Benjamin Moore Paint vs Sherwin Williams paint
Hello,
I am looking for opinions regarding using either Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams paint for interior painting.
I am hoping homeowners can share experiences and recommendations on either and what grade they used in their homes.
Thanks much
ElizabethH My husband prefers Sherwin Williams for ceiling and trim paint. For walls he prefers Benjamin Moore.
Calico696 I have used both till my daughter married a man that works for Sherm. Before that always used Sherm for the outside though. I found it lasted longer.
Old Gent My friend who is a painter swears by Benjamin Moore matte finish. One room in our house is not Benjamin Moore and you can tell the quality is not the same.
Htown Resident They are the 2 best. I use them interchangeably. Go with whoever has the type of paint you want (for example, BM's low-VOC stuff is great) , or the color you want (even tho both can color-match whatever brand you want.)
JeffersonRepub Both will be fine. BM tends to rate higher but is also more expensive. I use SW Superpaint and it's been great. The newer formulation has a primer built in which is really nice. SW Duration is great too but I don't think it's necessary. I did use it in my bathroom because it has a built-in mildew inhibitor.
emaxxman Never used Benjamin Moore , we use Sherwin Williams for all our paint and always pleased.
jdem 
Nails Most of the HD/Lowes brands will be just fine too. There are two differences though.
Brands like SW/BM have a much higher brush-ability. They just seem to come off of the brush more smoothly. They also have better flatteners in them that allows the paint to dry with less visible brush strokes.
Behr paints cover even better than SW/BM (as confirmed by Consumer Reports). However, because of its higher "cover/hiding" ability, it's very tough to brush on a smooth finish. Behr is also a latex enamel paint. The finish seems to more like a "film", at least in semi-gloss, and cracks are more prone to peeling.
SW/BM are latex acrylics while paints like Behr are latex enamels (per the Fine Homebuilding article I read years ago.) At the end of the day, PROPER PREP of the surface is the most important thing to do. Great paint on a bad surface will still equal an ugly wall.
Nancy I used to use home depot paints because I worked there. I found as the tine progressed and I experienced different companies that I love Sherwin Williams paint.
Home depot paint to me is very watery and doesn't cover well.
SW paint is great because it covers well and looks like silk on the walls.
lynn We just went with Valspar from Lowe's for the walls and ceilings and they came out fine but for the glossy finish for the baseboard, doorway and ceiling trim, we got the Turkish Coffee from Sherwin Williams.
It cost something like $55 per gallon of it, but it went a long way and it was like painting with the chocolate river from Willy Wonka... smooth, silky, dark and warm. I could go for a big mug of it right now, lol.
ianimal 
Greg I think BenieM is a better paint, it's all I use for exterior; the Aura is really great for weathered wood. But for interior wall and ceiling I use SW, Behr. I do still like BMoore for interior trim.
mistergoogle made the mistake of using Behr in a dark color.............every time something brushes against it it leaves marks - they don't wash off either ---hate it
JT 
Clyde Potts 
TU My husband has been a painter for over 25 years and he swears by Benjamin Moore....he especially likes their Regal Wall Satin paint for the interior. Sherwin Williams is his second favorite.....but he stays away from Home Depot paint.
positive If price isn't a factor, BM. Their Aura is in a class by itself. I have used both, but usually will go with SW because of their 30% & 40% off sales. Duration is better for high traffic areas, Superpaint is wonderful for ceilings. The only line of SW's that I've been disappointed with is their "Cashmere". Looks gorgeous on the wall, but touch-ups are very difficult. For a bedroom it would probably be fine.
If you are looking to paint a bathroom (steamy showers) I can definitely recommend BM Aura Bath & Spa paint. Our bathroom would always have watermarks down the walls before using this. It's been up for 2 yrs--looks the same as the day I painted it.
Davis Just be aware that Zero VOC doesn't mean Zero VOC. Tints add VOC back into the paint (if that's a concern of yours).
btownguy 
EW Was always a BM guy until I got married. Happy with both. Used Behr to paint inside of the garage. You definitely notice a difference. The HD paint almost seemed 'chalky' and didn't brush on well. After 54 gallons and counting in the current house (interior only) I do like SW. The ceiling paint is great and the superpaint for trim is great stuff. Real think and smooth. I actually thin it when I used it.
SW always seems to have a sale. And if you're signed up with them you get 10% off. If you wait for the good sales (think there's always one in April), you can get it pretty reasonable and only a few $ more than Behr. About $30-32 a gallon.
Did use Valspar exterior to paint a couple barns. That seems to be good for exterior.
emaxx is right on, prep is everything.
MeisterNJ Valspar, IMO, would be a big box paint that comes as close as possible to SW/BM. If you have a very small paint project, like an interior door, Valspar would be a good choice.
I am cautious on using Aura on my walls only in that it is an Acrylic Resin; it will really seal your walls. That's why I use it on exterior because it is like liquid chalk or vinyl in a can and helps seal my exterior.
Not sure I need that type of protection inside.
Great for moist areas like bath n sauna though.
Not sure there's any science behind that but it's what I feel.
I renovate homes for a living, so I have done a lot of painting (both interior and exterior), and I've tried several different brands/grades of paint. But for the past two years or so, I have been using the Behr Premium Ultra, from Home Depot. I dislike the lower grades, but I've found the Ultra to have excellent coverage, even on bare wallboard, and it goes on smooth and easy.
And even though the Ultra is the top of the line, the price is usually still cheaper than anything comparable from the other brands (especially if you take advantage of sale pricing, special financing, etc.). And it's convenient, because I don't need to make a special stop, just for paint, and because Home Depot has more convenient hours than most of the paint stores.
JerseyWolf JerseyWolf-
As a painter I feel you are doing your customers a complete disservice. Behr products are subpar, they get high consumer ratings because most homeowners don't have the time to care about painting so they buy it strictly based on price point and Home Depots are more easily accessible than say a BM or SW locale. I would without hesitation recommend the Aura line or any other Benjamin Moore line for any and all projects. I would also recommend the same for Sherwin Williams. I have found the SW tends to be a bit more loose than the BM lines so I prefer BM to SW. However, I would not shy away from SW at all. The only paint I would buy in a box store are primers. Valspar is garbage, behr is garbage. If you spend the time to thoroughly prepare the paint surface and invest in a good quality paint (SW or BM) you will be blown away by the results and the longevity.
As for previous posters, I would caution against ever doing a touch up in the middle of wall or door space..it will never look right. You are almost better rolling the whole wall for a uniformed finish. And if you are inclined to touch up it should only be done when you have used a flat finish. Eggshell, Matte or Semi-Gloss will all flash and you will definitely see the touch up spots. Best of luck... but my advice is hire someone. :)
painterman 
Bun painterman, I used Benjamin Moore paints exclusively, for many years, and--at the time--I was very happy with them. I just found that anything less than the Aura did not have the coverage/hide of the Behr Ultra (not the cheaper Behr grades, which I think are pretty horrible). Unless I was painting a similar color, I HAD to use two coats of paint. I also found the same with regard to priming--with the Behr Ultra, I usually don't have to prime anything--even bare walls--where I previously had to prime before using BM paints, which surprised me. (Though I still usually two-coat all-white surfaces.)
I found the BM Aura paint to be very good, but it's rather expensive. I usually paint the entire interior of houses, which is a LOT of paint--even more, if I have to two-coat a lot of areas. That can amount to a difference in hundreds of dollars in savings--and more time and aggravation, if I have to two-coat walls.
The one thing I can't really speak about, with the Behr Ultra, is the real long-term durability. I don't know how it holds up, after 5+ years, compared to various other brands. So perhaps, if you're planning to stay in your home a long time, and you don't want to re-paint the kitchen ceiling for a while, it MAY be better to use a different paint.
I suppose it's just a matter of preference and experience, and I was just sharing mine. And as I noted, I think it's also a matter of what you're doing. It's different if you're doing one room compared to a whole house, or if you think you'll be moving or re-painting within a couple of years, anyway.
Under the guise of more than you want to know, but you all got me thinking.....and goggling, and now ------ sharing......:>)
I think painterman is right that BM Aura is the best paint I have seen in years. But why? Technically it is a top shelf paint and chemically it is the best that any paint can be: it is 100% Acrylic Resin (AR). However, any paint can do this; the fact that we like it best is an individual choice due to the AR plus, plus unknown additives that give us the results that we like.
Why is Aura a top shelf paint? Because it is an Acrylic Resin (AR) or polymer based, period. AR is used as the binder to create the "film" that is the paint. Any AR paint is better than non AR paint because of chemical and physical properties providing superior results for stain protection (washability), water proofing, adhesion, cracking, resistance, and blister resistance.
And AR costs at least twice as much as the next binder thus the higher price. And Aura is 100% AR.
You can get all AR or a mix of AR and other types of binders or 100% another type of binder like vinyl acrylic or no AR in vinyl acrylic, styrene acrylic, etc. Why? Because of cost and therefore price. But 100% AR chemically provides the best results.
Here is a laymen's level on AR: http://dundean.com/tips_what_is_latex_paint.shtml
The rest of the paint is a minor amount of different additives for color, dilution, pigments, fillers, and a bunch of proprietary additives (in very small measure) that is the "magic" of paint for all sorts of things from flow to anti-bacterial features. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine what is what in additives (thus the magic) and your individual taste and experience will be your best judge. The AR is a percentage, it's either 100% or not and this determines what the paint is against the variables noted above. However the additives are unknown, subjective, and will determine a lot about how paint acts, flows, edges, cuts in, dries, and all sorts of attributes that may make one paint superior for certain types of jobs and effects as well as just plain ole personal taste.
Here's more than you want to know on paint components: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint
Now, that said, I LOVE Aura for exteriors, especially for older homes. It's makes old wood look new with less prep time to do so. It costs more but I save time and effort overall and, so far, the endurance of the surface and the color is the best I have ever seen. The end result is better than the final job pre-Aura in a noticeable way.
FYI: Behr has a new deck paint, which I think is a high ratio or 100% AR, that looks to rejuvenate a checked (cracked) deck into a brand new surface. I will be trying this next Spring since I would rather paint than replace a checked deck. It actually looks like it fills the cracks.
The only issue I have had with Aura or AR is "bubbling" due to water vapor trapped in the wood. Once this was on a dark side and the whole thing bubbled. It went away in a few weeks. Another time was on a sun-facing side that had to be dryer than a bone but only one or two bubbles. However, it too went away by itself, but you need to be sure the walls are dry, dry, dry OR if you think moisture may creep in from the back, then seal that wall before you apply the AR.
I will probably continue to use cheaper paint for most of my interior. Why? One reason is it's pretty easy and enjoyable for me to re-paint so extra durability is less important so I'll save the money. Plus I change colors a lot anyway so why spend the extra money. Lately I've been on a kick for fairly bright trim work which I then balance with a few drops of the same color in the off-white cream wall base creating an off-cream tinting of the trim color. The effect is that the room changes color from cream to slight color-tint to full color depending on the time of day and sunlight. Really cool effect.
The other reason I will use cheaper paint inside is that AR seals so well that my personal tastes want more "breathability" on my drywall. This is probably just my personal taste, I can't find any data to support it.
However for bathrooms and high traffic, I might use Aura even for interior. It sheds water, well, like the 100% polymer (plastic) it is.
Here is an "aura story" on what it is: http://www.paintpro.net/articles/pp805/pp805-productprofile.cfm
I'm so glad this was posted- I guess I never realized there was difference in paint other than the finish such as gloss and flat. I always thought you were just paying for the name for BM or Sherman paint and never thought there was an actual quality difference.
Will BM and Sherman paint help with bleeding of the paint also? When I paint not matter if I tape or not I feel like it bleeds and I can never get the lines that I want.
Nosila Nosila, here's a tip you can try...after you've taped, paint over the tape line w/the color UNDER the tape (not the new one). This will create a seal & after it dries, paint your new color over it. The dried first paint will keep the "new" paint from bleeding thru. I'm sure the pro painters can explain that more simply than I just did, I originally saw it in a magazine with step-by-step pictures. Hope it made sense.
The better paints may help w/bleeding especially if you've used thin paints before, but in my experience, there is always bleed-thru, which is why I don't tape.
I like frog tape to stop the bleed; much better than 3M.
however, the AR paints being polymer based often create a tighter seal from tape to wall and sometimes will pull the new paint right off the wall. First, don't cut in heavy, that helps. But if it starts pulling you need to score lightly with a blade. It's a pain, but better than tearing.
Or just man up and free hand the line. The AR paints and a good brush should allow you to do a very straight line. Secret is a really good cut in brush though, not a el cheapo and a light load --- just paint on the tip on the brush, not halfway up......
I like both but if I have to pick its BM. Home depot's Behr has improved greatly imo.
jerseycash5Nosila,
I freehand as much as possible, but if you're going to tape, try 'unloading' most of the paint on the brush in the adjacent area you're painting before you paint at the tape line. If you have less paint you will get less bleeding. If you just slop it on heavy, it will bleed almost no matter what. That's what I've found myself.
One essential item I bought a couple years ago is the werner aluminum painter's bench. It was on sale for Christmas at Lowe's for $19. It's normally $49. It's been on sale every Christmas. Highly recommend it. Saves you time because it's a good height and you don't have to move it as much as if you're using a ladder. You can cover a lot more wall.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-39-1-2-in-x-12-in-x-20-9-16-in-Aluminum-Work-Platform-AP-20/100662616
Best ceiling paint to hide dark lines? Or do I need to prime 1st? I don't want the typical white ceiling color...Last I painted I used BM in the Cameo white (from the basic whites)...its a warmer white.
Gardenfish Just found out it pays to shop around for benjamin moore paint. Potpourri is now charging $65.99 for natura paint. I went to Netcong Hardware who sells benjamin moore and they charged $52.99 for the same paint. $13 dollars savings for a gallon of paint is a big difference. Especially if you need a few gallons of paint.
I bet PP would have matched, fyi. I always like to give them the chance since the store is so nice to have in town.
Having to ask to have the price matched because they overcharge by such a significant amount ($13 per gallon) just makes me think they are trying to rip off unknowing customers and see what they can get away with. I would rather go back to the store where I don't feel like they are trying to rip me off. Netcong is not that far away.
Not meaning to overly defend them or be a cheerleader but they really charge the list price that most BM stores charge and then there's deep discounts during sales and promotions. A few outlets skip that and charge the lower price; I think Blueridge in town go right for the lower price too.
I have always ended up paying about what you paid and love the surround and support from Paintpourri. They have great advice and stand by whatever they sell. Most often I can time the job to take advantage of the sale. But on occasion, I have asked them to match.
In either case, they have provided me the best price and fantastic support.
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