# Behr Paint is AWESOME!!!



## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I thought that might bring in some visitors!

I don't shop at Home Depot except for some very specifics.

I don't shop at Lowes unless my paint store is closed and I am in a bind.

I do not, however, think Behr's kitchen & bath paint is all that bad. Not my first choice, however, I just painted a kitchen for a client of mine's tenant. They supplied the paint (quick in and out type of job). Guess what, it was Behr. I cringe when using DIYer type of paint but this was a Satin kitchen & bath product that rolled very nicely, wasn't too thin but not too thick either, and after it dried I accidentally splashed the wall with ceiling paint - it cleaned off very well.

I am not advocating the use of Big Box Paint. But, in all honesty, it's getting to be more like the Auto Industry. Valspar makes Cabot. ICI makes Glidden which is owned by Azko Nobel which also makes Sikkens, Olympic is PPG. I buy my paint from my local store because it's a local, family owned and operated business - just like me. When I walk in, everyone knows my name and asks how things are going. When I tell them I am slow, some how they always find me a lead. When I tell them I am over budget on a job, they help me out on paint cost. And, when my friend broke his neck and we sold raffle tickets for a free home makeover to raise money for his expenses while he was rehabbing, They donated 25 gallons of paint without blinking an eye. I think every painter should have that type of relationship with their vendors.

My question is, do you guys think Behr and Valspar make junk products, or, do you think that Behr and Valspar are junk because that's the type of service you'll recieve?

When I moved to Michigan, I switched from BM to PPG strictly because of the rapport that I instantly had with the PPG guys at my local store. In my opinion, most of these paints are the same (or similar in price and quality) and its the service that I am sold on. Anyone agree?


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

Valspar owns Cabot but it is still made in the same place, I do believe they have tinkered a little with the formulas. Most of the larger co's just own these companies and things are still made the way they were. Hell even BM is owned by a huge company.

Persoanly I never like any big box paint, and yes the servce sucks... The big boxes are gearing there products towards DIY'ers and not us...


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

You ever seen "Do It Best" paint? It's the local, cheap hardware store stuff. It is absolutely the worst paint I have ever seen. I walked through a clients home to do an estimate and the stuff was peeling off of the walls. Cheap as could be and total crap product.

Guess what, it's Sherwin Williams. I am glad that the big three (BM, PPG, SW) still make quality, professional paint, but they are in the business to profit and I have to say, they don't mind putting out total crap, thinned out products to turn a profit. Speed Hide (@ 18 per gallon) looks like Aura over some of this junk.


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

PinnacleResidential said:


> You ever seen "Do It Best" paint? It's the local, cheap hardware store stuff. It is absolutely the worst paint I have ever seen. I walked through a clients home to do an estimate and the stuff was peeling off of the walls. Cheap as could be and total crap product.
> 
> Guess what, it's Sherwin Williams. I am glad that the big three (BM, PPG, SW) still make quality, professional paint, but they are in the business to profit and I have to say, they don't mind putting out total crap, thinned out products to turn a profit. Speed Hide (@ 18 per gallon) looks like Aura over some of this junk.


Well SW owns a lot of stuff including your purdy brushes... All companies make cheap paint. PPG how about Lucite thats garbage paint, pretty soon there will be one company owning it all!!


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I don't touch Purdy's anymore. Had I known SW makes them, I wouldn't have been using them for quite a while. Wooster ultra firm from now on!


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

PinnacleResidential said:


> I don't touch Purdy's anymore. Had I known SW makes them, I wouldn't have been using them for quite a while. Wooster ultra firm from now on!


happens to be my brush also, except for interior trim I like a soft brush for the trim paint I used.


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I don't do much interior trim. Lots of factory stained in my neck of the woods but agreed.


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

PinnacleResidential said:


> I don't do much interior trim. Lots of factory stained in my neck of the woods but agreed.


We do a ton of trim repaints here, usually most rooms are ceilings, walls and trim. Most trim is white, all tho lately these designers have been putting some weird colors on trim... I just hope the client knows that its gonna cost them a lot to bring it back to white in 3 - 5 years


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I have let the HO's provide paint 4 times. Twice with Behr and Twice with Valspar. Only one of those jobs went well. It was early on in my contracting days with the Behr eggshell paint and that job went fine, maybe I just did not know better back then. The other times, either it took an extra coat and was prone to sticking to decorations hung on the wall (Behr), each of 5 gallons came in different colors (supposed to be the same and all from the same batch, store, and computer tinted) with Valspar, extra coats to make trim look good (Valspar). I liked the way Valspar rolled better than Behr.


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I actually like the way Behr Kitchen and Bath covered better than some of the lower grade paints by PPG (who I am very loyal to) and definitely better than a lot of SW products.


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## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

I mainly do not like big box paints do to the service, lack of knowledge, and no responsibility when **** hits the fan. However I also do not like it as I like ALOT of others better. The paint I use is paying my bills, so. For a little bedroom or something yeah whatever I'll use it if I have to. Even then though I prefer Olympic.


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

I know this is heresy, but Berh matte is ok relative to the price. Loew's old top of the line "American Tradition" used to be PPG and was a good paint. Is there paint better than either of these, absolutely. But we have all used worse.


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I just finished a foreclosure property that I was hired to paint by the bank. They wanted the cheapest of cheap paint to drive down costs. I was at Lowes a few days after I got the contract and saw a fiver of Olympic 15 year Flat White for $38!!! I bought it and used it as ceiling paint for the job. It was very bright white and had excellent hiding qualities. I will use it again in similar circumstances.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

Yes DoIt Best paint is SW. But it is comparable to their promar 200 and A100 lines. So you are comparing Behrs best paint to SW worst paint. I have used quite a bit of their kitchen and bath, flat enamel, and flat paints. Coverage wise, could be worse. Their flat paint looks the worst and if you even look at it hard it burnishes, water on it, it spots, flashes, picture frames, and just generally looks like crap. Their flat enamel is just weird. Its just egshell paint with a higher price tag. Maybe a little more acrylic than their regular flat. Their kitchen and bath isnt too bad. not great to apply and never 1 coat ever but could have been worse. Their satin finish looks awful though.


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## painterdude (Jun 18, 2008)

Why would you call 200 and A-100 sw/s worst paint. Unless they've reformulated it, I used tons of both in the mid and late 1990's. I had exterior jobs that lasted 8 years when I last saw them in S. Florida...a pretty rough place weather wise. As for 200 it was as good as Classic 99 and certainly better than many. Worst, I'd say 700 and 400 were much worse and truthfully I never found super paint to be much better inspite of their higher prices. As for Valspar, I used hundreds of gallons of their oil years ago. It was top of the line in the 70's and 80's when I was working in upstate N.Y. ......I'll admit that I haven't used many of these new Duration etc. the socalled molecular bond paints, but since they've only been out a few years no one really knows how they'll hold up. Lab testing for me is not a true test. just my 2 cents, pd


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

we are talking interior paints I believe. at least I was. And by worst I mean their cheapest.


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## tntpainting (Apr 3, 2008)

do what you have to in order to get paid but i wouldnt stand behind any work i did w/that garbage thats why i buy fandecks from swp and bm


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## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

tntpainting said:


> thats why i buy fandecks from swp and bm


They make you pay for them? :blink:


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

no kidding. why the heck are you buying fan decks? the BM ones are like $20


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## Mantis (Aug 4, 2008)

PinnacleResidential said:


> My question is, do you guys think Behr and Valspar make junk products, or, do you think that Behr and Valspar are junk because that's the type of service you'll recieve?


We used to contract from a builder who insisted on using Behr products. Cheap slap-em-ups 1 coat prime, 1 coat finish. We used to use ICI paints and one of the supers decided that Behr was better... somehow. So Behr sent in their tech guys from Cali and multiple reps for "training" sessions. Seems like we'd have weekly meetings to discuss issues we'd have with their products during the switching phase. There was nobody local to talk to. If you had an issue you have to call Jeff in California! If he was unavailabe, you're sol. In the end we were forced to use the Behr products for 2 years, until the builder packed up and left this side of the state. 

I can say with confidence that while I dont think behr paint is junk persay, I can think of a dozen products I would buy before offering that to my customers. Their trim paint, wall paint, and PVA primers all have issues. So at $22+ per gallon, just about all other paint manufacturers have products that go on better and/or outperform Behr. The only redeeming product from them which I dont mind using, and still use on occasion, is their exterior semi-gloss for deep bases. It lays out nicely so I'll sometimes get a quart of whatever color mixed in this to use on a front door.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

"better to leave the walls bare than put Behr on the walls"


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

chrisn said:


> "better to leave the walls bare than put Behr on the walls"


excellent!


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## Mantis (Aug 4, 2008)

chrisn said:


> "better to leave the walls bare than put Behr on the walls"


^^-- This is full of win!


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## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

chrisn said:


> "better to leave the walls bare than put Behr on the walls"


That would work well as a matching signature for my avatar. :laughing:


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