# Farrell-Calhoun Paint, ever heard of it?



## Bob Cirulli (Sep 24, 2011)

I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of them. I have a rep calling on me. They are new to my market.
Anyone...?


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## Steve Richards (Dec 31, 2010)

No

Where are you?

(please don't say at my desk)


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## Bob Cirulli (Sep 24, 2011)

Nashville. They are out of Memphis and have about 30 stores throughout the SouhEast. I did some research on the Internet. They also sell to dealers.


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## Steve Richards (Dec 31, 2010)

Pretty nice lookin' paint cans.

I'm afraid that's all I can say about.


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## Cusingeorge (Jan 19, 2008)

He's a customer of mine, so I don't know much about his paint, however.....

Farrell is an independent paint manufacturer based in Memphis.

Has stores in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri (St. Louis).

Been operating since 1907 or something like that.

The owner is a very cautious fellow, doesn't risk anything without doing his due diligence first. 

He apparently has a pretty loyal dealer network.


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## ProWallGuy (Apr 7, 2007)

Spam. :yes:


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## CajunDavid (Jul 20, 2011)

They"ve been around for years. I've never used them


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## Northwest_painter (Jan 27, 2012)

This is the first time I have heard of them. Most likely a regional paint company. Like Rodda paints or Parker Paints that are made in Oregon and Washington. And are not sold out side of the Pacific North west. So it must be with this company not sold out that region.


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## Masterpiece (Feb 26, 2008)

Well I can vouch for the company and will offer my thoughts. I'm around Memphis and it's primarily Farrell Calhoun and SW with a smaller number of BM, ICI, Porter, etc stores. I've used most lines of both companies over the years and like the products of both but at the same price point, in my experience and opinion, FC offers better paint. Of course, someone else with a different pricing structure perhaps using different products may have a different outcome but my situation is fairly typical I believe.
Again this is in no way meant to disparage SW as they have products that I enjoy as well as products that FC doesn't offer such as the more exotic hybrids, pre cat epoxies, etc. I won't offer a comparison to BM or PPG,etc since I have little recent experience with them. 

Farrell is regional and infinitely smaller than SW but have also had far fewer price increases than SW in the same time span. 

They only have 3 main labels which helps keep pricing down. Their top Blue Label covers and flows very well and is around $12/gallon my price (flat interior) vs about $25+ for a comparable SW product like Superpaint. Their contractor paint is also worlds better than SW's comparable lines (esp vs Masterhide, yuck!) at similar price points in my opinion and experience.

Of late, I only use it on the occasional residential job since I'm primarily multihousing and most complexes use SW, but for the price FC is hard to beat. It may not outperform $40-70/gallon paints but I wouldn't know, you'll just have to try it and see how it compares.

I would say that SW's Exterior Superpaint is a little more durable than Farrell's Exterior though over the long run, but again Superpaint is at least $10/gallon more...

It's been a very busy week so far and I'm wiped out so I hope this makes sense and/or helps lol.....


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

I think I'll go out and buy it for my next job. I mean, I just saw it mentioned on here.


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## Bob Cirulli (Sep 24, 2011)

I really like their Premium Line Interior. It comes flat, eggshell, satin and s/g. The price is almost half of that of comp products.
They have a waterborne that acts just like SW ProClassic and Porter Advantage 900 but w/out all the smell.
Their Premium exterior line is great. It's in between SW SuperPaint and Duration. The cost is in the low $20's.
I like buying local and this is why...


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## Northwest_painter (Jan 27, 2012)

kinda Like two paints i really like Rodda paints and Parker Paints both made with one hour of were i live and they are local so I try to use them when ever I can. I manly lean to Parker now that they have gave me a 40 percent discount.:thumbup: I still love KM and SW but when I need to work and fight for the bid I go with Parker Paints.


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## Masterpiece (Feb 26, 2008)

I forgot to mention even though FC paint is good, I don't remember them having anything that could come close to SW's Color Accents when it came to ultradeep base material like dark reds,etc....you better have a grey base coat ready with FC...


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## Finn (Dec 18, 2011)

Dig a bit more and see if there is any connection between them and Farrow and Ball in the UK there is something that's familiar but can't quite put my finger on it.


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## ProWallGuy (Apr 7, 2007)

Nope, no connection to Farrow & Ball. This is a regional brand only available in the Midwest.


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## The paint tester (Mar 14, 2012)

Masterpiece said:


> I forgot to mention even though FC paint is good, I don't remember them having anything that could come close to SW's Color Accents when it came to ultradeep base material like dark reds,etc....you better have a grey base coat ready with FC...


SW COLOR ACCENTS? You mean it doesn't come close in that you do not need a total of 8 coats to achieve full coverage? (like you would surely need with the color accents):yes:


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## PAINTGUY4LIFE (Apr 25, 2012)

*Farrell calhoun*

I have been using their paint for the last 15 years in Baton Rouge Louisiana - The company is family owned which I like and has been around since 1905 - they are now the 9th biggest paint company int he U.S. with over 40 stores and hundreds of dealers throughout the south - I can say I used PPG and then S.W. for years and neither product can hold a candle to the touch up of Farrell Calhoun- The solid content which aids in coverage is HIGHER then almost all the nationals! The best part is they do very little to no advertising which enables them to sell the paint 10-20.00 per gallon cheaper then other guys! I saved over 400.00 on the last home I did just in material cost alone using the F.C. brand- I will say if you have never tried it you should. My rep in Baton Rouge is jim Chapman - A younger guy in his late thirties i think but is extremely knowledgeable and one of the best reps I ever used - give him a call if your in the baton rouge area I am sure he would be willing to help anyone.


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## Amish Elecvtrician (Jul 3, 2011)

Absolutely - it's real good stuff, comparable to any other 'pro' paint, and better than the box store swill.

Plus, it's something of a bargain ... $27/gal F-C compares well to a $40 S-W.

Farrell-Calhoun is a well established, regional supplier to the Mid-South.


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## SNLPainting (Jul 27, 2012)

*Farrell-Calhoun*

I have been using this paint since about 2000-2001, and became really familiar with it when I started my company in 2003. I used to be a devout Glidden guy (dad used it) in the 90's, and when ICI finally killed the product line we all loved, one of the old Glidden reps got a job w/FC. Offered us 10 free gallons of their 400 line flat to try. We used it in a rental repaint at first and it was identical (almost) to the old Glidden Ultra-Hide, and at the time it was $7/gallon where ICI was up to $9, so we started to switch. Thousands of gallons later I can tell you pretty much anything you want to know about FC. The products remind me of the old, true, Glidden products. Their mid-grade interior flat (400 that I spoke of) is a great rental repaint product, and a fantastic drywall primer, ceiling/closet paint. 300 is their premium flat, which I think is far superior to PM 200 Flat and is on par with Cashmere Flat, $15/gal. Their 370 line is the premium eggshell ($16/gal), and I would say it's a fine paint, too. Doesn't level as well as some of the SW products (PM 200 or Cashmere), but if you know how to use it it looks fantastic and is not as shiny as SW's "Satin/Eg-Shel". 670 Satin is a great commercial paint and I say it compares in quality to SW Super Paint Satin for $17/gallon. 600 S/G is a wonderful trim paint, $18.5/gal. Doesn't level as awesome as Cashmere but is great to spray and brush, and cures pretty hard. I think it's a true "semi-gloss". All of their exterior paints are awesome. Flat, satin, and gloss are all great to spray, brush, and roll, and are about $20, $21, $22, respectively, and I'd say they are superior in quality to Super Paint, more on par with Resilience (although Resilience does brush wonderfully). I did my fascia boards and gutters with 1 coat of primer and 1 coat of gloss in 2000-2001 and repainted them in 2010, which I was satisfied with. Excellent interior semi-gloss oil paint, great industrial oil enamel, too. I used about $30k worth of it last year, and really don't have much to complain about. The last bonus... they have 3 or 4 interior lines and 3 exterior lines, plus their primers and specialty and industrial coatings. Very easy to navigate their products. They carry a full line of Wooster brushes, too, which we love (Alpha!) We'd use more of it, but some customers are just in love with "Sherman Williams"!


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## Zoomer (Dec 17, 2011)

We need this paint in Colorado. Spread the word.


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## Builtmany (Dec 5, 2009)

SNLPainting said:


> but some customers are just in love with "Sherman Williams"!


Another guy that can't spell it and Sherwin and Sherman don't even sound the same.


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