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Need some suggestions on SW paints

2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  chrisn 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, first post from a newbie painter here.

We've decided to paint our recently purchased condo and are in the market for paints. After quite a bit of research I've narrowed down the options to BM Aura, Behr Premium Ultimate Plus and SW. However BM ($72/gallon) and Behr ($47/gallon) are now pretty much out of consideration after I find out that SW is having a 40% off sale for all their products. So the question now is which line of SW would be a better choice?

Emerald claims to be their top-of-the-line product and the price is really temping at about $40/gallon after discount. But it's only recently introduced and I read some mixed reviews here in the forum and on the SW website. Should I go for that or should I choose something safer such as Duration and Cashmere? And regarding to sheens, does it only come down to personal preferences? Are there any advantages or disadvantages for certain sheens for interior use?

I've done some reading on painting but I'd really appreciate if I could get some tips from you kind folks here. Any kinds of tips are welcomed, techniques, tools and etc. For example, I'm thinking of getting one of this from Amazon, would that be a good idea?

Thank you all in advance!

(I originally posted this on the painttalk forum but I didn't realize that's the forum for professional painting contractors. The moderator there suggested that I post in here)
 
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#2 ·
As a lifelong user of SW paints, I highly recommend SuperPaint. No gimmicks, nothing fancy, just a hard-working, durable paint. It has always been my "go to" paint. Duration, Cashmere, Harmony, etc. are all quality paints, but, for the money and ease of use, SuperPaint cannot be beat.
 
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#7 ·
Hi Ric,

I'm from Vancouver, BC in Canada. There are also some "local" brands here that only cost about half of BM and SW. I wanted to choose between BM and SW because they seem to be the most famous brand and are pretty well reviewed. This will be our first time doing painting but we know practically nothing about paints at all, so I think BM and SW would be a less adventurous choice.
 
#6 ·
Skip the painting tool gimiks. You will spend way to much time cleaning it.
Roller pan, roller frame, 1/2 nap quaility roller covers, and a 2-1/2" quaility sash brush, some real painters drop cloths.
Learn how to paint the trim without using tape. It's going to be more expencive to use tape, will slow you down, may peel off the paint when it's removed and takes time to put it on.
Paint the ceilings first with flat ceiling paint. Paint the trim, then do all the cut in work before you start rolling the walls.
 
#8 ·
Thank you for the advice!

I have one question about painting the ceiling. Is that necessary or highly suggested ? Our ceiling is white and has those popcorn texture on it. Originally we didn't think we'd bother painting it, but as I'm researching here and there I'm kind of getting the idea that it's better have it painted as well.
 
#12 ·
Hiya Mee,

I think you're kinda close to the Raleigh/Durham markets, no? There are a few Davis (Davis Frost) Independent Dealers in your area - and, in my opinion, their Perfection line is one of the best products in the business (their Classic Collection line is pretty nifty also)...You might also check for Richard's Paint dealers in the area - For the price, Richard's has some really good products. You can find local dealer at both of their websites. Good luck.
 
#13 ·
Hey Chill,

No matter what kind of paint you buy IME it should work well as long as you take the time to prep the surface right. In contrast the best paint will perform poorly if what's behind it is in bad condition. I've never used a brand of paint that performed badly as long as the surface was prepped right (barring mfg defects covered by warranty/replacement). The finish is up to you, but typically a ceiling is flat (you can buy "ceiling paint" even) and walls are eggshell/semi-gloss. Personally I don't use gloss unless it's for a specific small area where it's wanted for aesthetic purposes. The surface has to be nearly perfect for glossy paint to look good.

So anyways, invest plenty of time in surface preparation. Assuming you're painting walls that have already been painted you will need to remove nails, scrape down protrusions, fill nail holes with spackle, and lightly sand the entire wall with medium grit sandpaper (100-150) or wall screen. Note that you should check to make sure your paint is not lead based if you're scraping and sanding. This sanding will dull any glossy finishes and remove residues and other imperfections that will show if you just paint over them. Then clean the walls with a damp sponge or some cheesecloth. Next, don't forget a primer. I find it helps a lot to put on a quick coat of primer. Nothing fancy, but it gives you a nice clean slate to work with.

As joe said don't mess with gimmicks.

For materials, instead of a roller pan I use a 5 gallon bucket with a paint grate hanging on the side. This allows you to haul around a whole gallon (or however much you need for the coat) without having to refill the pan constantly. You can get a ladder hook to hold the bucket securely on your ladder as well. The paint grate also provides a more even saturation of the roller (and you can set your brush on it while you're rolling). They're easy peasy to clean with a garden hose out in the yard.

finally, use a quality 2.5" angle sash brush and get a quality roller cover as well, I find 3/8" nap to be good for well prepped already painted surfaces. Before using the roller cover for the first time take 5 minutes and use your fingers to pull out as much of the loose fiber as you can. If you do this you will have very few (if any) "hairs" in the paint which IMO look crappy on a wall. And get a good dropcloth. I like to use a 3x15 canvas runner. This lets me usually paint an entire wall without having to move the dropcloth once. I'll also keep a shorter one for small areas and a large 12x12 when painting a ceiling or for covering furniture when sanding.

Good luck!
 
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