Aquavelvet is an eggshell finish which means it has a little shine to it... Makes for easier cleanups, but you may not like the shine. Also remember, the shinier the paint, the more it shows surface imperfections.

While I havent used Kelly Moore personally, I've heard good things about it, Im surprised you're having problems with it.

I'm afraid to see what Consumers rated number 1 this year. They've been calling Lowes brand the best for a few years now, and it's just not that good. How can you trust their findings? They were probably testing toasters and foot massagers on the same day... Ask someone who does it day in, day out what they prefer.

Sherwin Williams is a decent paint, and Im very happy with the new line of Matte finishes from Ben Moore. Steer clear of Pittsburgh unless you're buying the $40/gallon Manor Hall line.

Bottom line is... buy good paint... The extra $10/gallon will save you time and money down the road..

I agree absolutely about Dutch Boy - terrible paint - stay away from it.

We used Divine. I'm not sure who markets it, but it goes on beautifully and is supposed to be washable. They have fewer colors than the big companies, but I really liked the way they present them. It made it easier to pick colors that went together. It was developed to pick up more light in the northwest but I'm sure it looks lovely with the bighter light in the bay area.

If you're repainting in colors, I suggest you consider the luminous full spectrum paints like Ellen Kennon or Citron paints.

Michael

Both our contractor and our designer said "Benjamin Moore" without any hesitation. Must be something to that!

Yes, Bob, there is! It's called "commission" or year end rebates.

I'm a professional painter and therefore suggest a paint that earns me more profit,as long as it's quality paint.

Michael

DH and I used Behr for most of our home. I don't know if they changed the formulation, but recently it has become very think and difficult to work with.

Since we were fed up with it, we tried the Ralph Lauren line at HD and LOVED it. Went on very smooth and looks beautiful.

Michael H:

My contractor may have suggested Benjamin Moore for any number of reasons - but everyone else tells me it's really good paint. And, most importantly, based on our dealing to date on the project - I trust the guy, and I trust his judgement. That's a good part of what I am paying him for.

AND, my costs for the painting are fixed, as they are part of my overall contract with him. So, he has no incentive to steer me toward a high-priced paint, in order to increase MY bill.

So, he has no incentive to steer me toward a high-priced paint, in order to increase MY bill.

Bob,

He doesn't have to steer you anywhere. His price on BM doesn't change. BM is good paint. I use it on a lot of projects because of the quality AND because of the year end rebates I get. It's economics Bob. It's about the wholesale/retail relationship.

Michael

One thing that gets aggravating - we all don't live in LA/NY, east coast/west coast. There is a lot of country in between and mostly we have access to SW and Benjamin Moore and bix boxes and ACE hardwares.
There is only one BM in Omaha and lots of SW. I like BM's color samples lots better and really like BM paint. SW is fine too but here at least their customer service is sort of poor and I don't like their samples - you get tons but its not real paint - doesn't have the same solids or something - just in case you were thinking of using it. ?
Mary
Mary

I used Behr on my house (recommended by Consumer Reports and there is a Home Depot a mile away). I like it. It went on very easily about a year ago and has worn and washed up very well.

CR's latest testing for exterior house paints gave several types of Glidden as their "best buys". California Paint (available in many regions outside of CA) topped the list but cost more. Ben Moore was still being tested. At my architectural firm of about 50+ architects we spec Ben Moore 99% of the time. I've use Pratt & Lambert with good results. Past testing by CR rated Behr's PREMIUM paint as a best buy. I highly recommend picking up a "Consumers Report" to fully understand the testing criteria and the various formulas that are out there.

I've tried a lot of different paints, but lately I found an ICI store . they have TOH and dulux brands that i found are better and slightly cheaper than the rest. I don't think these stores are widely accessable but if there's one near you check it out.

Sometimes I wonder if the surface (i.e. wall texture) and/or climate make a difference because I'm an avid CR reader but yet I have to agree with Alex - Lowe's American Traditions didn't work well for me back when CR was raving about it and neither did Behr.

I've been using Ralph Lauren for the past few years and I just love it. The colors are amazing and coverage on my textured walls is better than any other paint I've used. One coat every time and no 'missed' spots. CR doesn't like RL because they say the colors fade. I suspect they're right because we couldn't get a good color match in our bathroom 2 years after painting it originally, so I had to repaint the whole thing. Of course, it could have been because the paint was from a different batch. Who knows?

Benjamin Moore hands down. If you can't use that, and I have never found a reason not too, Behr is pretty good too.
By the way, a good paint supplier is important too; for good custom color creating, primer tinting(don't just mix some paint in) and other knowledge. And don't just assume that "one coat covers" just because you don't you see the undercoat anymore. Depending on what you are painting over, the color will not be the same with just one coat or even two, or with a white primer versus a properly tinted primer. This depends on the top coat color and is why I suggest that you find a good Benjamin Moore paint dealer.

Finnaren & Haley, worth every penny.

Benjamin Moore, for interior paint. I've tried Behr and American Traditions at the Home Depots and Lowe's of the world, but the Benjamin Moore has gorgeous colors, goes on easily and seems to look more vibrant and true to the color samples.

I am planning on trying the Ralph Lauren "suede" paints. Saw this in a friend's room and it was beautiful.

Are you using flat, satin, or semigloss on the interior?

Consumer Reports had different recommendations for those. I do usually put some trust into CR's recommendations as they don't receive advertising dollars, etc. But they did recommend Dutch Boy in a few of the recent "interior" categories. Not the highest but recommendations nonetheless.

As mentioned above don't skimp on the paint. In the overall scheme of things it is a relatively small percentage. Depending on the size of the interior of your home I'd think you might be using something in the range of 40 gallons. Paying $10 to $15 per gallon for a better paint is a very good investment.

I've been painting my house, and I started out using Dutch Boy from Menards. Although I had them color match and didn't use their standard colors. I started out with a main color sort of a light tan flat. It was awesome. The paint really rolled well, the color looked good, it was awesome on the wall. I did all the main sections of the house with that, living room, dining room, staircase, upstairs hallways. Turned out well.

So then I started trying other colors for different rooms. I paint one bathroom a pale green semi-gloss, and that was awesome. I paint another one a medium blue and that turned out good.

Then I paint my master bath a pale yellow, and the paint was as thin as water. Poor coverage and it kept dripping on me. Just horrible. I think it looks bad too when done. Not nearly as thick and rich as the other two bathrooms, and I'll probably end up repainting it.

I went to paint my master bedroom, a darker shade of the same tan I used elsewhere, more of a brown. Fortunately I started with the master closet as I wanted to change the shelving at the same time. Oh my god... I had to do three coats to get coverage. It really rolled on bad. For the closet, about the same size as a 1/2 bath, it took me a full gallon. It only took me half a gallon to do the bathroom. If I tried to use this on the bedroom it'd take me something like 6-8 gallons of paint, when I was expecting to use maybe 2-3. So I can't say it was really cheaper in the end.

The morale of the story, as I learned, is that some paints like Dutch Boy it's possible to get something good. But they aren't consistent across their entire spectrum. Even the same model line, the quality appears to vary depending on which base they started with. I guess perhaps that is the mark of a quality paint. I'd used Behr before, but only in whites and that's more difficult to really see the difference.

I'm going to try to do the bedroom with Benjamin Moore. I like the color, just not the paint. Fortunately I hadn't bought the Dutch Boy yet to finish it off, I just had one gallon to validate the color with.

Well I finished the bedroom today.

I ended up with the Behr paint at Home Depot. It took just a little bit more than a gallon.

I'm totally sold against Dutch Boy now. The Behr paint was only about $4 more expensive per gallon.

I just realized my statement above "Paying $10 to $15 per gallon for a better paint is a very good investment." did not read the way it should.

It should have said "paying $10 to $15 EXTRA per gallon for a better paint is a very good investment.

My friends are production designers for movies you have heard of and they picked our colors and said they only use Benjamin Moore. Was a little more expensive but went on well and touch ups have been flawless.

I used SW Cashmere with good results recently, and I've used Behr in the past and like it.

My mother swears by Valspar, but she can't find it anymore. Lowe's American Tradition is by Valspar but she says it's not the same quality.

I've had good success with Behr and Ralph Lauren.

The only thing I would say is that the Ralph Lauren specialty paints, like River Rock and Suede, are hard to use -- but the results I got were very nice.

Recently, I found a color that I like in an "Eddie Bauer" paint at Lowe's. Anybody had any experience with the Eddie Bauer paint from Lowe's?

Here is a link that might be useful: Eddie Bauer Paint

I've been using the Valspar American Traditions and am really happy with it. My only problem is that Lowe's apparently does not have a consistant training program. The first visit I went to get 4 quarts of different colors I liked so that I could paint swatches on the walls. I had paint chips from a line of paint chips that Lowe's doesn't carry, but no problem the man at the first visit told me, he can look them up on the computer for an exact formula. So, after I paint my swatches and then some because the paint goes so far I go back for my gallons and leave my order for a different paint man. Only he doesn't know that he can look up the formulas and just tries to eyeball them. Foolishly, I left the store without asking him to check each of his formulas (this is after I convince him to at least check the information I am giving him, after he's guaranteed me that I am wrong). The package says that I can't return custom mixed paints but the colors are all wrong and I'm into it $150.00, do I have any recourse here?

That's why you go to a real paint store. Consider it a lesson learned.

Generally, if you get loud and tough enough, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. will do what you ask...especially when they were in the wrong.

I would just ask for the store manager and explain that you got bad service and ask for the correct paint. They can put your current paint in the "oops" section and get a little money for it.

You can NEVER eyeball paint...at a minimum, the guy at the paint counter should already know that.

You can return mixed paint at lowes - I've done it without question.

Nobody likes Porter?

I just bought a home in May and have repainted the entire interior. I had some Home Depot gift cards so bought some Behr paint..I have been VERY impressed with it. In the past,I've had good luck with ACE Hardware paint also. I do not like Sherwin Williams, think it is way overpriced for the quality and also Glidden is crap, as far as I'm concerned. One final note- I did one room (bathroom) with Wal-mart brand, and was pretty impressed with the quality for only $10-11 a gallon. It was a bathroom that I wasn't sure about what I wanted to do with it eventually, so just did that as a quick, cheap fix (it was formerly bright yellow!) The Walmart paint went on easy and seemed to cover well, and altho their color choices aren't as extensve as most brands, this one worked well for me.

My GC recommend Kelly-Moore. However, none of you appear to like it. Is the quality not good?

It's been awhile since the last post, but I thought I'd reply since it's such a timely topic for us. We've remodeled many houses but I never thought much about paint brands until our current house, since it's a renovation. I've tried quarts from just about every major manufacturer in Tacoma, WA--Behr, American Traditions, Pratt & Lambert, Pittsburg, Benj. Moore, Sherwin Williams, Rodda, Kelly Moore, etc.

I like BM because of the palette they provide and the quality of paint. The customer service is bar none and they are great at color matching. As you probably know, no one can match 'exactly' like it's universally claimed. But BM does it pretty well, and right before your eyes. SW and Rodda made me wait a day. Only thing about BM paint is the Satin finish is a bit shinier than most, but it protects from dirt well. That's what we used on our exterior.

Consumer Reports says Kelly Moore is good in it's top brand. We may match those colors for our interior using green paints like Yolo and American Pride. They're supposed to have no odor/bad chemicals. Has anyone tried those?

Although SW has good paint, I agree that their service isn't too good. I liked Rodda's service, as long as I worked with the store manager. That doesn't always apply with every company. You just have to find a helpful, patient person to work with. Good luck!

I haven't seen these brands mentioned, but they are definitely worth consideration AND the extra $10-15 per gallon.

Latex Interior/exterior- Martin Senour Bright Life...excellent coverage and build and gorgeous colors, Devoe Wonder Spread, also love Pratt and Lambert's Ovation line. Mobile Paint products are worth mentioning but I dont know if it can be purchased outside the Gulf Coast.

Exterior- Senour Bright Life Exterior Alkyd Gloss. Fast dry and self-leveling. It can also be used inside for a tough finish on doors, trim and mouldings

Trim- see above....also SW Promar200 in Extra White. I have had a TON of requests for this in my post Katrina landscape.
There is also an industrial alkyd gloss made by Devoe that is bulletproof and is VERY easy to use, even by a novice.

Primers- Zinsser and Devoe Premium High Build. I have had a great time with both as they cover extremely well and can mask a crappy sheetrock job if need be.

Faux finishes- Definitely Pratt and Lambert. Check out the Tuscany Venitian Plaster, the pearls and metallics. HUGE array of colors.

All paints "tested" in high humidity in the Gulf South-LOL. I refuse to run any Lowe's, HD, etc etc crap through my paint sprayer and will tell my customers that exact same thing. The worst garbage made is a toss up between Dutch Boy and American tradition. The colorfastness and integrity of Lowe's finishes are way sub-par.

For those who cant or wont stomach a $40 gallon of paint, check your local premium paint store that carries the aforementioned brands...you can often get "oops" paints and a huge discount. This is what my company uses to do rentals or for homeowners with tight budgets.

The only "incentives" I get by recommending these paints are free signage for the truck and Tshirts for the crew, AND the person behind the counter actually knows what he is talking about. A smaller, neighborhood store can also deliver better customer service and is more willing to keep in house records of what you buy, so if you need a touch up in a couple years, your stuff will still be on file.

I've painted out entire house - some rooms a few times - over the last few years and have used Behr, Sherwin Wiliams, Glidden, Pittsburgh, Dutch Boy and Benjamin Moore. The first time I used BM was the last time I used anything else. I've used the flat,matte,eggshell and pearl. I've used it on walls of one color (2-3 coats depending on what I was painting over) and I've used it with various decorative painting techniques. It goes on easily, the colors are vibrant and cleans up pretty well. I can tell at a glance which walls are BM and which are not - bit by bit I'm repainting the other walls in BM paint.

We've got a 130+ year old house farmhouse.

Fellow at the local paint store said we should use Ben Moore's penetrating oil primter with a topcoat of Moore's flat latex.

We applied this as instructed over a sound surface that looked good. All we wanted was a different color scheme. Now the paint is failing BIG time. Peeling down to bare wood all over. Catastrophic failure. Have since been told the consequence of mixing oil and latex upon many layers of paint.

Moore's offered us some paint to cover it. BAH. Don't know what to do. Our house is now a disaster.

Pittsburgh, but only the Manor Hall line. I have used it with three different painters. Each one of them told me it wasn't worth the extra money but by the end of their first day of using it, they were completely converted. It goes on exceptionally (easy for) them and, for me, it lasts longer than the other paints.

Hi Walrus!
(my first post on this forum. I hang out on the new "paint" forum 98% of the time.)
I've seen and heard of cases like this on older structures. "This Old House" had a brief segment once, and I've read some articles on this tack also.
>>> The findings: 100yr-old surfaces have enormous amounts of wear. Century-old oil paints just keep on getting more brittle, even after new oil coats on top.
>>> There comes a point where the oldest undercoats literally get PULLED OFF by the strong surface tension of a new latex film as it dries!! Kind of a "domino" effect.
>>> Doesn't matter what primer you used. Old undercoats of oil-paint just aren't bonded anymore.
>>> It's really nobodies fault. It's just a matter of realizing there is a time when ALL color-layers need to be removed, substrates re-done/prepped, new primers applied, etc.
Sorry it's not better news!
Faron

** There MUST be some C2 users out there!!!??? **
> C2 is an ultra-premium interior (exterior bases avail. too) paint. Averages $40-$48/gal. Specific colorant system here...16, vs. 10-12 in 98% of brands out there.
> ACE Royal is another good line. ACE makes their own paint for all ACE retailers. We sell A LOT of it (Top 100 Ace retailer)!
> Ralph Lauren. Made by ICI...which makes Devoe, Glidden, Fuller-O'-Bryan, etc. VERY good paint too. Lots of deep, saturated colors. Most reds/burgundies need a gray primer though.

As with ANY brand, proper prep/priming is CRUCIAL to a great paint job. Does everybody do it? NO.
Is ONE coat of paint enough...again, NO. Nobody puts on an even first coat...it just doesn't happen!

Have a GREAT 2007!!!
Faron

I LOATHE working with Sherwin Williams but love Benjamin Moore for oil and American Traditions at Lowes for acrylic. American Traditions goes on as smoothly and covers as well as paints that cost twice as much. I'm a huge fan. It's the only kind I've found that's as easy to work with as Benjamin Moore.

We chose to use Sherwin Williams Harmony paint for a few reasons:

First, we were trying to be as emvironmentally/health conscious in our remodel as our buget allowed and it is the only Zero VOC paint that we could find in our in-the-middle-of-nowhere small town. Benji Moore offers low VOC, but zero VOC is even better.

More importantly, we could buy $5 samples of ANY color from SW...even from other companies (they would scan the color chip) or colors that I would mix together myself (I am very particular). None of the other stores in our area offer such flexability with color samples. They only sell a select few samples of a small amount of colors.

We thought the SW paint was excellent. The customer service at our local SW store was great. I do think that is an important factor in the decision process. I have heard good things about Benjamin Moore though, if that works better for you for whatever reason.

Here is a link that might be useful: Why zero VOC?

>** There MUST be some C2 users out there!!!??? **

here is one.

it is FANTASTIC paint - great colours, goes on well.

highly recommended.

Sherwin Williams Duration gets my vote.

I live in Kent, Wa. In my opinion Miller Paint Evolution is by far the best I have worked with. It's goes on thick and does a good job covering imperfections and hides well, not to mention it comes with a lifetime warranty! The price is a little high at about $45 a gallon, but well worth the investment because of the time saved using it!

I have used KM for ten years and think is is great paint. I have found that good prep and a little water in the first coat make it go a little further. Although it is still a bit more expensive than SW its well worth it.

For ease of use and coverage (I do most of our painting), I love Behr paint - seems just the right thickness to go on and cover well, without dripping. If I don't find a Behr color I like, I have another brand's color color-matched.

Used Valspar in our master bathroom (eggshell) and absolutely do not like it - far too "shiny" and to me, it looks as if I've put a coat of liquid plastic on the wall.

Have used SW, but am not fond of the slow service at our local store.

When we repaint our open floor plan LR/DR/foyer/kitchen, we'll use Behr flat paint - I don't like any type of sheen to wall paint - love the warmth of flat paint. Just a personal opinion.

Somebody please explain why is this thread is showing up when the last/previous link is from Jun 10, 11?

It is actually happening quite a bit lately as people are spamming the site, the moderators are doing a good job in policing and removing said spam and boom because there was activity on the thread it moves back to the top of the list!

Got it. Thanks for the explanation.

Acrylic paint depends primarily on it's ingredients for it's quality and good ingredients are expensive so the manufacturers change their formulation from time to time to meet market conditions so it is impossible to compare paint from 3 years ago to what is available today. That's why Consumer Reports keeps finding different best paints each year. Just stay away from bargain paint.

This thread is an interesting read. Very entertaining.
Blaming the paint for a yellow that doesn't hide is short-sighted. It's the yellow, not the paint.
It's spatter, not splatter.
And Man-o-Man have the big box stores done their marketing?!
Keep in mind folks, if you go independent, more of your money stays local. I don't shop the boxes for the quality or lack thereof. I support the local guy because he deserves it. He sells Valspar, which is the same as the Lowes brand. I toured the plant, the only difference is the label.