What do you think about Behr Paints? Are they any good? What kind of results did you have if you have used them?

 

IMHO, it ain't worth the bucket it comes in. I've used it several times, and never had good results with it. If I am approached by a client to use it then either
A. I walk away from the job or
B. I make them sign a lengthy waiver on the job results.

 

I'm not a professional, but as a homeowner I've used Behr recently & in the past. I just finished painting the entire interior of our house using Behr--I love the color choices, the ready availability at HD, and have always been happy with the result. I know a lot of others have posted with a different opinion, but my experience has been a good one.

 

I think they are a rather poor paint with good marketing
No
I have used both Behr's paints and stains
The stains look pretty bad and there's not a good way to salvage them
And even proper professional prep does not make them last any longer
The paints...are difficult to work with to say the least
There is a long list of reasons why
I was able to get reasonable looking results eventually, but the effort required was time consuming and labor intensive

If a potential client insisted on Behr, I would refuse w/o hesitation
No work would be better than working with that stuff

 

While Behr paint might be acceptable for some when compared to quality paint there is no comparison. A better grade of paint applies easier and covers better. The extra price per gal is often negated by the poor coverage [an extra coat] and workability of the cheaper paint.

 

I tried Behr a while back in my son's room. Never again. If you only paint a room once every few years, you may not appreciate the difference. But if you paint more often, you will start to see what we are talking about.
One example - cutting in. With a quality paint, cutting in with a brush is easy. You start the stoke and can go a long way - which helps making neat, straight lines. With Behr, I could only go about half the distance and I wasn't nearly as neat. The average h/o will never do the long stroke, even with top grade paint. In fact, they'll probably use tape andthen post about the tape lifting the paint off the wall.

 

Well I imagine this is to each person's preference and what they have had experience with ( big box stores or local paint stores). I do agree you can , (not always) get better assistance and somewhat better knowledge from local paint stores, but if you find that one person at the larger box stores, you are good to go also. I do paint and I LOVE Behr Premium Plus Paint. 100% acrylic, goes on smooth, levels, no adhesion problems, tape(#2080) pulls off perfect each time.

As with other paints, I detest benny moores- aquavelvet line, not 100% acrylic, Just because you have a local paint store or company that has been around a long time , doesn't always mean the product is the best and especially the large price behind it, when there are lots of other good paints .
I will almost refuse doing a decorative finish over benny moore's aquavelvet line. Used to be 100% acrylic, but not any more. I don't pretend to be a paint chemist and work for the National Paint&Coating Industry, but I think we will all agree they are constantly working and trying out new formulas for paint products. JMPO, I love the Behr Premium Line.

 

After painting a bedroom with Behr I switched to Benjamin Moore for the next bedroom based on a friends recommendation. What a difference! The quality of the BM is way above Behr. Buy a quart of Behr and paint part of the room. Then buy a quart of BM and paint a different spot. I guarantee you will like the application and look of the BM better.

 

it certainly is confusing, especially when you're looking at the September 2005 issue of Consumer Reports (as i am right now) and they've rated Behr "best overall in all gloss levels." Second was Kilz, third Valspar, and fourth Dutch Boy.

personally, for light to medium colors, i've had perfectly good results with the cheap stuff from WM.

 

Behr nay-sayers... what is your pick then?

Because I've tried the $12 wal mart and it is horrible compared to Behr. Glidden is worse IMHO as well. So Behr is the nicest I've worked with and usually covers a PVA-ed wall in two coats nicely. I generally expect two coats, so I'm ok with 19.99x2 for Behr vs. $45 for BM.

Can I expect single coat coverage on PVA primed wallboard with BM or similar?

So I'm quite interested in hearing what is your favorite and why! My mind is open!

 

That sounds high

 

Not sure where you are buying BM paint for $45 a gallon... a higher end contractor grade runs anywhere from 16-28 a gallon and does a great job. Depending on color transition and finish, I can sometimes get one coat, and most of the time two. The line is called Super Spec and I really feel like it does a good job. You should give it a shot and let us know what you think(curious how much it cost where you are as well).

good luck!

 

I really don't have a favorite, I pick the product that will perform the best for that particular application. If I was stuck on an island, and had only one brand to use, it would be Benny Moore. Why? Multiple lines, each good for its purpose, excellent customer service (I got a great sales rep ), competitively priced, great range of colors (most high-end designers spec BM), and its not overmarketed, its reputation is over 100 years old.

Our materials list for 2004:
g = gallon

301 g BM Super Spec Flat
74 g BM Super Spec Eggshell
22 g BM Regal AquaVelvet
66 g BM AquaGlo S/G
32 g BM Water-Borne Satin Impervo
33 g BM Alkyd Satin Impervo
118 g BM Regal Wall Satin
56 g BM Regal Matte
201 g BM Fresh Start Acrylic primer
82 g Pratt & Lambert SuPrime Alkyd primer
8 g Pratt & Lambert PalGard Epoxy
14 g Pratt & Lambert Accolade
24 g Sherwin Williams Cashmere Flat
4 g Sherwin Williams Cashmere Low Lustre
33 g Sherwin Williams A-100 Trim paint
34 g Sherwin Williams Classic 99 Satin
12 g Porter Glyptex Alkyd Trim paint
67 g Porter BlankIt primer
18 g Porter Silken Touch flat
20 g Colony Eggshell
7 g Muralo Ultra Ceramic Stainproof Matte


This does not include the specialty primers, stains/varnishes/polys, adhesives, etc.

Anybody interested in paying my materials bill, please PM me.

 

Last night I bought the interior latex semi-glo paint from Benny Moore's premium line (formerly known as Aquaglo). It cost roughly $10 more than a similar Behr. (I am in Canada here.) Painted the trims and door with it. I took out so little paint from the can, yet I painted so much with it! And i just checked up on my window trim, which has now dried for 1 hour, and it feels so smooth and nice. Brush overlapping marks are almost non-existent (even brush marks are pretty non-existent). I did accidently touch a spot after letting it dry for a bit, so there is more sheen in that spot. Other then that (which was my own inexperience), I really like the look. Oh, and I should say, that was only 1 coat! I doubt I'm going to do/need another one.

Oh, and as for the CIL DULUX latex eggshell that I've been using--I'm no pro but I've been fairly disappointed with it. Today, and this is after letting it dry for roughly 4 days now, while painting the trim I accidently got some paint on the wall. So, I had a moist cloth beside me, which I used to clean it up. Now, when I see that spot that I just cleaned, it appears 'flat'--all sheen gone! What the heck!

Now, I can't wait to finish my 5 gallon bucket of this CIL stuff so that I can get another brand (and my eyes are set on BM (because of the fabulous experience I had plus all the good reviews) / Behr (because it'll be hard to afford BM) for now)!

 

I just painted my large LR yesterday with Behr Eggshell. Once dried I can see the overlap lines when looking along the wall in the right light. Did I overroll when blending with the previous area, or is this an issue the quality of the paint (yes, I kept a wet edge) ? Otherwise, I had no problem covering in one coat (with the exception of a few small areas that I need to touchup.)

For other paint brands, I've always had good luck with Ace Hardware paint. Any others?

thx, Don

 

Possibly, it depends on type/size roller cover used.

 

Sounds similar to my initial issue. I used even a cheaper paint (CIL DULUX), and had unbelievable roller marks. However, I switched roller covers, napsize 1/4" to 3/8" (really high quality one as well), and now the other rooms' walls don't show marks at all (same cheap paint).

Definitely, the right quality tool matters. What nap size are you using anyway?

 

If there is anyone who thinks there is no difference between BM or Behr, then they haven't painted (themselves) enough.

BM goes on so much smoother and the final result is so much better. BM is far more durable which makes washing walls easy.

By the way...no matter what brand or colour of paint you use, applying two coats is a must. The second coat makes a world of a difference. Don't be lazy, it's worth it.