I’ve heard too many stories of the painter that pours the inferior paint into an old Benjamin Moore paint can to give the illusion of quality. Is there really a difference between a knock off brand and a good as gold paint product? Cheaper paints lack the binders that help the paint cover the surface. In my experience, cheaper paints may be translucent and require more coats for coverage while more expensive paints might be self-priming and able to get the job done in one coat. Typically the big issue is not cost of materials but cost of labor. Do you want a labor charge once or twice or even three times?
Even though more expensive paints can do a better job–Aura, Pro Classic, Duration–it depends alot on the application and the purpose of the paint. If I was doing exterior painting and I had finished my prep–washing the painted surface, patching, caulking, then I would probably plan on priming all the painted surfaces with a latex or oil-based primer even if I planned on using a “self-priming” finish paint. In my experience the self priming paints go on thicker–they are essentially a primer and finish paint rolled into one. The tendency is for the paint to be harder to apply, but the end result is 2 coats of finish paint which is always considered better then one.
If your hiring a painter, question the contractor on the paint being used. If it takes 80 hours to paint the exterior of a house and 4 gallons of paint, will it really make that much difference in the total price if the paint costs $50 per gallon rather then $25 per gallon? If the paint job lasts longer, isn’t that really what you are paying for? Know your paints and keep your house looking like a home.
Thanks for your article on paint. I wish I had this information before I hired a ‘professional’ to paint my outside trim and front door. The painter told me he had 25 years experience and only used the best paint etc so that it lasted a long time.
I was horrified to come home to his band of cowboys who were painting directly onto my metal front and garage doors….no primer, preparation or anything! He assured me that this was the standard proceedure and it only needed one coat. Within a week we could catch a corner and peel back the paint from the doors. It’s true what they say, you get what you pay for!
When you don’t get what you paid for, you call that a lemon. A new steel door will have a factory primer on the product to protect it from the elements, but it still would be good practice to prime it first. From a textured surface like most garage doors wiping down the door first with acetone will clean and roughen the surface prior to priming. Most doors left in the sun will have a certain amount of oxidation take place–that chalky residue left on your hands when you touch the door.