Consumer Reports rates top paints
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Feel like your home is looking a little drab? It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do! A new color can be an inexpensive way to get a whole new look, say the experts at Consumer Reports. They recently evaluated 65 paints and say steer clear of inexpensive paints. None of the top picks were under $20.
But you don't need to spend top dollar either. In fact Benjamin Moore, which can cost as much as $68 a gallon, did well but was not top-rated in Consumer Reports' latest paint tests.
The highest scores went to paints that cost half that. It's a new brand called Clark and Kensington, and the paints are sold at Ace Hardware stores. They go for around $33 a gallon.
It topped the ratings in the satin finish, which is durable and best for most applications, and in the semi-gloss, which is great for trim. It was also among the best in the flat finish, which tends to hide surface imperfections better than others.
The Clark and Kensington paints left a smooth finish that resisted stains and stood up to scouring, even after 1,000 passes with a stiff scrub brush. Plus they are superb at hiding, which means you can easily cover the old paint you're tired of looking at! They're also self-priming, so you can save some time and money by not having to apply a primer coat when you paint over bare wood or wallboard.
If you shop at Home Depot or Lowe's, Consumer Reports says paints available at those stores did really well in tests, too. At Home Depot, several paints by Behr are recommended in all sheens-including Behr Premium Plus Ultra Enamel, which sells for just over $30 a gallon-and the Glidden Premium, for about $25 a gallon.
Prefer Lowe's? Consumer Reports recommends Valspar Signature paints, for around $33 a gallon, in all three finishes.
But you don't need to spend top dollar either. In fact Benjamin Moore, which can cost as much as $68 a gallon, did well but was not top-rated in Consumer Reports' latest paint tests.
The highest scores went to paints that cost half that. It's a new brand called Clark and Kensington, and the paints are sold at Ace Hardware stores. They go for around $33 a gallon.
It topped the ratings in the satin finish, which is durable and best for most applications, and in the semi-gloss, which is great for trim. It was also among the best in the flat finish, which tends to hide surface imperfections better than others.
The Clark and Kensington paints left a smooth finish that resisted stains and stood up to scouring, even after 1,000 passes with a stiff scrub brush. Plus they are superb at hiding, which means you can easily cover the old paint you're tired of looking at! They're also self-priming, so you can save some time and money by not having to apply a primer coat when you paint over bare wood or wallboard.
If you shop at Home Depot or Lowe's, Consumer Reports says paints available at those stores did really well in tests, too. At Home Depot, several paints by Behr are recommended in all sheens-including Behr Premium Plus Ultra Enamel, which sells for just over $30 a gallon-and the Glidden Premium, for about $25 a gallon.
Prefer Lowe's? Consumer Reports recommends Valspar Signature paints, for around $33 a gallon, in all three finishes.
Perhaps we're just not hard enough on paint, but we've no problems at all with the Dutch Boy we got at Fred Meyer, or the Glidden we got at Home Depot, or the ColorPlace stuff we got at Walmart. It all went on fine, cleaned up fine and washes fine. Most of it's been on for about eight years, hasn't peeled, bubbled or flaked etc. We just did a new room this fall with ColorPlace again and it went as well as the other. I'm not worried about it not holding up well.
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I have a consumer reports subscription (and I use it so much it does often pay to have it), but I get a little annoyed because they don't seem to even test much in the 'economy' lines or products. There's no mention of ColorPlace paint tested. And not mentioned by this article is that OLYMPIC, Glidden and Ace Royal Interiors are rated as 'best buys'.
A few years ago, in a moment of insanity, I decided I needed to paint the interior of my place. Despite my fears, in general, the job went pretty smoothly except for having to apply seven coats to the baseboards. The most difficult part of the job occurred before I even started painting.  Seriously, the hardest part of the job was actually finding someone to sell me paint.   I went to half a dozen different paint stores and had the same experience at each, which was basically being totally ignored.   It was like they had their regular customers and weren't used to a new face.  It was a very strange and frustrating experience.
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Finally, I ended up at Parker Paint.  The two gentlemen working at this store were more than eager to help me.  The problem here was they were also both idiots.  I had to explain to them how to multiply length times height to get square footage so they could look up in their chart how much paint I needed.  When it came to selecting a color, they just handed me a small book of samples.  I picked the color closest to what I was looking for, but when I got it home and opened the can, it wasn't even close!  I wanted to darken my bedroom, but this paint was almost neon! I took it back to the store and after they darkened it up as much as they could, it still wasn't what I was looking for.  I'll never use Parker Paint again.
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Your results may vary.
I sure would like to see the full list too. and why not Kelly-Moore paint or Miller paints or Parker paint or Roda paints all made in the Pacific North west. and local companies.
 @Exiled_Patriot None of those paints are on the list as even having been tested.
 @Exiled_Patriot You'd have to be a subscriber to Consumer Reports online to see the whole list. But that costs about $30 a year.
@jcman well what got me was they were toughing behr and clark and kinsington and valspar as the best. in reality they are nothing but junk. there is no such thing as paint and primer in one. try using that paint and primer on new drywall! A'int going to look good. Sherwin williams by far is dar good paint even their low end is better then anything you find at a box store. Like Home Depot or lowes. and Glidden is junk!