My shop is in the basement.

The previous owners had incorrectly installed UGLY panelling and a dropped ceiling w/ Styrofoam tiles (fire hazard).

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it but I finally decided to take it all down and just paint the concrete block walls.

So I took down the panelling going down the stairs and discovered that the parging over that wall was shot.

In case you didn't know, parging is sort of like a smooth stucco that is applied over the top of a block or brick wall, to make it smooth (like plaster).

Well, big piece were coming off very easily. So I removed them, thinking I'd patch. So much came off I decided to just remove it all.

Now I'm ready to paint that wall.

I had intended to use Drylok paint. The stuff has been around for ages and has a pretty good track record. The only problem is it only comes in four colors (a start white, gray, a blue, and a beige). None of the stock colors particularly appeal to me. I was expecting to have to top-coat it to get a nice color (Drylok says it can be top-coated w/ normal latex paint).

ANYWAY, I was checking prices at Home Depot and came across their Behr Basement and Masonry waterproofing paint. They stock it in white but can color it to 32 different colors on their chart.

And they can color match a sample.

That sounds appealing to me. And while the stuff is $5 more per gallon than the Drylok, it would save me also having to buy a separate top-coat of a color I like if I went w/ Drylok.

My only concern is the quality of the paint. I know Drylok's history. On the packaging, Drylok claims it is selected best waterproofing paint by a national consumer reporting magazine (I imagine Consumer Reports).

I know people like Behr paints, but I wonder how good this particular paint is. It claims to use NANOGUARD particles to keep water out. I haven't had a problem w/ water, BTW, but this brings-up an interesting point.

Drylok says it allows the wall to breath, to get rid of water slowly. I think that sounds good to me, breathing walls sounds smart.

I don't know. I'm going to stop typing now. Any input would be appreciated.

I was also thinking that, seeing as both paints start white and they add tinting to the Berh, I could simply ask them to use the same tinting formula for the Drylok. Drylok says it can be tinted, but they don't provide any sort of color charts or anything.

Anyway, what would you do?