Paint Suggestions

[Sebastian]

Hello all, I am new to this board and love it! I recently purchased a house and have started on the misc projects.

I am almost done with the garage, epoxy floor (EpoxyMaster), paint and some overhead storage racks (Hyloft). Some pics attached.

I am about to start painting the interior of the house. I know I will get some bashing with this question on this board - but here goes. Just a question on what you all think about Ralph Lauren paint versus Behr. I have used Behr in the past and am happy with the results but have heard many good things about the RL - better coverage, easier to roll and overall appearance. I will be painting the entire house - probably about 25 gallons of paint.

How much of this is hype and is it a waste of money to go with RL versus Behr?

Thanks

 

[boiler7904]

Welcome to the board. It's good to see that you put finishing the garage as a priority over finishing the house. Either you aren't married or you have a VERY understanding wife.

As far as paint. Try a bedroom in each and see which you like better. Make your decision from there.

Personally, I don't really like either.

I've used about 15 gallons of Sherwin Williams Super Paint and Duration Home in my house over the last 3 years and a few gallons of Benjamin Moore at the inlaws' this spring. The BM goes on really well with great coverage as does the SW. I think I like the BM better than SW but I get a huge discount on SW though my company so it's pretty easy to decide which to use. Inlaws tried Valspar from Lowe's last summer in a bedroom and absolutely hated it - will never use it again.

In case you haven't already, sign up for Lowe's and Home Depot's new mover or new homeowner type of discount coupons. I think Home Depot's is in the USPS change of address packet. Lowe's is on their website. The coupons are usually 10% off of current prices everything in the store with a few exceptions. If you're going to be buying a lot of paint in the near future, they tend to run it on sale over Labor Day weekend.

Good luck.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Beautiful floor.

 

[mikeyp]

Lowes is also running a promo that if you sign up for a commercial account you get 10% off your first purchase plus coupons and special offers in the mail.Yoiu dont have to be a comtractor to get an account, and if you have larger purchases over 2500 at a time they get submitted to volume discounts of anywhere from 5% 25% and more. Not trying to throw a sales pitch since I work there but a lot of people dont know how you can save more. I do commercial account s so I've le.arned all the tricks

 

[krehmkej]

My wife insisted on Ralph Lauren paint. It is, without doubt the worst **** ever called paint. 3 coats to cover, white over off white. Now, I will use nothing but Miller or Benjamin Moore paints. Forget the big box stores. Get what the pros use. You will be eternally happy, and it probably will cost about the same.

 

[Joe B.]

I don't know who makes RL but I bet it is either Behr or Glidden who make the other paints at Home Depot. It is not like Ralph Lauren developed the technology to mix a good paint and then build a factory to manufacture it. The just put their name on it and spec out the colors. It may be a different formula but whoever is making it can/could apply the same technology to their own paint.

One thing a lot of people don't realize is that most of the major paint manufacture know the codes and can mix each others colors if you need a match. I bet SW & BM could mix the RL colors if you brought in a chip.

If I were painting a new house, I would like to try out the Gliden FreshAire paint. It is a true no-voc paint.
http://www.thefreshairechoicepaint.com/

 

[PurdueSD]

Another vote for Benjamine Moore, Sherwin Williams and Porter in that order.

For the price difference its just not worth skimping in this department, IMO...
Even in you would save a say $10 a gallon, its going to be way more frustrating than its worth... I say if the wife is set on a RL color, take the color sample in to a pro store and they will blend you up a custom match...

 

[tcianci]

Ditto on the matching. There is this paint what a local paint store is pushing, its called C2 and I have used it a few times, what ****! And at a super premium price! Their claim to fame is more saurated colors, etc. I have had great success just bringing the chip to another place and having them mix it in Ben Moore or someother name brand. Also the Glidden paint you get at Depot is made to their (Depot's) specs and is not the same Glidden you get from a real paint store. Short story: I had a job to hang and paint a bunch of new, primed masonite doors. I bought Behr's best stuff ftom Depot. 3 coats on the door and it still didn't cover. Bought a gallon of Ben Moore, 1 coat, no problems. You get what you pay for.

 

[Sebastian]

Yes, I do have an understanding wife. Actually, it was her idea for me to get the garage done first, she knows once we get going on the house there will be no money left for the garage and priorities will shift. I've done without one for a while and my time has come!

Thank you all for your suggestions, paint a room with each, that makes so much sense! Also, thanks for the BM and SW reccommendations, I was only thinking about what I saw in front of me at Home Depot.

I have gotten and carefully used my moving coupons at Lowes and HD.

MikeyP - what do I need to open a commercial account at Lowes? Do I need a tax id or anything?

What about Frazee paints - are they reccommended?

Thanks again for you help!

 

[Sebastian]

tciani, Purdue - I totally hear you - I will spend the money to buy the best paint, I don't have the experience to know what that is - so thank you all for your suggestions!

 

[amp2oo1]

I bought my first house last year and painted the whole upstairs interior with Behr (12 gallons total). It seemed ok at the time, aside from a couple edges peeling (probably because I am a novice).

I am currently repainting my basement and decided to go Sherman Williams. In my opinion it is much easier to work with and coats much better. I'll be using SW for future projects and not BEHR. It costs more but my finished walls look much better and I think the extra $ is worth it.

I've not tried any other brands so I can't comment there, but I'm happy with SW for now.

 

[nate379]

I have had good luck with most anything other than the real cheap stuff. I don't like painting, so 2 coats with $20 a gal paint is much better than 3 coats with $15 a gal paint.

 

[Bojans]

Ben Moore Aura paint is kind of unbelievable. Prior to getting into our new home I had only used Behr and thought it was good. The decorator my wife hired suggested all BM colors and gave us a coupon for a free gallon of Aura. I started off with a smaller area planning on finding Behr colors that were close to what she had picked for the other rooms. After trimming the first room I was sold, I did our entire house with Aura and will never go back to the less expensive paints. One of the nicest things about the Aura paint is the color retention, the claim is you can touch up a wall 5 years later and the color will still match. With an 18 month old running around that was a huge selling point to me.

You can get very good results with Behr, but it is easier and faster to get better results with the BM Aura.

 

[Sebastian]

Thanks again all - I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions.

 

[jake00]

after years of using **** found at menards and home depo, I tried SW, I'm never going back