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I love puns on words. I had a hard time choosing a title for this post. My first thought was "All about that paint -- no trouble" and then once that was in my head, well . . . . LOL. What's stuck in your head now? Come and sing along with me, "Its all about that paint, bout that paint, no trouble." ROFL
Ok. Ok. I'll get serious now. I love to paint. I love how you instantly see results. There's nothing that spruces up a room any quicker than a wall color change. But how do you know what color to buy? Um, well, I know a good Interior Decorator that specializes in color! LOL. (P.S. Grays are one of the trickiest colors. If you do not know how to pick out the underlying color tones in a grey, you can end up being sorely disappointed in how a grey looks in your space as the existing colors in your space such as floor color and wood tones in the room affect how your grey will look BIG TIME. It may be grey on your color chip and then in your space look green . . . or blue . . . or purple. What looks good in one house, may look awful in another. Its all in the tones, my friends.) But, beyond color, how do you know what paint to buy and how to get the most bang for your buck? THAT is what this post is about.
My "Credentials"
My paint experience can be divided into two . . . the "before I worked at Benjamin Moore" and the "after what I learned working at Benjamin Moore". To make things a little more simple, I'll give each of these two "eras" a nickname. I'll give the "before" era the nickname "BBM" and the "after" era will be called "ABM". I began working at Benjamin Moore when I was going to college to take Interior Decorating. BBM, I thought all paint was the same. I had gone about buying paint like I would anything else I buy. I looked for the cheapest price. My main choice was the Walmart brand because it was less than $20 for a gallon (at the time). Then, one day about 8 years ago, I splurged big time and bought a gallon of Home Depot's paint to the tune of around $50 for a gallon. That was when the paint & primer all-in-one was just beginning to get attention and I decided to give it a try. The only difference I found in this more expensive paint is that it was super thick and I really didn't like it. In 2012, when we purchased our first brand new home, the paint the contractor used was a very cheap flat paint. That stuff was NOT washable at all. When you tried to wipe a dirty spot off of the wall, the paint would come off on the rag and leave an obvious streaky look on the wall. A neighbour who was also frustrated with the quality went to the brand store to ask questions and was told that it was the cheapest stuff they sold and agreed it was very poor quality and tried to sell her a more expensive line of their paint instead. She asked why they would even sell poor quality paint knowing it was awful and they replied that it was to fit the budget demands of their contractor clients. That was a turn-off for her . . . and me as well. A poor experience is often hard to overlook, eh! Now on to the wonderful ABM era! When I began working at the Benjamin Moore paint shop, I took some paint courses right away and learned so much just from that. I learned much more from hearing customer's stories and the stories of paint contractors. We dealt with a lot of paint contractors and they taught me a lot. Also, I used the Benjamin Moore paints myself and I loved using their paints! I became a complete Benjamin Moore fan. I worked there for 2.5 years. Since leaving the job at Benjamin Moore, I have learned even more as I branched out and tried other company's paints. Yes, I do A LOT of painting. For myself, my mom, friends, clients . . .
Primer
Even though most paints today have primer built into them, that simply means that you don't have to prime between simple color changes. Here's a quick reference on when to use a dedicated primer first:
Paint Sheens
There's matte/flat, eggshell/velvet, satin/pearl, semi-gloss, and gloss/high-gloss. In each company there are also various lines of paints. In each line, the sheens vary slightly also. Traditionally, when choosing paint sheens, this is the way people would choose their paint sheens:
HOWEVER, in the last several years now, paint companies have progressed leaps and bounds. You no longer have to buy shiny sheens of paint to be able to wash & scrub your walls. You no longer have to buy satin or pearl to use in kitchens & baths even for the sake of mold/mildew resistance. Thats where the different lines of paints within each company comes in. The other reason for sheen differences other than washability & scrubbing features, is in how they look. When it comes to trim & doors, the sheen choice is something that is really just a preference thing . . . how you want it to look. When choosing a sheen for your walls, keep in mind that the more shiny the paint, the more any wall blemishes you may have will show up. From personal experience, you can have a brand new home and there will still be plenty of wall blemishes. The less sheen, the less your wall blemishes will show. * Washability means wash-up with water. Scrubbable means you can use cleaner when you scrub. * All paints need at least 2 weeks to cure before the washability & scrubbable features come into play. Paint companies sell a variety of lines of paints to cater to the variety of budgets. I personally find this annoying, to say the least. My black-and-white honest nature does not see a need to sell poor quality paint for ANY reason. If you can't at least wash a painted wall, why bother spending the money (no matter how inexpensive it is) on a gallon of paint and spending the time to do the painting? Have you ever wondered why when you tried to wash a wall and the paint comes off on the cleaning cloth and/or it leaves a mark behind on the wall showing where you washed it? That is poor quality paint. So you buy shiny cheap paint? You can wash it, yes, BUT . . . the cheap stuff doesn't have primer built-in so it will take more coats to cover. If you're just going light over light, for example, it will cover better . . . but again, the can of paint itself will not go as far. I have a friend who bought cheaper paint for one room of her apartment. It was a smaller bedroom. She ran out of paint before she could finish the second coat on the last wall. It was a gallon. She bought a gallon of higher quality paint and did the next room which was bigger, and had leftover paint. I say all of this to get to this point: Cheaper paint is not cheaper in the end! Spend the extra $10-$15 more to get better quality paint.
Touch-ups
For example, if you painted a room with Benjamin Moore's Ben paint in an eggshell sheen, you can't touch up with the exact same colour in another of BM's paint lines even if it says eggshell on the can. Your touch-up will be clearly noticeable if you do. Always touch up with the exact color, brand, line, and sheen you originally used.
Color Matching
You may have heard that Benjamin Moore has a patented tint system called Gennex. They are the only paint company that uses a water-based tint system. They claim that that gives them the upper hand in the industry because "competitions cannot perfectly color match any Benjamin Moore colors". Why? Because BM's tint system has more shades of colorants and all of the competitors use the Universal tint system and are limited in their shades of colorants. I have since learned this is only correct when it comes to their Aura Colour Stories colours. These colours can ONLY be accurately mixed in their Aura paint line . . . and not even in any of their other paint lines. That being said, there are still some times when one company cannot mix another company's paint color accurately. The paint associate will let you know if this is a case with your chosen color before mixing it.
Painting Tools
I do not use painter's tape. I don't have a steady hand, either. However, I do my cutting in without mishap thanks to Wooster's Short Cut brush. I have tried other brushes and they simply do not give the same job. These brushes layer the paint on just right, the angle allows for easy cutting in, and the short rubber handle does not cramp your hands. For the roller, I recommend a lint-free 10mm roller. There are two ways to prep the roller before using. One is to wet your hand and vigorously rub the roller all over to remove any factory lint. The other way is to wrap the roller in tape (packing tape is quicker) and the remove the tape. I use the Handy Cup for cutting in. It is comfortable to hold and when you have to get up and down off ladders, you just set your brush in the cup against the magnet to hold it in place. I like to use disposable tray liners to save on the amount of cleanup and the amount of paint going down the drain. To keep my paint brushes lasting longer, I use a metal brush when cleaning them out.
Painting Tips
When cutting in, always start a few inches below where you want to cut in to get the feel of the brush. When cutting in horizontally, I use the brush with the high end of the angle pushing sideways along the edge, but in vertical applications such as door trims, I use the brush pushed straight at the wall and drag it down only slightly angled outwards. When rolling, make sure to have it loaded up just enough that it don't drip off. Roll over the 'ramp' in your paint tray until it is evenly loaded. Start a little ways away from where you left off and in a w-shaped motion, roll back to where you left off. This eliminates leaving paint ridges. The key is to put the paint on fairly quickly and fairly thickly. Not so thickly that it runs down the wall, however. Take care to not go back over spaces already done even if you see missed spots. Those will take care of themselves on the next coat. Leave at least an hour in between coats. A good paint will only take two coats. By the way, don't fall for these one-coat-will-do ideas. It may look ok on the wall, but you will not be able to scrub or wash it without it coming off or showing where you washed.
Other little tips:
What I personally want in a paint
Paint Brands
I have put together a list of paint lines within paint brands that offer the best durability features in a matte finish, according to the manufacturer's website. Click on the pictures to be taken to their website's information.
Benjamin Moore Aura is available at Benjamin Moore stores and retails for $72.99 per gallon.
Benjamin Moore Regal is available at Benjamin Moore stores and retails for $64.99 per gallon. Dulux Diamond is available at Dulux stores and retails for $74.99 per gallon. Dulux Lifemaster is available at Dulux stores and retails for $66.99 per gallon. PPG Manor Hall is available at Kent Building Supplies and retails for $54.99 per gallon. It is also available at Colours 'n' More at 164 Collishaw Street in Moncton, NB. Sico Evolution is available at Kent Building Supplies and retails for $46.79 per gallon. Home Depot's Behr Marquee retails for $58.97 per gallon. Home Depot's Behr Premier Plus Ultra retails for $44.97 per gallon. I have used all of Benjamin Moore's paint lines, of course. Since no longer working for BM, I have used PPG Manor Hall and Dulux Diamond. I have found those paints to be all equal in quality. I would love if you all would participate in the comment section below this post to give your feedback on these paints I have featured.
I can't leave out my American readers! The following information is just for you! Click on each paint name to be taken to the store where you can purchase your paint. Due to availability differences between our two countries, I have tailored these choices to what is more readily available to you.
Benjamin Moore Aura is available at Benjamin Moore stores and retails for $69.99 per gallon. Benjamin Moore Regal is available at Benjamin Moore stores and retails for $52.99 per gallon. Home Depot's Behr Marquee retails for $39.98 per gallon. Home Depot's Behr Premier Plus Ultra retails for $29.98 per gallon. Valspar Signature retails for $31.98 per gallon at Lowes.
Summary:
Disclaimer: It is not my intention to 'bad mouth' any paint companies. If I have come across in that way, I apologize. My intentions are simply to arm you with information to make your paint journey as smooth as possible.
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