Author Topic: Interior house paint - best value brand?  (Read 8700 times)

FiftyIsTheNewTwenty

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Interior house paint - best value brand?
« on: December 22, 2017, 12:30:14 PM »
Researching this could be quite a time-suck, and I'm sure some DIY'ers here have already done it!  I'm looking for advice like, "Just go to BigBox-A and look for Brand-X."

I need to freshen up all our interior trim (flat white) along with some wainscoat in a bathroom.  But I may also need to re-do some whole rooms, depending on how well my touch-up paint still matches.

Morning Glory

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2017, 12:50:14 PM »
I like the Behr no-VOC paint from Home Depot, and the Dutch Boy refresh or Dura Clean from Menards. These cover decently and don't stink too badly. I always use satin finish for walls and semi-gloss for trim so that I can wipe off marks.

Fishindude

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2017, 01:11:17 PM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

Candace

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2017, 01:22:58 PM »
Consumer Reports rated Clark & Kensington the best value paint a few years ago. That's the brand of Ace Hardware. There's an Ace right near my house and I use C & K for all my painting jobs except for specialty stuff like specially formulated cabinet paint. I've always thought C & K looked great and it's worn well so far. Also, if you like a color offered by one of the other brands better, the Ace people will put that color in the C & K paint.

Another plug for using high gloss or semi gloss for trim BTW, if you're going to repaint rather than touch up.

GuitarStv

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2017, 01:29:48 PM »
Paint goes on sale a few times a year.  If you're not in a hurry, just pick out the colours you want and figure out the quantities you need in advance.  Then wait.  Get all your paint when a sale is on.  It'll keep for ages as long as you don't freeze it and you can paint at your leisure.

Cwadda

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2017, 01:30:59 PM »
I also use semi gloss for trim painting.

JustNeedsPaint

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2017, 08:49:46 PM »
Another vote for Home Depot - Behr Premium Plus Ultra - Ultra Pure White Semi-Gloss here:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-Plus-Ultra-1-gal-Ultra-Pure-White-Semi-Gloss-Enamel-Interior-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-375001/203202285

All my doors, trim, baseboard and ceilings are painted with this and you can wipe it all down easily. I also use the Purdy paintbrushes for application.

Papa bear

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2017, 09:32:51 PM »
Vote for behr. I use it for all my rentals as well. They have great deals around holidays, with $10 rebates per gallon. 


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Kl285528

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2017, 10:15:15 PM »
Trick from landlord friend. Buy the discounted mismatched and wrong color paint, mix them together, they always come out beige!

lizzzi

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2017, 08:33:35 AM »
Another vote for Behr paint and semi-gloss on your trim.

ketchup

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #10 on: December 27, 2017, 09:02:44 AM »
Behr Premium Plus Ultra Semi-gloss on the trim is what we did and it's great.  Cleans up easily with a melamine sponge.

lthenderson

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #11 on: December 27, 2017, 10:31:17 AM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

I use Sherwin Williams and it does cost about 50% more upfront, however I also use about 50% less than the paints I get at the big box store. Way better coverage and it holds up a lot better with time and wear. By the time I figure out what less coats does to my labor bill, it becomes a no brainer.

Sibley

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #12 on: December 27, 2017, 01:54:04 PM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

And they routinely have 30% off coupons or sales. I like Sherwin Williams, it goes on easily, looks good, etc. The people in the store are knowledgeable and helpful. At this point, I know all of them. I took in a couple gallons of a different brand to see if they could adjust the color and they had no problems looking at it for me. Turns out, it doesn't work that way, but oh well.

bacchi

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2017, 04:55:03 PM »
Behr Premium Plus Ultra, both interior and exterior, is a CR recommended paint. Unlike other products where they simulate use, the exterior paints are actually subjected to 9 years of weather.

TheThirstyStag

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2017, 10:53:34 AM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

I use Sherwin Williams and it does cost about 50% more upfront, however I also use about 50% less than the paints I get at the big box store. Way better coverage and it holds up a lot better with time and wear. By the time I figure out what less coats does to my labor bill, it becomes a no brainer.

I agree with this.  I also use SW paint and you definitely get what you pay for.  Considering all of the labor involved in painting, I always think you should get the highest quality paint you can afford.  I, too, have noticed that I tend to use a lot less SW paint than other discount brands.

FiftyIsTheNewTwenty

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #15 on: December 31, 2017, 06:23:50 PM »
Thanks all!

I do appreciate the quality differences.  I've done plenty of painting in the past, and have suffered plenty with paint that didn't cover well or had other issues.   I haven't had to shop until lately, and I'm unfamiliar with current products.

I had wondered about the Behr primer-paint combo for trim -- looks like the deal.

Thanks again.

DangleStash

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2018, 01:21:36 PM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

I use Sherwin Williams and it does cost about 50% more upfront, however I also use about 50% less than the paints I get at the big box store. Way better coverage and it holds up a lot better with time and wear. By the time I figure out what less coats does to my labor bill, it becomes a no brainer.

I agree with this.  I also use SW paint and you definitely get what you pay for.  Considering all of the labor involved in painting, I always think you should get the highest quality paint you can afford.  I, too, have noticed that I tend to use a lot less SW paint than other discount brands.

I 3rd this.  Either SW or Benjamin Moore, both are great quality.  We did our entire house in 1 coat, with an optional 2nd in some areas / brighter colors.  When we covered similar colors in our prior apartment, the Behr was 2 coats required, 3 in some areas.  Also the SW/BM seem to be thicker, which reduces splatter.  They routinely have coupons floating around for 10% or more off.

lthenderson

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #17 on: January 05, 2018, 08:09:12 AM »
Another helpful hint for Sherwin Williams is that they give discounts everyday to organizations. Mostly these are painting contractors but in my case, our woodworking group that gets together once a month to shoot the breeze and show off our latest projects also has an account. It was free to set up and we get I think a 5% discount and it is on top of any coupons or store deals that are currently going on.

Sibley

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #18 on: January 05, 2018, 10:39:16 AM »
I don't find that there is much difference in quality of the economical latex paints.   Just buy it wherever it is handy, I go to my local lumber yard.
A couple years ago I stopped into the Sherwin Williams store with intent to pick up a few gallons for a project.  Their prices knocked my socks off, 30-50% more per gallon.

I use Sherwin Williams and it does cost about 50% more upfront, however I also use about 50% less than the paints I get at the big box store. Way better coverage and it holds up a lot better with time and wear. By the time I figure out what less coats does to my labor bill, it becomes a no brainer.

I agree with this.  I also use SW paint and you definitely get what you pay for.  Considering all of the labor involved in painting, I always think you should get the highest quality paint you can afford.  I, too, have noticed that I tend to use a lot less SW paint than other discount brands.

I 3rd this.  Either SW or Benjamin Moore, both are great quality.  We did our entire house in 1 coat, with an optional 2nd in some areas / brighter colors.  When we covered similar colors in our prior apartment, the Behr was 2 coats required, 3 in some areas.  Also the SW/BM seem to be thicker, which reduces splatter.  They routinely have coupons floating around for 10% or more off.

I get 30%, sometimes 40% of emails at least once a month. I just try to time my paint purchases for when there's a coupon.

DangleStash

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #19 on: January 05, 2018, 10:43:26 AM »
You are right on that!  We did our painting ~9 months ago and I'm pretty sure we were getting higher discounts for most of the paint, but they almost always have a 10% off floating around as well.

We used BM because it was ~2 mins from the house, but SW does 50% off sales sometimes too.

FiftyIsTheNewTwenty

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #20 on: January 05, 2018, 01:30:51 PM »
Thanks for the SW coupon tip.  Most of the house is painted with SW colors.  While they may not match exactly after 10 years, it'll take less to cover with new.

Cwadda

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #21 on: January 06, 2018, 10:22:03 PM »
I can vouch for Behr Marquee paint. I tried using it last week on a flip I'm working on. Supposedly it is guaranteed to cover in 1 coat or else your money back. So far it has lived up to that expectation. Pretty good paint, and good value if you factor in your time $ savings.

Sibley

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2018, 05:51:39 PM »
I can vouch for Behr Marquee paint. I tried using it last week on a flip I'm working on. Supposedly it is guaranteed to cover in 1 coat or else your money back. So far it has lived up to that expectation. Pretty good paint, and good value if you factor in your time $ savings.

I've used some of the one coat coverage paints, and I really don't like them. They're a lot thicker. Depending on what you're painting, it can make it look sloppy. I've got decorative woodwork throughout my house, and a thick paint is going to look bad. I've also never actually gotten good universal coverage with one coat. But for a basic wall, the thickness isn't going to matter.

Spartans

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Re: Interior house paint - best value brand?
« Reply #23 on: January 08, 2018, 09:35:00 AM »
Behr premium plus.  Started with Ultra but our prof painter didn't like it so we switched to premium plus.