True one coat paint - any recommendations?

[luvmy3]

I painted my bedroom a few months ago and used the Behr primer and paint in one and it was horrible! I didn't ask for it but that is what they mixed for me so I just went home with it figuring it would be great. I was so wrong, the coverage was awful and I went through almost an entire half gallon for my room (which is not normal), and I had to buy another one because it needed a second coat. I have used Behr paint before without any issues but I will never use their primer and paint in one again!

 

[wvjules]

We've just basically painted our whole house with Olympic One. The red in the living room took 2 coats but the grey and pink in other rooms all only took one. This weekend we are doing brown and tan in the dining room and in the master bedroom. I think they will be one coat too.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

Our whole house was painted with contractor grade paint and we've been repainting everything over the years. We haven't been able to do ANYthing with just one coat and we have tried many brands.

Faves are Valspar and Pittsburgh Paint. We use eggshell or satin and it's pretty washable.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Lots of experience with painting here. Used Olympic and it was thin and horrible. Used Valspar and it was adequate. Used Benjamin Moore and it was very nice. We have been using Sherwin Williams for then past 4 rooms and won't turn back! It is wonderful! We usually do one coat primer and 2 coats paint. I don't care how nice your paint is, a one coat room does not look finished. If we are painting over old paint or dark paint, we always prime. If the paint we are painting over is newish then we can skip the primer.

 

[TaraPA]

I've painted almost every room if a 6000+ sq foot house & I have to agree with everyone who said one coat just will NOT do it, even the brands that claim to be paint & primer in one. They just don't cover as well as they should & you don't get the correct depth of color that is shown. It's not worth the hassle to me to have to re-do it every 5 years because it wasn't done properly with 2+ coats. There are a lot of rooms in this house & it's taken me long enough to get 90% of them done, no way am I taking this on again for a LONG time!

I've used many brands from Behr to Ralph Lauren to Sherwin Williams to Benjamin Moore. My favorite is Sherwin Williams. I wait til they have a sale & then pick a new room to tackle! Their Duration paint is especially nice in bathrooms - I've done 4 bathrooms in Duration - they have all held up well & clean like a dream. The other bathroom I didn't do in Duration - it shows the dirt much more prominently & when you wipe the walls it just smears dirt, not cleans it off like on Duration.

Good luck whatever you choose, just please take everyone's advice here & be very wary of the One Coat Wonders. Also - I know paint supplies aren't cheap but a good quality brush, roller, tape, etc. truly makes a world of difference in prep & clean up.

 

[Suz D]

Just taking a break from painting. I have used Behr all-in-one and loved it. Today I am using Valspar all-in-one and will have to do a second coat. I am painting over a lighter color so that might be the reason. When I used Behr I was painting over a creamy white so only one coat needed. But if I had to choose I would go back to Behr.

That was our experience with Valspar. We just painted our kitchen last week and on the lighter mustard color we needed two coats and on the darker gourd color we needed three.

Benjamin Moore Aura paint! We covered dark gold paint with one coat of a much lighter BM Aura paint (called Monroe Bisque) and it looks amazing. Listen, my husband does not enjoy spending money on paint and even he says the BM Aura paint is worth it. It goes on very easily and covers great and the fact that you only need one coat has him sold. I doubt we will ever use another brand of paint.

Thank you for posting this!

 

[newtodcl]

I agree!!!! this paint is worth the money. I covered dark cranberry with a light yellow and only *needed* one coat, but did 2 because I bought the large can and didn't want to store the remaining paint....I also liked the fact that there was very little odor...[/QUOTE

It looks like the BM Aura paint runs about $66 a gallon on the website is that an accurate cost or is it different in the store? Thanks for all the continued responses....

 

[petchie]

Benjamin Moore Aura paint! We covered dark gold paint with one coat of a much lighter BM Aura paint (called Monroe Bisque) and it looks amazing. Listen, my husband does not enjoy spending money on paint and even he says the BM Aura paint is worth it. It goes on very easily and covers great and the fact that you only need one coat has him sold. I doubt we will ever use another brand of paint.

I will second Aura!

Painted a kitchen with 2 coats and it looked great. one coat would have done it, but it was new sheetrock and it needed more "depth" in my eyes.

Fast forward 3 months, we had a small oven fire that produced a lot of smoke. Ceiling was black near the stove from the smoke and the walls were a mess.

I used AWESOME cleaner on the walls and ceiling. Re-sealed the ceiling (flat ceiling paint) and repainted the ceiling. Walls cleaned up well, so they did not need repainting!

2 months after that they were moving in a triple dresser and hit the wall and took paint off. I spackled the bit that was off, primed and had Aura paint left over to touch it up (2'x2' area) Thought I would have to repaint the whole room since the paint would NEVER match after the smoke and cleaning. But figured I would give it a shot first.

You could not tell where the patch was made! The paint blended in perfectly, color was still exact.

So while $60 for the gallon was a LOT, it actually saved me money by cleaning up so well and not have to redo the whole thing!

 

[arthuruscg]

Well, since you are going from contractor tan paint, i would suggest putting down a layer of primer first and allow proper drying time to allow it to be sucked into the drywall.

The contractors apply just enough paint to give the walls a color but never enough to seal the drywall paper.

For paint, narrow your options down to only low VOC paint. VOCs are toxic and what makes the paint smell and give you headaches.

 

[rynosmom]

We recently painted DS room and bought Behr all in one and the painter we hired ask that if we paint another rooms to go with Benjamin Moore paint. He said it goes on much easier and covers better. We will be needing the Kitchen repainted this fall and will give it a try. I have myself painted with Behr and had good results in the past.

 

[anabelle]

Benjamin Moore Aura is very good paint. It as very good hiding and cures fast. I like it but it is kind of expensive. I use Behr paint and primer a lot. My house is new and was all contractor grade flat paint. So I always do two thinner coats. I am sure that I could probably get away with one if I used a thicker coat, but I don't like sag or streaks.