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Thread: Behr topcoat products

  1. #16

    Paints

    I have a little experience with this one... I am a bit of an old house nut, and lately a nomad, as I have owned three homes in 5 years. I also spent many years building trade show booths around the country for a home decor wholesaler, which means a LOT of painting. Aside from that my father and uncle are professional painters, and a close friend and his father own a small commercial painting company (hospitals, condos, malls).

    So I'll share my thoughts. I love Behr interior paints. My preference is flat enamel for walls, semi gloss for trim or furniture. Why do i like them? They work as well as anything else I have tried when new. But the best part? If you go back there five years later for touch up paint and all you have is a code, the color is going to match, no matter which home depot you go to. They are very consistent in their matching, and once applied the paint does not fade. They are also really good at scanning and matching a color (such as Benjamin Moore's historic colors). If I need primer, I like Kilz latex for interior work, although their latex doesn't really block anything well. You need oil primer to block stains, but the fumes suck.

    Outside, I find that oil based primer is a must. Latex primer just does not stick for long, no matter how great your prep is. I am partial to Hallman Lindsey, which happens to be made about a block from where I work.

    Attached is the most recent painting projects... new baby's room, and porches on the house. In the baby's room the skinny white cabinet was a homemade item.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Dallas, Tx.
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    My opinion....

    .. I won't ever use that product. Go to a real paint store. In a pinch, I used a latex undercoat several years ago. It doesn't come close to the Bin products. Home center products arn't worth bringing home.
    Phil in Big D
    The only difference between a taxidermist and the taxman, is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. Mark Twain

  3. #18
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    Feb 2003
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    Cu......

    Quote Originally Posted by Howard Acheson View Post
    Behr continues to be among the top rated paints as tested by Consumer Reports. Valspar, Kilz and Olympic are also highly rated for many paint types. Benjamin Moore and Pratt & Lambert are in the middle to lower ranking in the CU tests.

    Paints are in a period of great flux as the manufacturers attempt to meet state's VOC regulations. What were high rated paints in the past may not be as highly rated now.

    However, no one paint manufacturer is rated better in all categories. Paints from the same manufacturer vary widely by type.
    Howard, with all due respect, several years ago CR reported that an Isuzu Trooper rolled over in their tests and stated that the vehicle was unacceptable. I have documented evidence that CR falsified the test. From that day I cancled my subscription and won't trust them on anything, ever again. CR's report that Bher paints being better than Benjamin Moore? I sooner buy the notion man is responsible for global warming. Both are b.s.
    Last edited by Phil Phelps; 01-10-2009 at 5:37 PM. Reason: Typo
    Phil in Big D
    The only difference between a taxidermist and the taxman, is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. Mark Twain

  4. #19
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    Mar 2006
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    Los angeles
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    IMHO, CR is not a reliable source for reviews and Behr is mostly junk if you ask me. do your self a favor and go to painttalk.com (pro painter's forum) and do a search on Behr.

  5. #20
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    ?

    [QUOTE=Steve Hajewski;1014863]I have a little experience with this one...

    With a marvelous house like that, you're going to get a "lot" of experience. If the best paint cost a C note a gallon, I'd use it on that house, nothing less.
    Phil in Big D
    The only difference between a taxidermist and the taxman, is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. Mark Twain

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Phelps View Post
    Howard, with all due respect, several years ago CR reported that an Isuzu Trooper rolled over in their tests and stated that the vehicle was unacceptable. I have documented evidence that CR falsified the test. From that day I cancled my subscription and won't trust them on anything, ever again. CR's report that Bher paints being better than Benjamin Moore? I sooner buy the notion man is responsible for global warming. Both are b.s.
    Are you sure it was a Trooper? I know they had problems with a Suzuki Samurai rolling over in testing. Suzuki took CU to court over it. CU won. I don't understand what CR would have to gain by falsifying such tests. They're not going to sell many magines by faking tests. However, if you claim to have evidence, I can't discount it.

    To say anything at a big box store isn't worth bringing home is about as broad-brushed (pun intended) as you can get. Such statements tend to challenge one's credibility. I've likely gone through over a hundred gallons of paint in my life purely as a non-pro homeowner. I've tried many brands of paint and, in my experience, HD and Lowe's paint if pretty darned good; certainly better than the stuff at got at my nearby Sherwin Williams dealer.

  7. #22
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    Home center paint....

    Yeah, it's pretty much broad brush swipe at them, and I don't care for their brands. To set the record straight, I buy many items from the box stores, but none of their paint. I also didn't give SW an endorsment. There was a time in the seventies when you coulndn't beat Sears paint. Their top of the line was outstanding. When your labor is the same when using cheap paint, why wouldn't you use the best? Why pay a roof company the same labor to put on a twenty year roof when a few dollars more buys twice the product? It may be a cliche', but most of the time you get what you pay for. I have no dog in the hunt for any one paint. I have been in the display/exhibit business for over forty years and I give information based on actual use of the products I like and don't like. I give the same advise I give my kids.

    As far as the Trooper goes, it was a long time ago. The car Consumer Reports listed as unacceptable because it rolled over was false. I have read and listened to Ed Wallace, http://www.insideautomotive.com/, and he has reported on this many years ago and still stands by his report that CR caused the roll over for sensationalism. Didn't NBC falsely report Chevy pick up gas tanks errupting causing devistating fires? Lying dogs got caught, too. Why do they do that? Follow the money.
    Phil in Big D
    The only difference between a taxidermist and the taxman, is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. Mark Twain

  8. #23
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    yeah, in the NBC case they couldn't get the truck to blow so they shot rockets at it.

  9. #24
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    Pleasantville, NY
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    I will say that just last week I touched up some rooms with Benjamin Moore paint that I had sitting in the can ( opened and re-sealed) for 3 years.... flawless.
    "He who saves one life, saves the world entire"

  10. #25

    Consumer Reports with Caution

    I'm a professional painter of many years, houses and boats. I'm interested to hear Consumer reports recommendations, but I take them with a grain of salt. I think you have to. You take what they say along with what you know and go from there, I think many of their choices are very questionable. But I see nothing horirbly wrong with Behr, although if you are talking price; it is not cheap at about $25 a gallon! Very very few painters would pay that price. Also, as far as service goes; you will get much better service (in general anyway) at a real paint sore. They deal with painters all day every day.

  11. #26
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    George, the discounted price for the Benjamin Moore Aura that our painters used for the addition was just under $50 a gallon. The Sherwin Williams Duration used on the exterior trim was right up there, too. The last gallon of Pratt and Lambert I bought years ago was about $35 and that was at a discount because I knew the store owner well. I have purchased Behr paint over the years (at about $25) and it did what I asked of it. But there is no comparison to the quality of the finish we have from the Aura.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
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    In the last 15 years, I've repainted a small house inside and out and used Behr, and was very pleased. Interior latex was white, exterior latex was dark brown for trim, and a saddle tan color for the body.
    In our current house, we have painted 2 bathrooms, and 3 bedroom size rooms. Behr used in all. The red for the guest bedroom after 3 coats would not cover a Kilz latex used as primer. I went to Sherwin Williams and got a gallon of their red. It covered in one coat. It was about haf again or so as expensive per gallon, but would have been a lot less than the multiple gallons I bought of the Behr trying to get it to work. Also for the first time, some of the Behr in one of the bathrooms is fading away from cleaning right above the baseboard. Never had that happen before, it's always been very durable. We used the Valspar Venetian Plaster for the entry way, and I was pleased with it, but have never used any one else's Venetian Plaster paint before. Jim.
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  13. #28
    We just painted 6 rooms in my house... +1 for Benjamin Moore products....especially their Aura line of paints which we used in two of the rooms. IMHO their was no comparison to the coverage quality compared to Behr which I used to use and those 6 rooms had been painted with previously. And so far the touch up ability, grated it has not been long but thanks to some new furniture and a very active dog, is far superior than the Behr ever was.

    I also know someone who works for a chemical company (BASF) who as a chemist says there are stark differences between the quality of ingredients that these different companies use with BM being one of the higher rated - from a chemists point of view.

  14. #29
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    I am a long time subscriber of CR. Although I disagree with many of their tests, they give a fairly objective view. In the current paint reviews, they omit primer prep, which can make or break the way an outdoor paint performs. They also apply it to Southern Yellow Pine which has early wood and latewood adhesive differences that won't typically be found at most homes unless you are talking about PT'd fencing. So, I don't really hold a lot of value in most of the test. However, fading is part of the ranking and is of significant value. Also, dirt/mold build-up should be looked at.

    The interior paint testing is very good and objective and sound. Behr interior is a good paint. I have kids. It's on a short list of the paints I'd buy -especially if it was a Sunday when the pro paint store is closed.

    For history, I used Behr latex/oil fence paint to paint a pressure treated fence 5 years ago. I have none of the cracking/peeling/fading that my neighbors have. They paid a handsome sum for a pro to put Sherwin Williams on theirs. Vice versa on the interiors. A pro sprayed ours and the kiddy marks are causing us to repaint whole sections. Their Behr interior touches up well (all flat latex in beige colors).

    The argument about a pro using/vs BORG material isn't sound. I can give you plenty of reasons why a company/person would use a cheap/good paint.

    For the record, I'm not a total Behr fan. Their latex transparent deck stain is a joke. CR rates most latex deck stains in the same class as oils. In my experience, the latex may last the same initially, but subsequent coats of latex are horrible. Oil just goes right in and looks decent.
    Last edited by Kevin Barnett; 01-29-2009 at 11:00 AM.

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