gramps416

Para paint is a relatively large company in canada, they are sold at many paint stores here
does anyone have any experience with this brand? I have never used it
any thoughts
-g

gramps416

anyone????

sdsester

Sorry. I haven't set foot in Canada in awhile so cannot help you.

As you read on this site all the time though? Is it a box store sort of brand or are there actual paint stores that sell it? Any pros use it? These would be my first clue as to what to expect.

Second clue would be that if it seems $10-15 cheaper per gallon retail? It is probably much cheaper in quality than that.

ccarlisle

Para Paints used to be one of my customers some 20 years ago when they were small and 'local'...they may be bigger now and produce a good paint but, although they might have access to quality ingredients, they don't have the access to big bucks needed to produce high quality paints consistently. Too small for that...

Now just what that means to the once-in-a-while painter is debatable...and again it comes back to the value of the painters time. It is generally agreed that quality paints such as B.Moore and S-Williams save time for the commercial painter because of the good results they produce on average every time leading to less recoats and recalls. But to an average painter who does one wall every three years, and can recoat as he sees fit, who can tell the difference between one coat of B.Moore and three coats of Para, or Valspar or Glidden, or ???

And so what if it splatters a bit...the DIYer can take the time to wipe off splatter marks here and there, the pro isn't paid to. So who needs a paint that doesn't splatter apart from the pro? So Para paints is thickened with a cheaper methylcellulose and gives a less thixotropic paint than S-Williams? is that a good or bad thing and who knows...

Is cost a factor? If so, then Walmart has a $14/gallon paint on sale right now. Will that do?

Who knows. Only you will...

tpolk

nice response carlisle

gramps416

Yes, thanks for the response. Excellent points.
Para is not sold at big box stores, only paint stores. It starts at about $38 a gallon here in canada,

ccarlisle

Yup, it's tough for a paint manufacturer, especially a 'regional' one (even a national one) to get onto the shelves at the HomeDepot, or Canadian Tire or any other national chain...these guys just demand too much for them to be able to compete.

Having said that, I just found out that ParaPaints was bought by Akzo-Nobel of the Netherlands - who also own SicoPaints up here - in a move to reduce the number of competitors out there, no doubt. By owning them, it relegates the bought company to a niche specialist, one that sells regionally but relys on a huge colour chart instead of manufacturing prowess. That means that they buy white paint in bulk from the parent company and only colour/tint locally. So their pricing and quality are fixed.

It's just a different style of marketing...but for $38/gallon, I get better service and help from my local Benjamin-Moore guy. He seems to have more of the products I need - besides paint, too.