Stop. Do not go to your local paint shop. You are not ready. You might have your tools all set up and your finishes all picked out\u2014but your missing one of the most important details: what brand of paint to use.<\/p>\n
You walk into any store that sells consumer household goods (Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, K-Mart, Walmart\u2014the list goes on) and one thing will become immediately apparent: no two sell the same brand of paint. Walmart sells Dutch-boy while Home Depot sells Gliddon. Lowes likes American Tradition, Sears likes Chromocolor and on and on and on. Right until the point that you shout \u201cWho cares! What\u2019s in a name?\u201d then proceed to wantonly spend on whatever costs the least.<\/p>\n
There is a whole lot in a name: specifically consistency. Some paint brands do a lousy job of mixing their chemicals offering a watery, drippy mess that takes three times as long to apply to any wall. Sometimes a fourth court is demanded if it\u2019s cheap enough. You think you\u2019re saving cash by buying that ten dollar paint but when you\u2019re going back to the store to get another gallon (or three) you\u2019ll continue kicking yourself.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve tried out a wide range of paints just to find the perfect brand. I gotta tell you, it was a tough hunt but well worth the search.<\/p>\n
My criteria were fourfold. One<\/u>: the paint had to be a creamy. Creamy means a non-watery substance that sticks to the roll without being tacky or clumpy. Think fresh cake icing or a bit thicker than pancake batter. Two<\/u>: the paint had to emit lower fumes. Granted this can change depending on the deepness of the hue you\u2019ve chosen but in general, a good paint shouldn\u2019t smell like ammonia. If it does, sorry, you got cheap paint. Three<\/u>: the paint reflects a nice color after two stirs. That means, that when I was painting I didn\u2019t have to keep stirring the thing to make sure the color didn\u2019t separate. Four<\/u>: price is a huge issue. The lower the price the better on my painting budget and the more willing I am to experiment with hues.<\/p>\n
The following is a (short) review of paint brands, how they held up under use and roughly what they cost. My overall recommendation is at the end.<\/p>\n
Colorchrome<\/strong> (Sears) Very watery although it offers very low fumes. Color is okay if you stick with the flat colors: anything else gets really splotchy. The cost is low but you\u2019ll return the savings by needing to buy more. Price is about fifteen bucks.<\/p>\n American Tradition<\/strong><\/a> (Lowes) Too thick on the glossy end of the spectrum making application difficult. Color consistency is decent and the fumes are low. Price is about twenty bucks.<\/p>\n Glidden<\/strong><\/a> (Home Depot) Nice color consistency with a combination of low fumes. Texture is nice, creamy and easily applied. I covered four walls and a ceiling with one can. The price was about thirty bucks.<\/p>\n Color Place<\/strong> (Walmart) Extremely watery, horrid color consistency and outright dangerous fumes; if this stuff doesn\u2019t kill you right away it\u2019s definitely shaving years off your life. Heck, even their color matching system is horrid (no two color matches are ever the same so save those numbers and make sure they write it legibly if you decide to go with them). The price is ridiculously low (with a five gallon bucket you save about fifty bucks over any store). Cheap in every sense of the word.<\/p>\n Dutch Boy<\/strong><\/a> (Walmart). Low fumes, decent color in the flat end of the spectrum but stinky application. Be prepared to waste money since this costs about twenty something dollars and just doesn\u2019t go on as nicely.<\/p>\n Behr<\/strong><\/a> (Home Depot) Outstanding color consistency, excellent application and low fumes: all rolled up in a low price of about twenty bucks. I did an entire room with half a can and went back for a second coat just for the fun of it.<\/p>\n