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Interior Paint Recommendations

I've done a lot of painting and occasionally help my buddy when he gets a huge interior painting job. As far as paint, there are many things to consider. I value application time, finished look, and fumes during application as important features. My preferences are either Sherwin Williams Emerald or the Cashmere line. Pittsburgh Paint makes some great stuff too, but I'm not as familiar with their lines. My favorite is probably Cashmere by Sherwin Williams, but I paint with the Emerald stuff more these days. I find using good brushes and rollers as important as the paint choice, and some experience doesn't hurt either.

Keep in mind the Emerald trim paint is an entirely different animal than the Emerald wall paint. Painting trim sucks.

The finish look varies from brand to brand with semi-gloss in one brand looking more like satin in the other brand.

Primer is rarely needed as latex on latex doesn't need one. Even the premium Behr stuff is just ok in my opinion once you paint regularly with the better Sherwin Williams and Pittsburgh lines. My buddy is at the point he won't do a paint project if the homeowner wants to supply their own paint.

Brushes are highly personal and you get a bit of the "Chevy vs. Ford" kind of thing among serious paint professionals. I'm a real outlier in that I prefer Corona brushes with the Chinex bristles. Chinex makes cleanup much quicker as the paint doesn't really stick to the bristles. The only place I can find Corona brushes locally is at Spectrum Paints which also sells some quality Pittsburgh brand paints.

I will only buy Sherwin Williams paint on sale during their 30% or 40% sales. They do those about once a month.
 
Some thoughts:

- I would also echo others who have used Behr Premium Plus Ultra, which is one tier down from their highest-end paint, Behr Marquee. IIRC, at one point Premium Plus Ultra was Consumer Reports' top paint, even above Marquee. We've used it extensively and been happy. Marquee promises one coat; I've always been skeptical, but we tested it in one room and it looks good after two years.

- Home Depot will put Behr on sale in the days leading up to Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. Big savings, here is last year's rebate form for reference.

- I think most big box stores discount their paint on summer holiday weekends as well if you go with a different brand. Sherwin Williams seems to do discounts fairly frequently.

- PRO TIP, given to me by a Home Depot paint employee. Please double-check this to confirm before you commit to doing it. But I was told you can buy all the base paint you want when it is on sale in order to qualify for the rebate, then return to the store any time to have it colored at no cost. So if you can get an idea of how much paint you'll need, you don't even have to decide on a color at the time of purchase. (This guy also said that you should have an idea of what color you want so you're buying the correct base, but I wonder if that matters, since you can return unopened/uncolored cans of base paint so I assume you could exchange.) I hope that makes sense; let me know if I can clarify.

- If kids are in the future, get at least a satin for cleanability. Perhaps even a semi-gloss in a kitchen area where food will end up on the walls.

- Stripes require extra work and time but just do this and you'll be fine.
 
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BCClone said:
Looks like you have multiple stripes on your house. :).

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The image was broken, but I'm guessing it looked like this...

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When we paint lines we tape it off, run the brush along the tape using the base wall color and then let it dry. That seals the edge. When we come back later that day or the next and paint the strip color. Perfect lines.
 
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coolerifyoudid said:
I did my daughter's room with pink on the top 60%, a 4" black line, a 4" white line and then the remaining wall in black. It looked really good once I finished it, but trying to keep the corners from bleeding into the stripes beneath had me inventing swear words.

Oh, and a year later, my daughter didn't want the pink anymore because it was too girly.

For any new dads out there, just keep the walls white and let them put up whatever posters they want.
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Dark purple for me. Wanted to change to a very light gray. We made her live with the purple longer than she wanted, but when we did switch it took two coats of primer to get it ready for the light gray. That sucked.
 
nocsious3 said:
When we paint lines we tape it off, run the brush along the tape using the base wall color and then let it dry. That seals the edge. When we come back later that day or the next and paint the strip color. Perfect lines.
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Great idea.
 
A trick I heard for straight lines, put a line of caulk on the edge of the tape before you put the tape down if you have any sort of texture on the walls.
 
nocsious3 said:
When we paint lines we tape it off, run the brush along the tape using the base wall color and then let it dry. That seals the edge. When we come back later that day or the next and paint the strip color. Perfect lines.
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That's what I was going to say. My post was long enough already. It worked to near-perfection with almost no touching up for us.
 
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I used to be a Sherwin-Williams guy, but I recently switched to Diamond Vogel. Paint is very high quality, but quite a bit less than S/W.

Pratt & Lambert is the best paint you can buy - IMHO - but it's hard to find. Benjamin Moore is excellent, as is Tru Test (if you can still find it).

Remember the old rule, as it is very true in this case: You get what you pay for. Just because you're buying Dutch Boy or Pittsburgh Paint from the big box stores, don't assume it's going to be good quality paint.
 
stevefrench said:
You get what you pay for. Cool with doing three coats? Get the cheapest thing you can find. Wanna just run one coat and save some time? Then that $60 gallon might be worth it to you.

Get the little samples and apply a good amount in the areas you plan to paint. Make your selection that way. Paint once applied and dry looks very different than the sample card shows and then your lighting greatly effects how a color looks as well.

Eggshell is a nicer look imo, semi gloss if you’re gonna have kids/pets as it wipes off and cleans up easier.
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Definitely want to emphasize the bolded. I painted a room with what appeared to be a light gray, but by the time it dried and the lighting it looks like a very light blue.
 
You're gonna have a lot of different opinions here. For me:

* theres no such thing as one coat paint. Spend all the money you want but you're gonna want 2 coats.

*keep in mind that you can put enamel over latex but.not latex over enamel.

*get a nice angled sash brush for your edging. Personally I think that tape causes more grief than it fixes.

*I use the brightest flat white I can find on the ceilings. Satin on walls to hide imperfections. I also just do not like the look of semi-gloss or gloss.

*others have recommended valspar, I personally think its junk. Pittsburgh, behr, dutch boy, Benjamin moore, Clark and Kensington, never had an issue.

*take the time to scrape off paint drips and imperfections, fill nail holes, etc.

Good luck!
 
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Gonzo said:
Dark purple for me. Wanted to change to a very light gray. We made her live with the purple longer than she wanted, but when we did switch it took two coats of primer to get it ready for the light gray. That sucked.
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I had Garnett glory. Basically cardinal. 7 coats of quality paint with vaulted ceilings. It sucked.
 
We don't tape much if at all on most projects. It's cheaper and faster to avoid the tape and just cut in. I carry a damp rag just in case.
 
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