

I wanted to update with further adventures with Aura paint. I just finished doing our dining room in Eggshell in Aura paint. The top half is Yarmouth Blue and the bottom half Van Deasian (not spelled right, it's another BM historical color--a dark blue). Both colors went on top of a medium green wall color and some new drywall.

One coat all around, even over the drywall. The paint looks great and I, again, thought it was easy to work with. I am especially impressed that the dark blue looks so good with just one coat.

I did the ceiling in a 25 percent of Yarmouth, but used Eco-Spec as the paint store said they could not mix that particular color in Aura. I found the Eco-Spec a bit more difficult to work with and it did not cover as well as the Aura, in my opinion.

Catherine

catherine,

Thanks so much for the updates. I'm VERY interested in what Aura brings to the table. The potential for mixing beautiful color is there and the efficiency of the paint is so promising.

BenM's Eco-Spec has not turned out stellar for me the few times I've used it.

I'm all about low/no VOC and have been relying on ICI's Lifemaster. Another big benefit to Aura is the low VOC.

I wonder if the percentage of Yarmouth is what threw the paint store off. I have heard that the tinting machine is unique and has a learning curve ??? So maybe? I wonder with some more time and experience paint staff will be able to accommodate requests like that.

Rather, I believe it's an operator learning curve as Aura can be tinted to any BM color. You're right though, in time I'm sure they'll figure it out.

Yes, it was the percentage that was the problem. They mixed Yarmouth just fine , but when I asked for 25 percent for the ceiling they said they could not do that particular color in a 25 percent mix in Aura. But they did do it in Eco-Spec. I'm not sure what the exact problem was, I didn't press.

Catherine

I know that BM Aure meets and/or exceeds all the VOC regulations, but I found it to have a distinct smell....I painted a small bathroom and it stunk up the room pretty good. It's not a bad smell, but it's certainly a smell.

hello,
i'm new to this community, and may be way out of my league on this particular thread. all the talk of full spectrum color, has my head spinning! i'm no colorist or designer, but i do love rich saturated color. in my mind's eye, i see a soft yellowy green (or is it greeny yellow??), for my kitchen. i just picked up a sample of BM's aura in anjou pear. its close, but not quite it. funcolor, i loved the colors you chose in many of the pics in your gallery. especially the wedgwood blue, its one of my absolute fave colors. so, i ask you and anyone else, for suggestion on the PERFECT soft yellowy green (greeny yellow). i'd like to use aura, but i'm WIDE open to suggestions. thank you!

kamilibh - how about BM fernwood green?

check this demonstration on Aura. Cover black Sharpie Magic marker and then washes it off

Here is a link that might be useful: BENJAMIN MOORE AURA DEMONSTRATION VIDEO

I've done a lot of painting and Aura is fantastic. I've painted nearly the entire interior of my home with it. It covered blood red walls (using a blue/gray color) in one coat...no primer necessary. Nearly no odor, virtually no splatter or drips and self smoothing (brush strokes disappear) The colors are deep and true...really beautiful. Can you tell i like this stuff?? Well worth the extra cost because of the quality and time saved.

Well color me gobsmacked.

Two Aura threads at the top of the forum. Now THAT doesn't happen very often. Aura and Benjamin Moore must be on a lot of people's mind lately....