Painting - O.k, so what about ............

O.k, so what about Lucite and Pittsburg Paint? I am going to be painting too, and I live in small town with not a lot of resources. I have to take a long drive to get to any place with variety, but I do want a quality paint. Is it worth the drive?

Pittsburg and Lucite are both poor excuses for paint. It will be worth the drive for Benjamin Moore or Devoe.

I don't think we'll ever find JDX sitting on the proverbial fence. I must agree that I have always viewed Lucite as a house brand with a good name and the same for Glidden. They must have have been decent paints at some point or heavily promoted. I used Pittsburgh paints for the first 2 or 3 years in business and didn't know what I was missing until moving to S.W., Devoe and B.M. in no particular order. I don't think Pittsburgh has a top of the line wall paint just a top of the line price. The oil trim paint almost can't be used due to running. Pittsburgh finds it's way into many homes here due to a good family name and connections, but the painters hate it. I would use the Pittsburgh before the Lucite but would set aside some time to drive for good paint. I believe your riding time would be justified....Mike

Mike is correct. Mike and JDX will continue to use quality paint for a quality finished product. For a couple more bucks a gallon, get the good stuff! Remember these two words...Benjamin Moore.

Let's save some time here. Here is the JDX junk paint list: MAB, Glidden, Lucite, Behr, Pittsburgh, True Value, Dutch Boy, Cook and Dunn, and anything sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Kmart.( I wonder if I just poked a bee-hive )

To encourage you to follow the advice given, I have looked up dealers in your area for both Pratt and Lambert and Benjamin Moore. BTW, the nearest Devoe dealer is over 500 miles away. After using either brand maybe you'll stop back and say to some else use high quality paint, and then tell them why.

Pratt and Lambert Dealer
CLASSIC PAINT & WALLPAPER
110 E MAIN ST
HARRISON, MI
24 miles

Benjamin Moore Dealers
TORRY'S QUALITY LUMBER
424 FOURTH STREET
BIG RAPIDS, MI
14 miles

THE BACK ROOM
225 S. MICHIGAN AVE
BIG RAPIDS, MI 49307
14 miles

MOORE DESIGNS & FLR COV
218 N MITCHELL
CADILLAC, MI 49601
24 miles

I beg your pardon, but some of my best painting was and is done with Glidden. Sherwin-williams is dreadful. I find though, that Behr from The Home Depot doesn't do too badly either. I've used them all and these are two that are cheap and trustworthy. Go to a Glidden store (now called ICI) do not buy Glidden at Home Depot, this is the bad version.

StephenP, There are people out there that use junk paint and settle for the "ok" results. Could one of them be you? If you enjoy working with junk paint, that's your choice. To say Sherwin Williams is bad means you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry to be blunt.

I agree with JDX. I've used SW for many years and always get excellent results.

Tirany:

What you should do is get on the phone and phone some professional painting contractors who haven't got a vested interest in what brand of paint you buy to paint your house. Explain to them exactly what you want to do, what problems you may have had with the paint you used last, and what improvements you'd like to see with the new paint. They will tell you want particular brands are best for your particular situation and needs, and they don't sell paint, so they probably will give you an honest opinion.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't help noticing that in the postings to this point, we haven't got a clue what it is that you'll be painting, and yet we're deciding on the paint you should use for the job, whatever it happens to be. All we know is that it'll be your house that's going to be painted, but the inside or the outside? Are you hiding an underlying colour or repainting the same colour? Is this house located in a sunny place or under a lot of shade trees?

Paint companies have exactly the same problem. They simply cannot formulate a super paint that will do everything well just as you can't design a lubricant for all reasons and all seasons. Every paint manufacturer makes a variety of lines depending on what it is that the purchaser most desires. You have the "contractor grades" that are meant for high hide at a low cost, the residential grades that come in various lines and bases depending on whether the customer wants a flat paint or a glossy paint and whether he's repainting the same colour or hiding an underlying colour.

My personal opinion is that many people put more faith in brand name recognition than they do in the advice of professionals, and I think that's backwards. If you're trying to hide a different colour, you need to use a flatter paint or you need to spend more on a base that costs more because it has a higher titanium dioxide content. If you don't want to spend more, but still need the high hide, plenty of manufacturer's will sell you paints that use white clays to provide hide, but then you get a different shade of white depending on whose white paint you buy.

Rely on the advice of professionals who have had experience using a variety of paints in your geographic area for the purposes you intend to use it for, and see what they say. People often only change brands when they're dissatisfied with what they bought last time. If they're satisfied this time, they think they have found the "best" paint.

Even if you're convinced one name is better than another, you can usually get better results by relying on the guy at the paint store to pick the particular base to tint instead of picking it yourself.

I stand by my original statement on Pitt. and Lucite paint, they are JUNK. I'm a painting contractor and have used this garbage homeowners got a good deal on. I don't work at a paint store. Take your pick of quality paint: Benjamin Moore, Devoe, Sherwin Williams. Anything bought at Lowe's or Home Depot is garbage. Pitts. is junk, Lucite is junk, Glidden is junk and MAB.....is junk. Use the good stuff!

I too am a paint contractor (commercial/industrial and residential) I use many different types of paints and coatings. For general painting around the house or office I would recomend Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore, out of all the paints I have used they prove to be the best for coverage and durability. They also have cheaper versions of there paints, if you choose there cheaper paints you cannot expect the same results as there recomended lines. If you really want a guarantee, try Duration by Sherwin Williams, it is guaranteed for as long as you own your home, it is also over $30 a gallon.

I have never worked for a paint store nor do I represent one.

JDX and Chipfo:

I agree with you that Sherwin Williams makes good paint. However, Sherwin Williams is the biggest paint manufacturer in North America, so saying they make good paint is a lot like saying GM makes good cars. I'm sure the top of the line Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and Pratt & Lambert interior satin latex paints are all very good paints.

However, buying the top of the line paint is not always the smartest decision. If I'm repainting an off white wall the same shade of off white, why should I pay $30 to $35 per gallon for a top of the line paint that's going to really hide that underlying colour? I'd be better off paying less for TiO2 and more for higher gloss and having the wall easier to clean, and I don't need to buy a top of the line paint to accomplish this.

I certainly don't know a lot about paint. However I know more than the average person who buys paint to repaint their house. I think it would be beneficial to the people in this forum for us to write out some basic things that they should know (like the higher the gloss the lower the hide) before buying paint. That will help them a lot more than just telling them to buy according to name. Cause then they may buy the right name, but they could still buy the wrong tint base with the right name on it, and that's worse than the other way around.
I'm willing to write out everything I know in the hopes that each of you will add your comments. If we do this, though, we should start a new thread because this one is getting a bit much.

Hello All, I was not going to get in another thread concerning top of the line versas mid to low line paint but it is my duty to point out a couple of things. To borrow a line line from our bud JDX, high clay content, mid to low line, high coverage paints are JUNK. Anyone who has patched, painted or papered after this material to any extent will tell you low line paints, regardless of the name on the can, are trouble. I have seen time and again it take 5 or 6 gallons of low line paint to do what 4 gallons of S.W. SuperPaint will. Where are the savings in this line of thought on the front end not considering the fact as you patch, repaint and paper you have to deal with lifting, bubbling and other problems of working over a paint surface that is unstable. Quote, "However, buying the top of the line paint is not always the smartest decision. If I'm repainting an off white wall the same shade of off white, why should I pay $30 to $35 per gallon for a top of the line paint that's going to really hide that underlying colour?".....Read back through my post, the answers are there. Also, S.W.SuperPaint will cost $30, and I'll pay it any day, but as a rule we advise paying $16-24 instead of the $12-15 for the JUNK. At home, our businesses and DIY we are not after the best way to cover a wall in a coat. We are after a durable surface that looks good and is stable enough to work in the future......Mike



[This message has been edited by mikejmerritt (edited September 30, 2000).]