Switching Paint Brands; Firing Behr...Which Brand do You Use?

[Rich Riddle]

So the Behr Ultra just isn't cutting it. The stuff starts drying in the pan. While painting a three foot wide hallway, I accidentally bumped into the back of the other end just painted about eight minutes earlier. It had already dried to the touch. While some may like this feature, it makes painting "wet to wet" nearly impossible. Fixing "oops" moments also becomes impossible. So which brand of paints do you folks use?

[Greg R Bradley]

I don't know that it is the BRAND that is the problem and assume each brand has their good and bad products. I'm not a paint expert but have been completely impressed by Sherwin Williams Emerald Paint that is $62 per gallon at conrtactor price, supposedly $102 per gallon retail (?). When you consider the labor involved, was totally worth the price.

[Neil Gaskin]

Benjamin Moore. I like: Ultra Spec for most interior walls. Advance Enamel for interior trim. We use Regal Select for exteriors and some times for interiors. Just don't use their bottom of the line.

[Rich Riddle]

Greg, you are correct about the BRAND in many cases. But with this Behr, I went to the top of the line except for the Marquee line. I am thinking Behr paint just markets to the lower line like Yugo marketed less expensive cars. As time goes by in life, my time gets more valuable. So a more expensive paint that saves time seems just fine.

[Brian W Smith]

S/W...and BM covers 90% plus of the higher end builds here.

I kinda like "real" paint stores.Get to talk to all the old guys(I are one) who have worked on our projects.Standing back to let the younger,caffeined up contractors all hustling in chasing money.

With a mighty few exceptions,don't buy paint at box stores,gives me the creeps just thinking about it....sheeesh.

[Wayne Lomman]

I don't go by the brand. There are good and bad in all of them. However I never mix brands on the one job. That is just asking for trouble and no-one will give you product support advice. Cheers

[roger wiegand]

BM and SW here, the higher end paints at either seem to be quite good. I tend to prefer the less expensive Regal to the Aura at BM; their "contractor grade" paint is much worse than Behr. You may not find joy in switching brands given the issues you're having. The new low VOC paint formulations dry much faster. The pros I've watched here in recent times have abandoned attempting to maintain a wet-to-wet continuity; what I see them do and what my BM dealer now recommends is to cut in the whole room prior to painting the walls. I've been doing this on recent jobs with the BM Aura paint and the cut in is visible on the first coat (mostly a sheen difference), but barely if at all on the second.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I painted Behr pure white over trim that was antique white. It took two coats! Two coats to cover a lighter white over a darker white. I used some Sherwin Williams purple over white primer and it covered in one coat.

[Tom M King]

SW Emerald. Catch it on sale. Behr Markee is okay, but takes extra coats.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the tip on SW Emerald guys. I have been using Benjamin Moore Aura with good success - especially for dark colors in rooms with a lot of light.

[Mel Fulks]

My house was recently painted with Emerald. The painter reccomended it, toward the end he bought a gallon of SW Duration. I have forgotten why. But he then raved about how much better it brushed on! I have no problem with the job, but having read all the SW paint descriptions I saw little info on the differences between the two products or why Emerald costs 30$ more. Looked on can ,SW site, and painting forums.

[Adam Herman]

all i use for everything is s/w and only go to lowes in a pinch for it. Usually go to the real paint store. There are always lots of coupons available if you sign up for their emails.

[Jim Becker]

Sherwin Williams (ProClassic acrylic and Emerald) and Benjamin Moore (Aura and Advance). The only thing I use Behr for is our honeybee homes...

[Prashun Patel]

Jim, why? Because behrs like honey? Don't pooh pooh my joke, Winnie.

[Greg R Bradley]

My house was recently painted with Emerald. The painter reccomended it, toward the end he bought a gallon of SW Duration. I have forgotten why. But he then raved about how much better it brushed on! I have no problem with the job, but having read all the SW paint descriptions I saw little info on the differences between the two products or why Emerald costs 30$ more. Looked on can ,SW site, and painting forums.

Probably more info than you want: http://www.jackpauhl.com/sherwin-wil...iew/#more-9577

You can also see why it worked very well painting older commercial interiors that had lots of different surfaces, some oil based, and lots of grease and chemical contamination combined with new drywall & texture. The fact that it was durable quickly was incredibly important when you are remodeling in-place while trying to run a business.