My painter friends say SW (from the store) is more expensive and thicker, the Lowe's version is thinner and cheaper. Most contractors prefer the Lowe's version because they walk away with more $ in their pocket. We had our beach house interior repainted recently. We repainted 2 bedrooms with SW from the SW store and it covered beautifully, even though the original colors were dark and odd- orangy red and dark blue/green. Our contractor used the Lowe's SW paint and we have had to touch up multiple areas were the coverage looked good on first check but as the lighting changed or your perspective in the room changed, you could see shadows of the old paint (army green). Both were two coats of paint, according to the contractor and knowing what my husband did. Idk how much was my picky husband doing the two rooms vs paid contractor and how much was true paint quality, but you can feel and see a viscosity difference between the two types.
