# General Paint



## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

I was just curious as to how every 1 here thought about general paints and why. Dont mean to start a flame war at all. Just asking because i switched them a year ago and love them. Yet a lot of people seem to have issues with them


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## Phinnster (Feb 20, 2013)

All I kmow about general is that they make a ton of companies paints relabeled ?
Do they have their own labeled brand 
?


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## TrueColors (Jul 30, 2010)

General paint is a Canadian company and is also manufactured in Canada. It was recently bought out by sherwin Williams. 

I used general paint for years before switching to ben moore. They have there place and have some good products. I specifically use breeze interior flat on all my ceilings due to its extremely easy workability and it dries dead flat. I've had ok experiences with their top line private estate. The Hp 2000 is ok as well. Eggshell hi-hide is ok too, but durability is crap.

General has "some" good products like I mentioned about the breeze flat. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Danahy (Dec 11, 2008)

I buy a lot of sundry items but not their paint. They have huge amounts of paint sitting on shelving in the back warehouse. Nothing upfront, to read or learn about however. They might have some good stuff, but how would anyone know?


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

AlphaWolf said:


> I was just curious as to how every 1 here thought about general paints and why. Dont mean to start a flame war at all. Just asking because i switched them a year ago and love them. Yet a lot of people seem to have issues with them


GP is garbage. There 'quality' paints don't cover worth a damn, there exterior products break down WAY to fast abd flash like crazy. The only product they have that's worth a damn is hi hide, abd it's only good for new construction and blow and go's. 


TrueColors said:


> General paint is a Canadian company and is also manufactured in Canada. It was recently bought out by sherwin Williams.
> 
> I used general paint for years before switching to ben moore. They have there place and have some good products. I specifically use breeze interior flat on all my ceilings due to its extremely easy workability and it dries dead flat. I've had ok experiences with their top line private estate. The Hp 2000 is ok as well. Eggshell hi-hide is ok too, but durability is crap.
> 
> ...


Not sure when exactly it happened but about 6-8 years ago the Mexicans bought it. The funny thing is when Sherwin bought Comex GP was more of a throw in.


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

So far in my opinion general paints is my favorite paint/store i have used. I have used SW Benny moore Glidden Para so far. Thx for the feed back every 1 interesting to get every ones opinions and why.


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## Huntercoatings (Aug 16, 2013)

I'm glad you have a paint store you really like as well as their products. A company here that was part of the comex group with GP is Kwal paint. They have 1 product that no one can match the quality for the price. I really like the paint, but the service is not very good. I'm sure general treats you well, their private estate paint seems like it's nice, Have you used it?


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

I do not have any problems with General Paint other than
i think some lines I like more than others.
It's the same as anything else, 
some people say Benjamin Moore is crap, Dulux is crap, SW, PPG is crap.
My opinion is, a good painter should be able to make a first or second line
of any manufacturer work.
Personal preferences aside of course.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

George Z said:


> I do not have any problems with General Paint other than
> i think some lines I like more than others.
> It's the same as anything else,
> some people say Benjamin Moore is crap, Dulux is crap, SW, PPG is crap.
> ...


I agree for the most part. I can make GP, or Cloverdale look good I just don't like the longevity of them. For example I painted a house 6 years ago using weathergaurd. Still looks great, then iI painted a house in Cloverdales weather one. Finished nicely, but a year later it looks like bunk.


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

Huntercoatings said:


> their private estate paint seems like it's nice, Have you used it?


Yes i have. I don't mind it but it was ok i don't use it any more. Does not cover very well to shiny. Also does something i call fish scaling. I'm not sure if me saying prices is OK or not so if its wrong please forgive me. Here is my 2 cents over all on all paints and on GP specifically

1, No Paint supplier sucks. None of them 0. Think of it like a car dealership. If you go buy the top of the line say Honda of course it better than the lowest grade car they make. Same as paint Oh i used this paint from this supplier now they suck. Just not true at all. Every company has bad as well as good products. Now that's out of the way lets compare in my personal opinion so NO THIS IS NOT FACT lol use ur flames some here else. 

SW BM the 2 main companies in my honest opinion for paint. BM is number 1 known paint. As all home owner Non Pros know of it. They say its the best paint going. Well just not true. Marketing. If its the only paint you ever really used or known about than of course its the best to you. SW falls in the same category but just to real painter and contractors in my opinion. Do BM and SW make great products? You bet you ass they do. Is it worth the 30-45 dollars a gallon. Well to me no not at all. Here are the paints i use from general paints and why as well as the cost.

1 Primer-Baseline Hi;Hide primer. Price $12 a gallon $48 a 5er.
Honestly best primer i have ever used. Finish a large ceiling in 1 spray coat from bare board. complete. Tinted to finish almost any product in my list will cover in 1 coat as well. also sands smooth like warm butter. 

2 HP 2000 : Price 24 gal $125 5er
Over all very strong hard paint. Interior exterior. Dries fast 30 min to touch. Not self priming tho.

3 Monamel: $23 gal $120 5er Melamine enamel. really just a oil hybrid. Common use wood trim. Even used it in eggshell for a tim hortons walls. Self levels goes insanely hard. Cabinet grade hard. interior/exterior.

4 Enviroguard. $ 30 gal $150 5er Self priming DTM waterborne. Fast dry all sheen's and colors. No VOC. Steel doors and frames. Used on Tim Hortons walls as well. Very hard. Can coat a bare steel door and in under 15 min sand it and re-coat. 

5 General Hi-Hide Low luster eggshell. $19 gal $94 5er My pride and joy. Self priming. Will seal a wall better than any primer. As priming and sealing are 2 different animals. 1 coat sanded as a primer than 1 top coat and your done over 90 percent of time. Only had to do 3 coats in a stairwell with a lot of windows. Dries less sheen than a eggshell just over a flat. Yet just as hard and durable as any Eggshell i have used. Even say emerald or duration from SW. Also in 2 coats hides all wall imperfections perfectly. 

6 Monocoat $28 gal $140 Exact same info as Hi-Hide Low Luster. Only a little more in the shiny side for eggshell but its interior exterior and much harder than low luster. More of a commercial use imo.

I have used more and can go on and on. If any 1 has any items or question feel free to ask. Or how i feel a product compares to another company. This is all my opinion of course. But as far as quality for price these product just cant be beat.


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## PRECISIONVANCOUVER (Apr 15, 2013)

TrueColors said:


> General paint is a Canadian company and is also manufactured in Canada. It was recently bought out by sherwin Williams.
> 
> I used general paint for years before switching to ben moore. They have there place and have some good products. I specifically use breeze interior flat on all my ceilings due to its extremely easy workability and it dries dead flat. I've had ok experiences with their top line private estate. The Hp 2000 is ok as well. Eggshell hi-hide is ok too, but durability is crap.
> 
> ...


I enjoy using their oil based paints... although they only come in limited colors their benefit is superior quality...


Couple years ago General Paint was the only paint I used for interior and exterior jobs but now I switched over to Benjamin Moore.


I find that their paint is the best over all... Because I stopped being cheap and bucked up and use the Regal paint... Its thicker... so less mess and better coverage...

its $53 a gallon with the contractors price... I would get the general paint breeze interior paint for something like $23 a gallon... that's a big price difference but the quality is a BIG improvement...


That's why I switched over... and also I find clients prefer if you tell them that you use Benjamin Moore because their reputation is of a higher standard


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

My only problem with BM is they have next to 0 commercial and industrial produts. Which i use quite frequently. Even on people cabinets hehe. Also as far as breeze i dont use it. Breeze to me is mid range paint. I only use top tier paint my self. General hi-hide low luster eggshell sounds about the same as your Regal a thick well covering paint. Yet i pay 19 a gallon. Covers almost anything in 2 coats. Hard enough for commercial use.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

AlphaWolf said:


> My only problem with BM is they have next to 0 commercial and industrial produts. Which i use quite frequently. Even on people cabinets hehe. Also as far as breeze i dont use it. Breeze to me is mid range paint. I only use top tier paint my self. General hi-hide low luster eggshell sounds about the same as your Regal a thick well covering paint. Yet i pay 19 a gallon. Covers almost anything in 2 coats. Hard enough for commercial use.


Hi - hide is a cheap low sheen eggshell made for new construction. I love it because it covers nicely, and touches up great, but isn't worth it when you get anything more than a splash and dash, or a new commercial property. It mares just as easily as breeze flat.


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

AlphaWolf said:


> My only problem with BM is they have next to 0 commercial and industrial produts. Which i use quite frequently. Even on people cabinets hehe. Also as far as breeze i dont use it. Breeze to me is mid range paint. I only use top tier paint my self. General hi-hide low luster eggshell sounds about the same as your Regal a thick well covering paint. Yet i pay 19 a gallon. Covers almost anything in 2 coats. Hard enough for commercial use.


Between Benjamin Moore and their Coronado, what line are you missing? Next to no commercial paint?


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

sorry maybe commercial was wrong work. More industrial. Like xylene and toluene based products.


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

also i have used hi hide alot. Does not mar easy for me at all. I can rub the we wall as hard as i want even scratch it with my finger nail and it does nothing. i also prime with its self. Im doing some painting today with it as well as with monocoat ill take some videos and show you the durability. Than ill try and figure out how to upload them on the forums lol.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

journeymanPainter said:


> GP is garbage. There 'quality' paints don't cover worth a damn, there exterior products break down WAY to fast abd flash like crazy. The only product they have that's worth a damn is hi hide, abd it's only good for new construction and blow and go's.
> 
> Not sure when exactly it happened but about 6-8 years ago the Mexicans bought it. The funny thing is when Sherwin bought Comex GP was more of a throw in.


I'm with you there for the most part. 

General Paint used to be my favorite go-to brand. They had excellent quality products, good prices and great service. 

Then they were sold to Frazee. Their quality dropped. 

Then they were sold to Sherwin Williams. We no longer use any of their paints. 

The HP line has gone from a quality commercial product to a spattery, watery concoction hardly worthy of the distinction of being called a paint. I can't comment on the breeze line as I haven't used it in quite some time. I too used to love it for ceilings as it was dead flat but now i'm not sure i'd bother trying it. 

We switched over to cloverdale - they have a full lineup of products from basic builders paints to excellent architectural paints and high quality industrial coatings - kind of like GP used to have.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

Rcon said:


> I'm with you there for the most part.
> 
> General Paint used to be my favorite go-to brand. They had excellent quality products, good prices and great service.
> 
> ...


I'm not a big fan of Cloverdale either. I don't like how there interior paint performs, and there DTMs don't fully bond(I had 3 doors 'fail' on me a few years ago). There weather one product on exteriors is great for applications, I just don't like how it fades/etc


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

journeymanPainter said:


> I'm not a big fan of Cloverdale either. I don't like how there interior paint performs, and there DTMs don't fully bond(I had 3 doors 'fail' on me a few years ago). There weather one product on exteriors is great for applications, I just don't like how it fades/etc


We've had a couple of issues with their DTM as well. Needs to be sprayed (looks like crap when brushed/rolled), and on galvanized its very important to do a good SP 1 clean before applying it. Ecologic, renaissance, weather one all great products. Super and Super 2 are good for basic NC or commercial. They also have a really good lineup of primers. Their Armor Shield urethane is awesome for industrial - but wear your tyvek lol. 

If we did any residential work i'd probably use some BM as well, but as it is we do strictly commercial/industrial so Cloverdale has everything we need.


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