What is your favorite brand of paint? What would you recommend?

[xxxInfidelxxx]

We went with a deep, dark red sample, but the paint looks pretty pink to me in the can. I painted over a 3'x3' area to test it with one coat and the color wasn't even close. I tried a second coat, and although it was darker, it still looked sort of pink to me (and it looks a shade of pink in the can).

I then decided to do another 3'x3' using grey primer first, then applied a decent coat. While darker still, it still doesn't match what we wanted. Moreover, it spreads like watery do-do, so I am looking for another brand to try.

I used Behr (sic?) in the laundry room and it worked out quite nice. I might try it again, but thought perhaps I would see if there were a consensus here among ATOT'rs

 

[TruePaige]

wrong forum =p

 

[udonoogen]

try bringing it back to the store and tell them what you just wrote ... that the color doesn't match. it could be that you got a bad bucket or that the brand just sucks. most places will take it back (my friend used to work for a distributor and he said walmart would take anything back and the company would have to suck up the cost). im not condoning an abuse of this, but if you have a true complaint with the product i think you're allowed to return it for such a reason.

 

[LukeMan]

Originally posted by: xxxInfidelxxx
Moreover, it spreads like watery do-do, so I am looking for another brand to try.

you have experience painting with do-do?

 

[Stoerm]

I've painted several rooms in several houses and I've learned that there's a huge difference in quality of paints. My latest project was done with full-price Sherwin Williams and it turned out much better than any of the past painting projects. Better paint will save you time and your finished product will look better.

 

[Phunktion]

Generally the more expensive the paint, the higher the ratio of Titanium Dioxide (pure white) to clays (grayish white) and this generally (there are exceptions) makes the paint thicker and brighter, so especially for reds you should go with a premium paint because thicker means you will have to do less coats.

Oh and reds (especially deep reds) are a terrible choice if you are used to doing very few coats of paint to achieve the color, reds even in expensive premium paints will take a MINIMUM OF THREE COATS (and coats can take up to 8 hours to dry properly with that much tint in deep reds), oh and if you are going to do a deep red please tint some primer red (gray is not good enough) and any reputable paint place will advise you to do that and will generally do it for free if you are buying paint there. It's the nature of the dye used to make reds, and I mean a minimum of three coats this comes from experience, even with red tinted primer it can often take 4 or more coats to get the proper color with deep reds.

 

[jmagg]

Sherwin Williams A200 is the best, and worth the money.

 

[WinXP]

I agree Sherwin Williams paints are very good. Cost a little more but well worth the money.

 

[cheetoden]

Originally posted by: Phunktion
Generally the more expensive the paint, the higher the ratio of Titanium Dioxide (pure white) to clays (grayish white) and this generally (there are exceptions) makes the paint thicker and brighter, so especially for reds you should go with a premium paint because thicker means you will have to do less coats.

Oh and reds (especially deep reds) are a terrible choice if you are used to doing very few coats of paint to achieve the color, reds even in expensive premium paints will take a MINIMUM OF THREE COATS (and coats can take up to 8 hours to dry properly with that much tint in deep reds), oh and if you are going to do a deep red please tint some primer red (gray is not good enough) and any reputable paint place will advise you to do that and will generally do it for free if you are buying paint there. It's the nature of the dye used to make reds, and I mean a minimum of three coats this comes from experience, even with red tinted primer it can often take 4 or more coats to get the proper color with deep reds.

I found this out the hard way. I painted my son's room Detroit Pistons red and needed 3 cans of Sherman Williams and 3 coats to look good.

 

[Parnelli]

I'll third the "red is a pain" answer. If you are going to paint red, go for a tinted primer and plan on several coats. 3...4...5!? something like that

 

[Poobah]

My wife did dark red in our living room.

We learned: Red takes a ton of coats. Behr paint sucked. We ended up have some Sears Easy Living tinted to match the Behr, and that worked out much better.

 

[rugby]

Sherwin Williams paint is great. I just painted a few rooms of our house with it and was really impressed with how it applied. It costs a bit more but they occasionally have sales which make it around the same price as cheaper paint.

Cheap paint sucks in the long run, it will not look as good, last as long, and give you more grief with cleanup over time. Trust me, I have two kids a dog and a cat running around my house. We've been here 3 years and I've already had to repaint a playroom that I initially used cheap paint on.

 

[Mermaidman]

IIRC, the house brand at Lowes was rated well by CR. I think it's called American Heritage or something. Also Dutch Boy. It varies with type and finish of the paints though. Latex? Flat?

 

[programmer]

I like Benjamin Moore, esp. their outdoor latex. Nice thick stuff. I'll have to give Sherwin Williams a try too since several here like it. I don't like Behr -- typically far too thin and runny.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I just finished my computer room in red and just used the cheap Walmart paint. I was going over flat white and it took three coats. After the first coat I really thought I made a huge mistake on picking that color, looked pinkish but I toughed it out and after three coats I think it looks great. Red just really lets whatever is under it bleed through.

 

[degeester]

Try ICI/Delux, they also mix around the world for Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints. Link to Ellen Kennon's site

 

[jmagg]

Alot of pros use Ben Moore as well as SW. When doing my own house, its so good i dont cover the floors when doing the walls. Thats a hot deal.

 

[alien42]

i use behr. they have by far the best online color selection and previewing software.

 

[VaG]

I choose Sherwin Williams and I have 15+ years of professional painting experience. You can't really generalize a brand and say it sucks. Every company including Sherwin Williams have a product line that includes paint that sucks. You can pair up a high quality paint with an incorrectly chosen product for the job or inexperienced painter and still end up with a paint job that sucks.

 

[ICXRa]

Originally posted by: programmer
I like Benjamin Moore, esp. their outdoor latex. Nice thick stuff. I'll have to give Sherwin Williams a try too since several here like it. I don't like Behr -- typically far too thin and runny.

Benjamin Moore :thumbsup:

I used to like SW's but the last batch we used was terrible, it cracked everywhere never again. A painting company owner overseeing painting my neighbors house this year said he stopped using SW too due to quality issues. He likes Glidden and Benjamin Moore FWIW.

 

[ICXRa]

VaG has a great point....the previous owner painted the outside of our house with BM superspec......terrible paint designed to compete with other low priced paints. BM shouldn't put their name on it or make it for that matter.

 

[M1A]

wrong forum

 

[xxxInfidelxxx]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
I just finished my computer room in red and just used the cheap Walmart paint. I was going over flat white and it took three coats. After the first coat I really thought I made a huge mistake on picking that color, looked pinkish but I toughed it out and after three coats I think it looks great. Red just really lets whatever is under it bleed through.

Maybe I shouldn't give up on it, then...everyone agrees that you need to prime and lay a bunch of coats, though that's more than I bargained for.

...and your computer room looks good; nice job.

 

[timswim78]

I like Sherwin-Williams medium and high grade paints and Benjamin Moore.

I stay away from the stuff at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Not necessarily because it's bad paint but because the workers are not as conscientious and knowledgeable as the employees at paint stores.

 

[wyvrn]

I have used many paint brands. Lowe's American Heritage is good, Olympic is good, Behr is great. Sherwin Williams has always made great paints, if expensive. Glidden is really thin and takes more coats, even if you get their premium brand, in my experience. The general rule holds true, you get what you pay for. Behr is best if you want to do one coat and the colors are relatively similar, it will only take one layer. But if you are moving from light to dark, dark to light, or painting an opposite color, it will take 2 coats with just about any paint. Another tip is to use a good primer. It will give you the best base color to paint from - white, helps the new paint stick better, and also helps cover up previous bad paint jobs. Also look at the coverage area on the paint can. If it is made to cover more area, chances are it is a cheaper paint and is thinner. A good paint will cover less per can, but cover it better in one coat and end up costing less in the long run.