Rate the paint!

[Csara]

Sherwin, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Glidden, Ralph Lauren.....so many brands to choose from, but they are all so different.

We originally used Behr paint for our downstairs area of the house, but it was done professionally so I didn't have much direct experience with it. I do know that we have one section of our wall painted red and the painters had to do FIVE coats. Then...we went ahead and used that same brand paint for our bedroom (did it ourselves) and it came out fairly well. Since then, I have done quite a bit of painting. I've done 3 large rooms in my parents' house. Well, through all of this and doing some reading, I've come to realize that Benjamin Moore is BY FAR the best paint. It's a little more expensive, but well worth it. It has great coverage...you only need to do one or maybe two coats.

Well, I learned my lesson.....we got lazy or it just slipped my mind...and we went to Home Depot last weeked to get paint for our home office. The color we wanted was made by Glidden. Well, here I am frustrated as hell b/c I am in the middle of painting and this paint SUCKS!!!!!! It has horrible coverage. I have done 3 coats in some areas and it's still streaky.

I might just say F it and go spend the extra money on Benjamin Moore and throw this CRAP out!!!!

Anyone else have good or bad experiences with certain paint brands?

[Deana]

We have used Ralph Lauren paints in our house (we've painted almost every room) and we've had great success with it. It has excellent coverage and is very durable. At one point, when we were testing colors, I painted an entire wall of our bedroom a color called Mahogany (think: deep eggplant color). Well, we hated it for our bedroom, so we decided to go with a lighter color (a greenish gray). ONE coat of the new paint covered the dark stuff. We were amazed.
The paint that the builder painted our interior walls with is some generic paint (can't think of the name) but it's awful... clumpy, runny. Gross.

[Jester]

Glidden and Benjamin Moore seem to perform the exact same and look very close. I think the coverage has alot to do with the color obviously, but more so the finish. We are using a semi-gloss and its taking freeking forever--aka 3-4 coats.

When its done though....

[HeavenLeigh]

Actually, I have personally tried all different kinds (except Ralph Lauren....love his clothes and perfume tho) and have had sucky results from most of them.

While remodeling my house (3 years ago this summer) money was tight so I went to wal-mart and bought their paint thinking that I'll redo it the year after when I had more $$.....I've not had to redo it yet. It covered great and has not chipped, faded, or anything else. I'm going to spring clean like a psycho this year tho and redo all my walls. I'll make a beeline right back to wal mart and buy the cheapie stuff.

[andrea]

c~ planning on painting another room pretty soon?

[Ellyanne777]

I don't usually go buy what the brand is...I do though want to make sure its a glossier look only b/c I have a 6 year old that still walks down the hall way with a crayon and somehow that crayon jumps over to the wall and writes all the way down !!

But I just like our paint b/c we can take a washcloth to it and everything comes right off...I'll have to find out what kind we used this last time b/c its great!!

[missyk]

We've used Behr, Glidden, and Kelly Moore. I would have never believed it until I had tried it, but the Kelly Moore paint is way better than the brands you buy in Home Depot. The paint goes on way smoother, it covers in two coats (pale yellow over psychadelic blue), and the color is actually true to life. When we painted our bathroom blue with the Behr paint the color it dried on the wall was flourescent blue, definitely not the color we picked out on the card. When we bought the Kelly Moore paint I was afraid the beautiful pale yellow on the card would dry on the wall looking like hi-lighter yellow, but it dried the same beautiful color as we picked out. That alone is worth the extra 5-6 bucks a gallon to me.

[vegangirl]

I like Glidden the best. Everytime I have used Behr the color never matches when dry. I got 2 cans of the same color the same day even, and the where we started the 2nd can, it was darker when dry

[Life201]

I use Glidden for every room and I use the Eggshell. It has good coverage, no streaks and best of all, you can wipe the walls off with a washcloth when you have dirty little finger prints all over them!

[veda]

yup, C, thats the one i love b'[c it does cover fairly quickly with the deep shades of paint. here's my list:

B.M.

Ralph Lauren (although they charge a ridiculous amount for most of their "designer" paint they do have some cool textures though)

Behr, Glidden & Sherwin are one in the same in my experience.

I REALLY recommend getting a paint thats low or no-VOC's (volitile organic compounds) - the crap that makes you head-achey, tired, irritable, can cause long-term nerve damage & stays in your home much longer than the paint companies own up to... Benjamin Moore makes a great "healthspec" paint thats even safe for baby crib painting (just get the lighter, no-voc shades of paint). be sure if you're doing a crib to get the no-voc varnish as well. & ask the store b;'c new safe-paints are always coming out (natural home magazine is GREAT btw)

also, it depends on your color... darks require a better covering paint, while paler shades can get away with two coats (minimum) of a not-so-high-quality of paint.

a note on flat, eggshell, high-gloss, etc

In my experience (only):

flat is great for covering wall damage such as small bumps & dents, but is not washable at all, so only put it if you don't have kids yet!!!

semi-gloss is the least glossy paint i recommend to clients who have kids so that the walls can be scrubbed if needed (even crayons) Goof-Off is a great product for removing stains, but i would say, always ask the store people what they rec. of course.

gloss or high gloss isn't very attractive in most place although it works great on the bottom third or half of a playropom wall in case the wall becomes a chalkboard or coloring book. you know, most parents have this exp at least once, unless your kid's gonna be an artist, then its every other day!

to simplify, i just recommend an eggshell for the main living areas & parents bedroom & then semigloss for the kid's rooms & playrooms (& maybe the lower third in a gloss or highgloss depending on the look of the room)


ask ??? on this site if you need b'c i have been researching paint & stuff for a while now & may have a few sites, etc to point out. & C & a few others paint here, so ask away

& get water-based paint if possible unless you're having siomone put a faux finish on the walls, its just way less chemical for you

good luck!

[lisah]

I do a lot of painting - in our house(s) and my husband does for his work. We like the Behr and the American Tradition from Lowes. Benjamin Moore, however is some of the best, IMHO. (Tho Consumer Reports ranks the American Tradition the best). I actually like the Sears brand too. Can't remember what it's called.
I mainly use Behr, mainly because of the selection, price, quality and maybe the main reason - it's the closest place to my house!
Methinks Ralph Lauren is way over priced and over - rated.

[lisah]

By the way....Someone mentioned having to do 5 coats of red paint. The main thing to keep in mind is whenver painting dark colors (esp. red) you need to do at least one coat of primer first. Tinted primer if at all possible. American Tradition (Lowes) has a wonderful deep based primer that is excellent for painting dark colors. We use it whenever painting dark colors. It's amazing the steps (coats) it saves!

[Csara]

I know this is a super old thread, but I wanted to revive it b/c we are doing some painting in the house now.

We are using no VOC paint and omg, what a difference. There is absolutely no smell whatsoever. It is fabulous. It is more expensive, but well worth it. You don't even have to crack a window open.

Home depot carries a brand called Freshaire and I highly recommend it to anyone doing any painting around the house.

[heather6773]

Thanks for bringing this up C because I need to paint my bedroom when it warms up. Hubby has asthma and I'm thinking the paint your talking about would be awesome. I want a pale blue/ choc. brown room. What do you think? Pale blue on the walls, carpet remains off white(just put it down (1.5 years ago) and the bedding is a mix of the pale blue/ choc. brown colors as well as the curtains. Trim in the room stays white as does the ceiling.

[Csara]

I LOVE that color combo, Heather!! Sounds great.