Interior paints....what brands have you used and liked?

[TaraPA]

I love the Benjamin Moore colors but I like Sherwin Williams paint the best, so I have Sherwin Williams mix up the BM colors in their paint! My house is half BM colors & half Sherwin Williams. Sherwin Williams is great at matching or mixing custom colors - I wanted my kitchen the color of Longaberger's paprika pottery so I took them a piece - and they nailed it!

 

[Aimeedyan]

We have used lots of paint brands. In order of preference:

Sherwin Williams
Benjamin Moore
Valspar
Olympic
Behr

IMO, you get what you pay for usually. For a basic, $30 gallon I head to Lowes for a gallon of Valspar Signature. It always matches whatever I bring in perfectly and covers well. I did a BRIGHT red room and I was able to do it in 2 coats after 1 coat of tinted primer. I've heard horror stories of red in other paint brands (esp Behr) but this worked great!

 

[DisneyMomOK]

11111111

 

[RNMOM]

I always use Benjamin Moore. I recently tried Behr and liked the way it covered but the fumes were stronger than my asthma can take. We repainted the majority of our house in the spring with Ben Moore and I didn't smell any fumes at all nor any paint smell. I didn't even by the low VOC either. Yes it is a bit expensive but we have always been very happy with the quality of their paints. We've used them for more than 20 years now.

 

[Lib E]

We stick to Behr. It does smell, but it covers better than any of the others we've tried. We've moved 6 times in the past 7 years because of promotions, so there has been lots of painting with almost every conceivable brand. I hate painting more than I hate moving. Covering in one coat is a requirement for me.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Behr paint here. In fact, me and the wife are currently picking out a color for the walls in our brand spanky new familyroom, I'm hoping will be done by the end of next month, and we're going to use Behr.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I would go with Behr - it seems to be highly rated in consumer tests/ratings.

Lowes/Valspar is NOT what it used to be.
(the lower pricetag also attests to this)
I do not like it, at all...
We only have a Lowes here, and we used to like the Valspar...
NOT anymore.

PS: I would also sample a quart of the flat finish, before I bought a lot of the eggshell. The ingredients in paint are different/better these days, and the flat may not be the thin chalky finish that you are thinking about. I have also heard that eggshell can be hardest to use and work with to get a nice even finish????

We tried a more 'satin' finish in our bathroom. Thought that would be best around water.. more scrubbable, etc... and the Valspar Satin is just nasty... It is like trying to paint with fingernail polish. Did I say that I can no longer recommend Valspar!!!!

Hope this helps!

 

[Ilovemylife]

I only use Behr....UNLESS I'm using a red color. Home Depot's red tinting system has been off for years and as far as I know, has yet to be fixed.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I only use Behr....UNLESS I'm using a red color. Home Depot's red tinting system has been off for years and as far as I know, has yet to be fixed.

How's it off? The wife and I are looking into repainting our current family room, which will become the dinning room, a, well, not red per say, but a maroon-ish color. I hope it won't be off enough to throw off the color we ultimately choose.

 

[JB111107]

Behr is usually what I get. I also prefer the eggshell or satin finishes. Hate high gloss and flat.

I've also used Benjamin Moore paints and been happy with them.

I used Valspar for my son's room which I painted part in red, part in blue, and the red took 4 coats to get a solid looking finish that wasn't spotty. I'll never use it again.

 

[RadioNate]

I've already answered but I wanted to mention that Benjamin Moore's Aura paint comes in a matte finish which is more flat than eggshell but 100% scrubbable. It is also a low VOC paint so there is very little smell. It is also a self primer so no priming and better coverage.

 

[FINFAN]

any opinions on paint for a bathroom? I know the moisture is an issue....so I do not want to goof on this one!

 

[Boo'sMom]

Not cheap, but BM Aura is well worth the money. Wonderful product with all of the attributes associated with a premium paint... Clearly a superior painting experience for me and has become my new standard for high quality interior paint. I'm a firm believer in the old saying to"buy the best and cry only once" and consider it an investment in my home that was well worth it.



http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpswe...ra_hiddenPage&NodeUUID=/BEA+Repository/518032

KennyD

I'll never use anything else again....BEST paint out there

 

[Ilovemylife]

How's it off? The wife and I are looking into repainting our current family room, which will become the dinning room, a, well, not red per say, but a maroon-ish color. I hope it won't be off enough to throw off the color we ultimately choose.

What you end up with will look nothing like the paint chip you chose. I would go with another brand if you're looking at using red.

OR, ask at your Home Depot if their red tinting system has been fixed in the last few years.

 

[TaraPA]

Red is the most difficult color to pick and paint with (in my opinion). I have 3 red rooms - one is a Benjamin Moore deep, deep brownish red (from their Historical collection - can't remember the name right now), one is a deep true red, and one is a paprika red (actually has some plum in it). BM store told me just to paint 2 coats & I'd be fine. No primer needed. Wrong! It took FOUR coats & still has some streaks to it under certain lighting. With my 2nd red color I used a red tinted primer, still took 3 coats of the red on top to get an even color. Then Sherwin Williams insisted I had to use a grey primer 1st - made me nervous but I did it -only needed 2 coats of red on top of the primer. When I had a professional painter come & do my 2-story ceilings he confirmed that red needs a grey primer, not a red tinted priner. So for whatever my walls were painted with prior (typical contractor graqde paint), the grey primer was definitely the way to go!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

What you end up with will look nothing like the paint chip you chose. I would go with another brand if you're looking at using red.

OR, ask at your Home Depot if their red tinting system has been fixed in the last few years.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DVCKennyD]

any opinions on paint for a bathroom? I know the moisture is an issue....so I do not want to goof on this one!

For a bathroom, any high quality paint will do... You just need to add a mildewcide additive to the paint prior to applying. A Satin finish for the walls is the minimum I would recommend. Very important to prime surface as well... Zinsser Bulls-Eye 123 primer is a great product that I believe is absolutely crucial for a top notch job.

Zinsser also makes a product called Perma-White that is specifically made for high moisture areas like bathrooms... Limited options for colors though, and as I said, you can achieve the same results by adding the mildewcide to any paint you choose.

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=34


http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=11







KennyD

 

[Angelhalo]

I've never seen an eggshells finish....eggshell color yes, but not finish....I've seen satin.....I really like Olympic paint just did a bunch of rooms in my house with it. I loved it because it didn't splatter at all. Got it at Lowes. Don't come to my house or you will get the heebie jeebies.

 

[puffkin]

We usually use Valspar. My hubby hates painting, but he says this one is the easiest to work with. It also coats really well so he can usually get away with only 1 coat if he lays it on thick.

We just used Behr and Ralph Lauren in my sons new bedroom. DH said the Behr was alright but he slightly preferred the Valspar. He hated the Ralph Lauren.......I don't like it much either. Even though we got the satin finish the walls get scuffed really easily and it doesn't wipe down like the satin in the other lines. We couldn't color match the particular color we wanted though.....that is why we originally went with that paint.

 

[Jennabeth]

Red is the most difficult color to pick and paint with (in my opinion). I have 3 red rooms - one is a Benjamin Moore deep, deep brownish red (from their Historical collection - can't remember the name right now), one is a deep true red, and one is a paprika red (actually has some plum in it). BM store told me just to paint 2 coats & I'd be fine. No primer needed. Wrong! It took FOUR coats & still has some streaks to it under certain lighting. With my 2nd red color I used a red tinted primer, still took 3 coats of the red on top to get an even color. Then Sherwin Williams insisted I had to use a grey primer 1st - made me nervous but I did it -only needed 2 coats of red on top of the primer. When I had a professional painter come & do my 2-story ceilings he confirmed that red needs a grey primer, not a red tinted priner. So for whatever my walls were painted with prior (typical contractor graqde paint), the grey primer was definitely the way to go!

I second this. We did red without a grey primer, took 4 coats. Painted another wall with the same red, but used a grey primer and one coat would have worked (but I used two). We also used the grey primer under blue, again worked great. Guy at Home Depot said primary colors usually need a colored primer.