At FinDecor’s, we only use the best paint products available on the market. Our painters have over 15 years of experience, so they had the opportunity to try out a lot of products.
What paint brand is more reliable?
As a professional building painter, I am often asked what my opinion is concerning the different paints available on the market and which one is best. Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered easily.
In the last two decades, there has been a lot of research and development in the manufacturing of paints, and as a consequence, dozens of new paints appear in the stores each season. There are so many different products on the market today that it’s not obvious to choose a paint for your house.
Each paint manufacturer offers a big array of products, and trying all of them would take several months, if not years. For instance, Benjamin Moore offers eight different lines of products! To discover which paint is best, we would have to compare each line of products of one manufacturer with the corresponding line of its competitors. This research would be exhaustive.
Different kinds of paints
The best paint depends on your project. Are you looking for a rustproof paint for the aluminum siding of your garage or for painting your lintels? Do you need an exterior paint that will resist the climatic changes and will stick to your brick or stucco wall? Do you want a matte paint to repaint your ceiling? A glossier paint for your interior walls? You are maybe looking for a paint that has great hiding power to cover up a bright red coating? A paint to apply on galvanized metal or on a wrought iron metal? Or a bright color paint that is very washable (for which the color will resist the scrubbing) for the children’s playroom? Eco-friendly paints so your child won’t have more asthmatic problems?
Benjamin Moore: paints we can trust
According to a recent survey from Reader’s Digest and Ipsos-Reid, Benjamin Moore is the paint brand that is the most appreciated in North America. This does not mean that those paints are better than the others, but that we tend to trust them more.
FinDecor prefers Benjamin Moore’s paints for several reasons: not only do they offer a great quality-price ratio for Montreal painters, those paints or easily available here in Montreal.
If you are an amateur, I strongly recommend that you go get your materials for your paint project in a Benjamin Moore retailer. Their sales assistant will give you good advice. They are used to helping citizens that are not professional painters, and do not worry, they will know how to answer all of your questions, even the weirdest. So do not hesitate!
Is Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint of high quality?
Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint is a line of products which we like to use. Here’s why.
Aura paint advantages:
- 100% acrylic paint (it even adheres on an oil painted surface!)
- Non-polluting organic colorants
- Good washability paints (scrub-resistant)
- Anti-mold (even the one with the matte finish)
- Can be applied at a low temperature of 4°C
- It covers much better than other paints
- Low VOC (which means it is less toxic and more respectful of the environment)
- One gallon of Aurapaint can cover around 425 square foot (while most of other paints only cover 350 sq. ft.)
- Self-levelling and its finish is similar to that of oil paint.
Aura paint also has disadvantages:
- Very expensive : $75 per gallon (2 to 3 times more expensive than other paints)
- Dries so quickly it’s better to add a resin additive (approx. $1.50 for each paint gallon)
- Drips when edging if there is a little too much paint on the paintbrush.
- The edging and the rolling must be done at the same time so that there is no “flash” (visible demarcation when the paint is dry)
- It’s a very hard acrylic, which means its gloss is higher than the one of latex paints, so the surface imperfections are more visible.
I recommend the Aura paint when:
- You want it done quickly (often it only takes one coat while it takes at least one coat of primer and 2 coats of paint with other products)
- The surface you want to paint has been oil painted, and if don’t want to pay for a primer.
- If you want to paint a high traffic area (a staircase for example) or if you plan on washing often (near a sink, for example)
- When the painting task is time-consuming but not expensive in paint (like painting a dormer)
In conclusion, it’s always better to ask for a professional painter when using the Aura paint because of its self-leveling property and because it dries so fast. It’s also a smart choice to choose Aura when the staff cost is quite high and that the durability is important, and when you want to cover up the surface properly: it can even help you save money.
To learn more about house painting, subscribe to Dave’s Channel on YouTube.
To request or professional building painting services, please contact us.
Dave Beaupre
Master-painter
