Northwest Paint: Rodda, Miller, other?

[mendozer]

I've narrowed down my paint selection to Rodda or Miller as they're made in the PNW so logically they're very good for our climate. I'm sure Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Kelly Moore, etc are good too. Hell with the right prep work, Behr's probably fine. I got a good vibe from a customer service and warranty from them however.

Any PNW users who have experience with these? Or can you make a convincing, fact based, argument in favor of another brand (i.e. "the solids ratio and color retention over 10 years in my experience are better and it touches up better" Not just "I've always used Sherwin so why choose anything else")

 

[yeldogt]

In general -- you get what you pay for with paint. To make a less expensive paint requires taking something out. There are speciality ingredients that add cost to a given paint that may not be needed for your application .... price overlap occurs

Part of the Philadelphia side of my family were/are chemists. Paint/chemicals/pigment has deep routes in the area. My uncle was fanatical about paint and painting (he worked on paint pigments) ... I must have inherited some of it.

So -- to answer your question. I can't --- directly.

Taking out the prep work -- a huge part of any good paint job. Not done well it will eliminate the possibility of a great job. Painting is somewhat subjective. To me there is nothing like a fine brushed finish with a semi gloss on trim .. there is depth and texture. Use the same paint and spray .. to me it looks hard and unnatural ... like something plastic from Ikea. That's why some people say == I always use "X". Paints are different --- if you use a particular paint enough -- you can master it. Years ago I did all my interior trim with Dutch Boy oil -- people noticed enough to remark. When the company was bought out and they stopped making that line -- I was one frustrated painter.

Most of the regional paint companies in the east are gone ... absorbed by the big players. Years ago we always used MAB at the beach ... SW had a special primer for ocean locations. This is all gone ... most of the differences are fewer. I use a lot of BM -- have for the past 15 years. But ..SW exterior trim paint is very nice to work with as well. IMO -- to speak in general terms BM has the edge over SW ... SW being slightly more price driven. It's sort of inside the ballpark knowledge. Both have big development budgets and are always improving -- coming out with new stuff. I was dismayed when I saw the BM link up with Ace Hardware this spring .... I'm sure it's going to kill the independents and the independents are what you need .. BM is Warren Buffet ... no "Mom and Pop" company.

California paints is still around and very good --- it's based in NY !

Two very important notes. Just because a pro painter uses it does not = the best way to do something. They need speed and most often are going for "good enough" . There are no universal primers -- no "one" primer works best .. and yes, you can tell. I think the idea of the universal primer -- or no primer (primer-less paints) gets people most often if they are going for a really first rate job. Many are not .. some jobs just don't warrant the time or cost. But -- if you are get the proper primer for the top coat you are using .... even if you need to primer a primer.

For my current project -- as for all of my personal projects. I test. I buy samples of the paint I want and the proper primes. I can tell you Zinsser primers never win -- Never! They have a place ... but you need to paint on top if you are going for the best. The wood windows I bought came from Canada and the parts to be painted came with what the manufacturer called "super first coat" ... most painters would just paint over. It's primed -- right? I had various trim for the outside -- both wood that the mill primed and Boral for the foundation band that comes pre-primed. If I just top coated them all --- none would match each other and the paint on the windows I could have scratched off with my finger nail. I had to prime the primer and test many primers to see what would stick best to the windows. I got lucky and my preferred oil based BM primer was the best ... better then the griping primers sold for the very application.

Long answer I know .... I also paint with F&B paint from England (many people hate) -- there are high gloss European speciality paints for doors that are incredible say for a city front door. Much of what you pay for in paint is the finish -- Interior durable flat or a velvet finish for walls and an almost semi with depth for trim. Exterior is a bit more gloss w/o showing flaws.

Every company has a line -- go get some samples. Try them out -- You will find one you like better and you will see the difference. I'm painting a whole house -- so if I spend a couple hundred on samples to get a good job --- it's money well spent.

I'm testing wall paint now ...

 

[nodoor]

Between Rodda and Miller, I would go with Miller and also consider SW. My experiences with Rodda may have been the product line used. New home built in ‘86 done in Rodda, I had it redone in Miller in the 90’s followed by SW twice.

Built a new home in 2018, custom builder that did his own painting and used Rodda, but would use whatever brand I wanted. I figured he was more familiar with Rodda so we used that. I recently had to repaint some trim on the south side the rest of the exterior is holding up fine it is done in three colors. I sanded and reapplied two coats of Rodda, time will tell.

I have used mostly Miller for the interior in the past the wife prefers one of their designer lines. Miller has always provided excellent customer service. I don’t know how scientific this is but SW is the paint I have the most difficult time cleaning off my hands.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, Good Paints are Good Paints and they are not cheap. Maybe I am in over my head here, but nobody who cares about the success of their business is going to sell you a crappy product unless you are looking for the cheapest thing in the market place.

If you buy by price alone, you might get what you are willing to pay for.

Does a car really care what brand of Regular Gas is put into the tank?

 

[jhark123]

What is the application? First coat on wood? Repaint on hardiplank? What color? I've painted many homes in the area when I was a remodeling contractor. I've used everything from cheap Behr (client supplied) to $70+ per gallon Benjamin Moore.

 

[NotSoSimple]

Just painted our house (First time DIY) and used Evolution by Miller. It turned out incredibly well and I was really happy. Expensive, but I only did a single coat via sprayer and it was THICK. They were really helpful. One trick is to go by Costco and buy Miller gift cards, it is essentially 30% off that way.

 

[mendozer]

This is a recolor on fiber cement. the PO has two different colors (green and yellow) and we're going to grey. So I'm going to prime + 2 coats to be safe. I was looking at Miller's Evolution and Rodda's Ultimate II, both of their top lines. Prep matters most of course. I've been scrubbing siding down and getting ready to caulk things up. The paint's not bad right now by any means, it's just gross. We planned to pain when we bought, now just getting to ti.

 

[mendozer]

We actually are leaning to a Benjamin Moore color too, but both places can do that color as it's a widely available color code system

 

[Jayman17]

I have used Miller paint both on interior and exterior projects and have been happy with the results. I have also been very happy with BM paint on the exterior of my house. I used the Miller on my garage and it seems to be holding up well on cedar trim and Hardi panels. I've never used Rodda paint.
Good luck

 

[mendozer]

Just painted our house (First time DIY) and used Evolution by Miller. It turned out incredibly well and I was really happy. Expensive, but I only did a single coat via sprayer and it was THICK. They were really helpful. One trick is to go by Costco and buy Miller gift cards, it is essentially 30% off that way.

Good trick on price. Didn't know they had cards. I'll be using a contractors discount from my buddy so it's like 40% off either way. The contractor himself swears by Rodda and one other contractor said the same thing hence why I looked into it. Hell this painter wouldn't warranty a certain house unless he could use Rodda. So he ended up doing BM color the wife wanted I'm Rodda paint and poured the rest into BM buckets for her lol

 

[GraySkies]

I used Rodda when I painted my house 10 years ago. 2 coats. Still looks fine today.

 

[mendozer]

So far I'm looking at 1170 vs 1341 Rodda Ultimate vs Miller Evolution. Both offer "lifetime warranty" if you prime and +2 coats. SW Emerald was 1500 but that's with the "sale price" She wouldn't give me contractor pricing stating the contractor had to call. One thing I find interesting is Miller Evolution is 43% solids by volume for velvet, Rodda Ultimate is 38%. Yet dry film thickness for Rodda is listed as 2 mils where evolution says 1.5-3. Miller's Acrilite would bring me back to Rodda Ultimate.

What I also find odd, and maybe it's just me being pessimistic. Ultimate II is their TOP paint, yet it will cost me roughly the same as say Behr Marquee. Now sure Marquee is the top Behr product, but you'd think the smaller private pain shops would cost more than the big brands.

 

[mendozer]

Just painted our house (First time DIY) and used Evolution by Miller. It turned out incredibly well and I was really happy. Expensive, but I only did a single coat via sprayer and it was THICK. They were really helpful. One trick is to go by Costco and buy Miller gift cards, it is essentially 30% off that way.

What tip did you use by chance? The only reason I was planning on two was for the warranty

 

[mendozer]

For the chemistry nerds who actually know why or if this matters...Rodda uses mica where Miller uses Calcium Carbonate. They both have similar levels of Titanium Dioxide. Seems like CaCo3 is cheaper from what I could find.

 

[Rusty Fords]

Prep, prep and more prep. I have used Miller one coat looks great.

 

[mendozer]

ok so in general I have washed the siding down real well. Aside from caulking holes, I was going to use their primer and two coats, but I say 2 bc I'm spraying for ease, so it's likely not going on as thick. The guy even said a second coat with a roller is recommended but if both go on evenly then it shouldn't matter right?