# Para Paints



## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Anyone ever heard of/tried Para Paints? It's a new company in town here that is apparently in direct competition with BM. Other than Farrow and Ball we have a limited supply of high end dealers around here, and I hear from a well known designer in town that this is where the paint train is headed as far as designers are concerned. 

I had a look at their designer set of colour samples, and I have to say they're presented with some serious style, and the colours are very nice. 

So i'd like to know if their paints are as good as their presentation. If anyone's tried this stuff before i'd like to hear what you have to say about them. 

Cheers


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

I tried a few gallons supplied by a homeowner and I was impressed. I think the price point was decent as well. SICO out of Winnipeg owns Para Paints and the store was only open for a short time in my area! They have some really nice Group of 7 colour palette brochures.


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## UnDeRtOw00 (Feb 20, 2009)

Para has been around here for years. Great stuff. Company originated here in ontario in 1915, recently bought by sico is now expanding. Used para for years and never had any real complaints about it. Give it a wurl! you'll like it.


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## Picky Painter (Oct 7, 2009)

Also give sico a try, their reds cover insanely well.


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

SICO?
No, you snooze you lose.

Para has been a big player here in Toronto for many years.
The reason you see it there, is because it is owned by your 
General paints.
Which means they are now owned by the Comex Group
http://www.thecomexgroup.com/#home

They are changing their product lines, so we may be getting General Paints, or any other Comex paints.

So are they good?
We don't know anymore.


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## wje (Apr 11, 2009)

To me Para is one of those paints people assume is good, because it is a little more expensive. It is not for me, but you may like it. I only speak from experience in dealing with one small store in Ontario, so maybe your store will be better to deal with but I would rather use BM than Para and I am not even a benny fan. I believe a lot of designers would push for it on jobs though.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

George Z said:


> SICO?
> No, you snooze you lose.
> 
> Para has been a big player here in Toronto for many years.
> ...


Yeah, my GP rep was here for a visit a few weeks back and we were discussing the sale of General Paint to the Comex Group. I don't know why they sold the company, and it's not my place to try to understand it, but General Paint has been my longest time supplier and they do make some very good quality paints - and I go to them first when I have difficult problems because they can usually help me find a solution with one of their products that I have found never to let me down. 

I heard something about GP and Para being related but wasn't aware they were owned by the same company (Comex). I know very little about Comex but I_ can _tell you that I hate their caulk. lol. So I will have to be careful with any _new_ products they put on the market. 

I will have to try Para and see for myself if it's any good. I've got a feature wall to do for a repeat customer next week - perhaps I will try it then. 

Thanks for the info :thumbsup:


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## gqmixmaster (Apr 22, 2009)

do not use the para premium matte finish, its one of those poorly made mattes that picture frames like crazy and it is next to impossible to touch up. 

I used the para elite suede and it is garbage too, it looks terrible and is not washable in the slightest though it didn't pictureframe and reasonably touched up.

I used Para ultra with a red base and it completely failed. It took forever to dry and started to peel off the primer on new drywall. If you rub your hand on it you would get red pigment all over yourself. It was way too shiny, much like HP 2000 egg for those familiar with general paint. As well it was really thick, quick drying and difficult to apply though it covered extremely well....

I like the superlux which is their 'low end' non 100% acrylic line and it was decent, it was a little thick but it covered well and touched up nicely. It has a proper eggshell sheen and is quite well priced - I am paying $19/gal CDN

I would rather buy tradesman from GP over the superlux though because its slightly better in all categories. I primarily use super Acrylic II from CLoverdale though, used tradesman in low end NC only.

Apparently the para premium semi gloss is quite good for spraying trim, i haven't tried it yet because my other experiences with para have been so dissappointing.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Well I tried this stuff out last week - I don't care much for the premium...it was OK but it was a little draggy with the brush and it showed slight picture framing, which did go away after a while. The sheen was good, but it was slow drying. Considering this stuff costs $45/gallon, I prefer GP's Breeze at half the price. 

I like the Ultra version though. Spreads like butter and hides awesome, dries fast and sheen is perfect. It's pricey but i'd use it again for sure. 

Just have to give their "Eliete Ceramic" version a try now.


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

COMEX (Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas, S.A. de C.V) This is a mexican company that has been big for years and years, Comex is huge, I remember they came up with HP2000 when I was in Mexico, I painted my parents house with it and my house in Mexico, but definitely some of the products they have here aren't as good as we expect it in north america, all of that due to different climates, so I guess moisture and really low temperatures changes the action of the paint and they kept the same formulas (but doesn't work that way) I don't remember ever using caulking in Mexico either so I guess caulking is not something the know how to manufacture properly.
The owner of Comex and the owner of Lafarge (Cements) just got into a deal to start manufacturing sheetrock together, so with this big of the companies do you guys think they care about quality????


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

I forgot to say that I get all my paint from GP and I really like Breeze for walls and HP2000 for trim and doors, I hope they don't change that line and mess it up with some other stuff...


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