Painting - Which paint to buy from my store

I am in the process of painting my child's room and not sure which paint to get.

So far I have sanded and patched the walls (had to CORRECTLY patch 2 plaster cracks and one area of water damage on the plaster walls, as the old owner patched the plaster with sheetrock patch rather than plaster patch), then skim coated the walls and resanded. I will be priming the walls with Kilz (original) tinted gray.

I am going to be painting the walls with a medium blue color (called magical merlin) using an oil based semi gloss. I will be getting the premium grade of which ever paint I get.

My local paint store (yes paint store, not paint dept) sells the following brands, but I'm not sure which one to use.

Pittsburgh Paints
Pratt and Lambert
Martin Senour
Coronado

If it matters to you, P&L, and Martin Senour are wholley owned by Sherwin Williams. They make their own paint however, and it is not sold through SW company stores.

Interesting choice on the oil for the walls. Why oil? There are plenty of excellent WB choices that will give you much more life without the application issues of oil. 5 year from now, you will have a much harder time recoating when the baby isn't a baby.

There are plenty of WB washable paints available in much less sheen. Personally I feel that the SG gives your rooms the "Nursing Home, or Hospital Waiting Room" look. Try a Satin or Eg-Shel for a more homey look.

I chose the oil based because i figured it would be more durable thank latex when washing off pen, crayon, handprints etc. etc.

also, have noticed that alot of the latex paints will leech color from dark color sheets, and will give off color when you wash them

now, i realize that I am a first time home owner, thus first time quality paint user. Do they make any WB paints that won't 'suck up' color from everything that touches it for longer than 2 minutes? And do they make any WB paints that won't come off the wall and onto the sponge when you wash the walls?

why will I have a hard time recoating the room?

I definetly wouldn't use oil base!!!!!
IMO the new waterborne enamels are just as good and in some ways better.

Only the cheap paints will "wash off" Any quality latex paint should stay on the wall and be very washable. Enamels even more so. I too would recomend satin or eggshell.

I have used all the paint brands you mentioned and have had good results although it has been many years since I've used those brand names. Sticking with their premium lines should give you good results.

marksr, thanks for the info...good start to correcting me before I make a mistake!

which line should I choose......I was thinking of using the Pittsburgh Paints unless someone told me otherwise as I live in Pittsburgh, you know....support the locals and all. The Pittsburgh Paints for example have like 8 paint brand 'lines' they make, and 5 of them are marked premium....

I also have a Sherwin Williams and a Benjamin Moore within 5 miles of my house....should I go to one of them rather than the general paint store that carries the other ones?

Cheap paints especially sg/ latex are "sticky" due to plasticizers that they add to the paint. It is a cheap filler that gives it some flexibility. Higher quality latex paints tend to forgo this additive. This is why some windows "stick" to cheap paint.

They also lend themselves to color transfer like you were requesting.

As a father of 3, I can assure you that what you think will get on the wall, in most likely hood WILL NOT get on the walls. I had visions of food, perm marker, lipstick, crayon, and about 10 body fluids.

Ended up with some hand smudges, a couple of body fluids (don't ask, baby was sick...) and not much else. Unless you are going to let the kid eat in his room, while coloring with markers under NO supervision a good washable latex will more than suffice.

SW Duration, or EverClean would be excellent options. Both are very washable, and carry a "lifetime" warrenty. This is important, and you need to keep your receipt. As both are around the $30-40/gallon if you are EVER not satisfied with washibility, you can get your money back. I have yet to get a stain out that won't wash.

I can't speak for the other mfgs, but others here will.

Bear in mind, a quality roller and brush will make or break your job. A $1.00 throw away cover will give you a $1.00 job no matter what kind of paint you are using. So if your going to cheap out on the tools, cheap out on the paint to save yourself the misery of asking why your job looks like crap. Trust me, its fun to paint the baby room the first time. Not so much the 2nd time after sanding, and priming....again.

I don't remember the pittsburg lines as it's been a long time since I've used any. I mostly use SWP and IMO their super paint or better will give you great resullts. BM also has quality paints but I don't use them enough to give specific recomendations. Usually the paint store personal can guide you to the right coating for your job/budget.

I second the use of good tools - a good brush and roller will make the job easier and look better :D

go with P&L Accolade. It is very durable and can take a lot of abuse.

...I was thinking of using the Pittsburgh Paints unless someone told me otherwise as I live in Pittsburgh, you know....support the locals and all. The Pittsburgh Paints for example have like 8 paint brand 'lines' they make, and 5 of them are marked premium....


The Pittsburgh Paints are fine
I use them regularly for interior and exterior
(Even some of the "contractor/commercial" priming products are really "premium" quality)
Though I'd stick with the (Manor Hall or similar) premium lines for this project
Support your local economy!

Thank you everyone for the input! I think i will be going with the SW (because of the warrenty and reputation they get here).

groundbeef, marksr....I am using Purdy brushes and Purdy white dove 1/2 nap rollers sleeves (wanted Wooster sleeves, but could not find them).....this is thanks to reading the forums here for advice!

slickshift...the house currently has some Manor Hall paints in it, and some that are others. not sure which ones are in the kid's room now, but I am not happy with the current job (likely because of the lack of proper prep before last paint).