interior paint...anyone have a good one to recommend?

[likesmountains 52]

I'm getting my bedroom and living room painted next month and was going to buy Sherwin Williams no VOC paint but the ratings are all over the place. Anyone have a good, recent experience? Thanks

[Stinky The Clown]

1. We use a lot of paint. Maybe 20 gallons a year. Our most recent experience is only a few weeks ago.

All of it is Sherwin Williams.

My son has had some clients ask for other brands, so he has wider experience than I do. He prefers SW to them all, too.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

2. Benjamin Moore- Valspar- Behr.

I paint with a airless compressor and have had good luck with Valspar. It covers very good ,I think it carries at least a 3 star rating.

I hate sherwin williams.

Pay between $28.00 and $35.00 a gallon ,unless you want to go top of the line,than it's between 40 and 60.Come to think of it ,it's probably up to 80 by now -60 was a few years back there !

When I paint I figure it will cost about about $130.00 per five gallon bucket.If you figure you need at least three gallons-get the five gallon bucket because it;s the bargain.

Actually 30 bucks a gallon is plenty good.We have a specialty paint company here that everybody seems to know about,Very very high end. I have painted with it,I'm not a painter but painting is part of a project. If they buy it ,I'll spray it.Truth be known Valspar or Behr is as good as any-Ace too ! I have had no complaints and I have used many different brand names. My compressor likes valspar which means I get a good result without having to back roll,if you know what that means.

When the paint is optimal and when spraying you miss a spot you can catch it the next day with a roller. If the paint isn't optimal ,you use a roller to catch a missed spot the next day-and it flash's the wall or ceiling-thats like a big blotch. Than means you would have to respray that wall or ceiling-big pain in the neck. Sherwin williams is not optimal in my opinion. I sprayed 7200 sq.ft. x's2 with sherwin williams two floors and add in walls.I will never use that shit for paint on a professional job again.

Recently I painted our house the interior. I used the top of line valspar $35.00 a gal. there about.The neighbors thought I used that high end paint -from that specialty paint company. So I suppose the higher end has it's effect if yer in to that.I was just curious about it.By the neighbors response to it, I would recommend it to clients or say you might find it worth the extra five bucks a can if yer into effect.

Good luck.

[Adsos Letter]

3. Sounds like you are having it done by a pro? What do they like to use? I don't think...

I don't think you can go wrong with Benjamin-Moore for interiors

I was a painter for 35 years. We used lots of Sherwin-Williams because they make some very good products, and discount prices heavily to volume buyers (we often used well over 1,000 gallons of their products per year). S-W applies and touches up well, and they have great Interior and Exterior paints in their SuperPaint and Duration product lines.

However:

Benjamin-Moore's "Regal Classic" line was always my choice for interior work. It applies easily; I think it has better color-depth than S-W, and it is more abrasion-resistant and washable, in my opinion. Their acrylic enamels seem to dry to a harder finish than others, although they are slightly trickier to apply for the homeowner (but if you aren't doing the application then it doesn't matter). I notice that they have an "Aura" product which appears to have become their top-of-the-line interior product; I'm unfamiliar with it, since it wasn't in use out here when I retired 4 years ago. I always had good results with their "Regal Classic" line.

Whatever you choose, get the highest quality product you can afford; the ingredients in paint (binders, resins, pigments, etc.) come in different grades that affect things like adhesion, durability, hiding power, and color.

For EXTERIOR work I would avoid the Benjamin-Moore products because they tend to be acrylic emulsions which contain an oil, and are subject to fading and chalking in the deeper tones.

Good Luck, and don't hesitate to tell your contractor if you feel something in their work needs correcting. :toast:

[Mist]

4. I've just started painting with Benjamin Moore's Aura--the excellent coverage that

Ben.Moore paint has had in the past, with very little odor. Costs more than Sherwin Williams though--don't have the receipt handy, but it was about $44 per gallon for interior, IIRC.

[Adsos Letter]

13. I'm glad to hear it! I like Benjamin Moore...

I'll be painting our interior later this fall, and I think I'll give the Aura a try. Thanks for the feedback.

[trud]

5. ugh about Sherwin Williams

I did some painting a few months ago, with Sherwin Williams, after not having painted for years. So environmental standards changing in the interval probably render any comparisons between it and the paints I used long ago null and void.

The Sherwin Williams was a pain in the neck. I was painting a very light yellow over white, and it took three coats. Three coats!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

6. I know what you mean trud !

That shit for paint (sherwin williams ) It's like painting with water isn't it !

Latex paint has changed a great deal in the last 5-7 years and it keeps getting better. Self leveling the acrylic/enamel ,and other additives. And the paint is thicker-but not sherwin williams.

Some people swear by it-sherwin williams-in my opinion it is shit for paint.When I did a office building with that shit for paint some years back painting over a light tan with a darker color-I had to do two coats and had to have a couple of guys back rolling every square inch. Shit water paint it is.It flash's when you tough it up -just shit.

Again, I am not a painter .I don't mind paying more for paint to get it right or perfect the first time . Painting is usually the last thing I do at the end of a project,-and I don't like problems at that phase in it.No doubt they have made changes in the last 7-10 years, but I can't afford to trust it .!

Actually it was a interior designer that insisted sherwin williams was the way to go. She got fired. The paint on those walls was 20 years plus.

With a different paint or the paint I would have used-there would have been no reason to put a prime coat over the existing paint like the interior designer said I should have done.Or had they hired her contractors rather than me,it wouldn't have happened according to her.
I was so mad I offered to give the remainder of the project to her,but they decided to fire her on the spot. !

When you are the painter,you go with paint you know and have had good luck with.All paint suppliers will cut you deal when you are a contractor. But a deal isn't a deal if it cost you more is it?- everything said and done.

Again painting is not my specialty-it is just part of a project.

[Adsos Letter]

12. It's true that SW's best pricing is with quantity contractor sales...

but so are any of the big suppliers: Dunne-Edwards, Kelly Moore, SW, Benjamin Moore...

As you said, "a deal isn't a deal if it cost you more" and Sherwin Williams wouldn't do the volume of sales it does if painters weren't getting good results with it.

I spent over 30 years painting some of the most expensive estate projects around up in the Napa Valley; used literally thousands of gallons of Sherwin Williams, and got top-notch results. There is no way our company would have bet its reputation with that high-end clientele on an inferior quality product. We made too much money with that clientele to risk it on the very slight difference in cost to the project using another brand would have made.

Having said that...every company has different product lines, and some are better for some things than others. I often used different brands on the same job, depending on the need.

And you should almost always backroll when you spray interior walls, exterior stucco, or T-111 siding if you want the best looking job (and one that will touch-up well) Flashing is usually a sign of uneven application (usually too heavy in places) backrolling should help with that, but only if the material isn't applied much too heavily to begin with.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

14. It worked for you and your company

It was not my compressor because it had just been reconditioned for that project-it sprayed flawlessly.I'm a general contractor ,painting is just part of a project and far from the most important aspect of it. I do not care about cost only effect. By the time it comes down to the paint ,that;s the finish Most of my clients by that phase in it want a good quality paint at a price they can agree with. Off the shelf that is about #30.00 a gallon there abouts.The average home owner. As a professional painter you know you go with the paint you have had good luck with. I have hired many painters over the years,I took on painting because too many painters set back my projects by delaying the start and changing the completion date.You know about contracts .

As a builder my opinion about SW is it is shit. That is because I had bad luck with it on a commercial project.It was not my paint of choice and the project was all mine . some people drink Bud ,some people drink Miller,some people grow apples ,others grow oranges.

If you were to do a painting project for me,you would not use sherwin williams or you not not get the job because I hate sherwin williams.

I do not doubt the pro painters view to that paint,but I hate that paint,that's it,thats all there is to it.I started using valspar when it was number one in rating. I use several brand names and I never paint with a low end paint.

I will say the project I used sherwin williams in the end result was very good but the time set back really pissed me off on high which is why the interior design specialist was fired.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Adsos Letter]

11. Three coats seems unreasonable, depending on the product line and base they mixed it in.

Although yellow is one of the weakest hiding pigments. A lot of it depends on the amount of titanium in the mix, the type of "yellow" pigment they used, and the base it was mixed in.

When they started messing with the VOCs to meat Rule 66 laws here in the Bay Area, many products we used required a whole new learning process. What they did to laquer was a sin... . :D

[NMDemDist2]

7. sherwin williams makes an awesome 'one coat' paint

their other stuff.... not so much

[likesmountains 52]

8. Thanks to everyone. I see the SW reviews are either good or bad here also.I checked on the Aura

paint at the Benjamin Moore store here and it is $59.00 per gallon! The Ace store has something new called Extraordin-aire which their ads show as superior to anything else (of course), and it's only $31.00 per gallon..but even the people at the paint desk say they have not had much experience with it since it's so new to their store.
My job should only take about 4 gallons. Go for the expensive or the cheap? My painter likes BM but also said Ace brands are fine. He was not familiar with the Extraordin-aire line though (zero VOC).

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

9. Consumer reports gives Ace a very good review !

I painted a bathroom with it recently - The customer picked it up at Ace hardware.It's a good paint and covers in one coat. I was impressed with the stuff.
The kitchen & bath paint I think was about $35 or$36 a can.The new lines in paints the paint companies are coming out with is all pretty impressive.like I said I recently painted our house with the new line in valspar and it looks really good.

At the 30 dollar per gallon range you should be satisfied in my opinion -on the other hand top of the line is always fine too. you might consult your painter-you don't want yer living room to stand out so much that you become compelled to paint everything on the inside to equal the effect !Having just done our house ,picking those colors I think was the hardest part of the job. It took weeks to figure out colors ,it took two days to prep the place and three days to paint it ! I brushed in a lot of trim and was impressed with how the new paint line levels out. It;s amazing what they have done with paint.



Good luck.

[Adsos Letter]

10. Go with your painter's suggestion; if he's good, you can trust him.

His primary interest should be to leave a satisfied customer to help build his base.

[Warpy]

16. I painted the whole inside of this house with Behr paints

and it's held up fine for 15 years now. The high gloss stuff in the kitchen has been washed more than once and is still high gloss.

[shanti]

17. my contractor swears by behr n/t

[ginnyinWI]

18. Behr is very good paint.

It covers really well. :thumbsup:

[madokie]

19. The more I use KILZ the better I like it

Lowes has it and its a good one coat paint. reasonably priced too.

[LiberalEsto]

20. They have other products too

I ordered Zinsser's Peel-Stop Primer from the company web site. It will take some time before I can see whether it worked to stop the peeling on one of our west-facing windows.

It looks like they've been acquired by Rust-o-leum since I last viewed their web site. But this link has a good list of their products. I particularly like the low-VOC sealers.

http://www.arcat.com/arcatcos/cos41/arc41431.html

[Major Nikon]

22. I've done my whole house with that

Each winter we paint one room in the house. The last few years we have been using Kilz with great results.

[NNN0LHI]

21. Last painter we hired said the quality of each companies paint varies year to year

He was swearing by ACE Hardware paint at the time but that could have changed by now.

Might want to ask a local painter what he/she is currently using?

Don

[Lugnut]

23. I like Valspar.

I like the velvety result I get using the satin finish paint. It covers very well and gives a truly professional looking finish on various surfaces.