[Greg Wellman]

I'm repainting floor molding, the sides of a couple of cabinets, maybe the front door of the house, and painting (for the first time) some stair risers I've made from plywood.
All of that as pure white as I can get, semi-gloss.

I'm a firm believer in priming and have plenty of primer. So I'm not looking for a paint/primer combo.

I've had very good experience with Benjamin Moore wall paint. Their "Aura" stuff is beautiful and long lived.
So I figured I'd get their "Advance" trim paint - a water-borne alkyd that's supposed to cure hard like oil paints do/did.
Although marketed as an interior trim paint, it's supposedly approved for exterior use, so that would be good for the front door. It would be nice to just buy one paint for those purposes.
But dang, I keep seeing bad reviews, like Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Satin Paint

I would think this would be a solved question - the best pure white semi-gloss to put on a prepared and primed surface. But it doesn't seem to be.

Is it possible all those bad reviews are people doing it the wrong way, or somehow getting a bad batch? I'd be really surprised if BenMo was selling a crap paint.

So, what would people here use?

Thanks!

 

[woodco]

Its really hard to apply. I think its way overrated too. I switched to using Scuff-x on trim. Its easy to work with, and with a little extender and proper technique it'll look damn close to oil, and hard as a rock.

 

[Greg Wellman]

Is there any reason not to just use an actual oil paint, assuming I ventilate well while painting?
Behr oil paint is half the prices of BenMo Advance.

 

[woodco]

oil is brittle, and has a tendency to crack out more, as well as turning yellow with time. Behr Alkyd is actually a cheap version of advance. Its still a water cleanup hybrid oil. If you want to use actual oil based though, go for it. Keep in mind that cheaper oil based will turn more yellow, quicker.

 

[Greg Wellman]

oil is brittle, and has a tendency to crack out more, as well as turning yellow with time. Behr Alkyd is actually a cheap version of advance. Its still a water cleanup hybrid oil. If you want to use actual oil based though, go for it. Keep in mind that cheaper oil based will turn more yellow, quicker.

Ok, based on reviews, I was going to go with SW "Emerald Urethane", which is also an Alkyd type paint. But only if it was on sale, which I thought it was this weekend, but it's excluded from the paints on sale.
So, with a $10 off coupon, I could get the SW Emerald Urethane for about $84 vs the Behr Alkyd at $45. Is the SW worth it?

 

[660catman]

I’ve had good luck with Sico furniture and cabinets interior paint in melamine finish. I use it on all interior doors and trim. They have pure white ready to go. Have not used it on kitchen cabinets though. My friend who does cabinets just sprayed ours with BM Advance pearl finish.


Retired guy from Southern Manitoba, Canada.

 

[woodco]

Ok, based on reviews, I was going to go with SW "Emerald Urethane", which is also an Alkyd type paint. But only if it was on sale, which I thought it was this weekend, but it's excluded from the paints on sale.
So, with a $10 off coupon, I could get the SW Emerald Urethane for about $84 vs the Behr Alkyd at $45. Is the SW worth it?

no. Emerald urethane is just like cabinet coat from Benjamin Moore. Its not an alkyd, its a urethane modified. I dont know anyone who like emerald better than cabinet coat, actually.

Ive never used the Behr urethane alkyd. I cant speak for it. I say give it a try. Its at least comparable.

 

[Kady21]

Don't use Behr Urethane Alkyd - don't use cheap box store paint. tried Lowes knock of of Emerald urethane and it was horrible - ran like crazy and I had to sand with an orbital sander, prime again and repaint. Box store paint is garbage in comparison. Emerald urethane is not the same as Advance. Advance takes 16 hours before you can paint the second coat. Emerald Urethane is 4 hours to recoat. From what I understand they both have a slightly different chemical makeup. Advance has been known to yellow. I've played with both and I like the Emerald better. Both of those paints are known to level and brush well but it takes a lot of skill to get a finish that does not have brush marks. If you have never done it before, you will want to practice. I can use a sprayer better than I can paint with a brush. Also, get a sample of 'white' paint to test. Not all whites are the same. I painted some bead board with Cabinet Coat white and it had a green tint. I had to repaint with the same paint but had it tinted 'extra white'. Cabinet Coat INSL-X does not yellow but it has a short working time and harder to use than some. You could add Floetrol to Cabinet coat to increase the working time. I painted some trim samples with it and I didn't think it was hard to use. The satin has a very nice sheen and feel.

 

[Greg Wellman]

I don't actually care about minor brush marks - it's wood, not a car .
The Emerald Urethane certainly does get a lot of positive reviews.

 

[papereater]

I don't actually care about minor brush marks - it's wood, not a car .
The Emerald Urethane certainly does get a lot of positive reviews.

Some people dont care much about a car, they do care more about the wood. Dont you want your wood project to come out nice/no brush marks? Its not a car, designed to get one from point A to point B.