# Emerald vs Aura Exterior?



## 804 Paint (Jan 31, 2014)

I'm bidding on a whole house exterior and want to go with either Aura or Emerald because I am promoting longevity of the finished product. I have used Aura only on items such as deep red doors for the coverage and thought it was excellent paint, but have never used it on an entire exterior. I can get Aura for $53 and Emerald for $45 (special "test drive" promotion), but given that Aura goes further per gallon according to the TDS the total price difference is negligible. How do the two paints compare application and coverage-wise? SW rep says Emerald is designed to be a one-coat paint (given the wet mil thickness and 250-300/sft coverage), but I told him I'm not considering this because I am doing a whole-house prime. 

This will be a late August job so I imagine it will be quite hot if that weighs into your post. Also will be applied via roller/brush.


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## richmondpainting (Feb 24, 2012)

My first question is why would you prime ? Smoke damage? 

And two why would cheaper paints not give you "longevity" ? 

More expensive paints cover better typically but that is the only reason I could see using expensive stuff.....

I just used blue...purple and orange duration and it was horrible...3 coats....why wouldn't I use pro Mar 200 if that's the results....more than half the price.....same results....


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## GSP82 (Feb 20, 2014)

I think Aura is the best paint and the SW Rep telling you Emerald is designed for one coat is pretty funny


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## mudbone (Dec 26, 2011)

GSP82 said:


> Aura all day everyday and SW Rep telling you Emerald is designed for one coat is pretty funny


Agree never happen!:no:


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Yeah. Aura, and why full prime? Just another layer on top of layers. Waste of time and not helpful, unless it is a totally unprimed, bare wood exterior....


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## PaintPerfect (Sep 19, 2013)

Our experience with Emerald was that it didnt really come close to Aura. It didn't cover as well, it didn't finish as well, and anything but the lightest colors picture framed pretty bad. We tried different techniques, and different types of roller sleeves, but it all finished the same way...we stopped trying to work with it early last year, so they may have worked some of those issues...


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## 804 Paint (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks. Sounds like a few of you think I'm talking about an interior repaint (smoke damage and picture framing referenced). The full prime will be Mad Dog primer over a paint job that is peeling, cracking and alligatoring. This is the perfect project to try this primer on, and if we are paying $65 for the primer, might as well go all the way to the top with the paint line. 

House will be pressure washed and all loose paint scraped/sanded away (for anyone that thinks I might be trying to avoid this with Mad Dog).

As a side note, I I have used Emerald interior and I like it quite a bit. The scrubability is something to behold.


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## richmondpainting (Feb 24, 2012)

804 Paint said:


> Thanks. Sounds like a few of you think I'm talking about an interior repaint (smoke damage and picture framing referenced). The full prime will be Mad Dog primer over a paint job that is peeling, cracking and alligatoring. This is the perfect project to try this primer on, and if we are paying $65 for the primer, might as well go all the way to the top with the paint line.
> 
> House will be pressure washed and all loose paint scraped/sanded away (for anyone that thinks I might be trying to avoid this with Mad Dog).
> 
> ...


A-100 all day......


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## Twpaint (Jul 10, 2014)

Don't forget Resilience. Lifetime warranty on the paint. And shines BRIGHT on the exterior


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

GSP82 said:


> I think Aura is the best paint and the SW Rep telling you Emerald is designed for one coat is pretty funny


The literature pertaining to Emerald and Duration only claims one-coat coverage if painting over the same color. The SW rep doesn't know this?


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## HD painting (May 27, 2013)

I'm mainly an SW guy but have used interior aura. It's great! Slight learning curve but good for sure. I just used emerald exterior and I think it good but I sprayed it. Any good coating should cover in 1 coat if you spray it. You will never get that wet mils with a brush. Interior emerald I wasn't blow away by. I'm sure exterior aura is sweet. Can't go wrong with superpaint!


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## goodasgoldpainting (Jan 28, 2014)

Emerald is a horrible paint for the price. Go with resilience. Goes on nice, leaves a great finish and holds up.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Twpaint said:


> Don't forget Resilience. Lifetime warranty on the paint. And shines BRIGHT on the exterior


Its a great paint in that $40 price range, I really like it for jobs where you don't need a lot of build.


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## richmondpainting (Feb 24, 2012)

straight_lines said:


> Its a great paint in that $40 price range, I really like it for jobs where you don't need a lot of build.


I pay $32...still to expensive. .... a-100 all day unless I'm trying to one coat it....


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

The only downside of the high quality paints is they may both pull more against the underlying coatings during curing. Hopefully the Mad Dog will help lessen this. 

I've never used Emerald but used lots of Aura exterior. Typically when doing a same color exterior repaint. Just finished a new Remodel with 094 primer over new cedar followed by 2 coats Aura. All roll & brush. Looked great. That should last a few years...

Aura goes very far. Buy less than you think you need at first. Unless you want an extra 5'er or 2 of $55 gallon paint lying around in a color you'll probably never use again. 
It's been our go-to front door paint for a couple years, tho just had a bubbling problem over a varnished door. 



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## Exactoman (Mar 28, 2013)

I know you can be tempted with some of these test drive price schemes, and I've heard emerald is a blend between the smoothness and flow of resilience and the durability and coverage of duration, but even with the test drive I don't see the rational for 45$ a gallon. I got duration on a test drive for 23$ a gallon and I liked it much better than resilience. With the right amount of extender the paint flowed smooth and covered amazingly. If you are already priming, a paint like duration in my book is the best value from sherwin williams. 
As for ben moore, sure their aura has got name recognition, but I must say, for the flow ability and super adhesion, you can't go wrong with their product called moore glow. It has just a slight bit of aklyd added to the formula which really adds to its adhesion and beautiful finish.
That's my piece!


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## rocco92 (Aug 10, 2007)

I just purchased one gallon of Emerald exterior for an aluminum garage door. It was already painted and the existing coat was sound so I did not prime. I sanded the surface then washed it down with water only. I waited for the sun to pass before I started painting. I never used Emerald, always Ben Moore products. I paid $67 for a gallon. As soon as I opened the can I noticed it was very thick, like pudding. It was pretty difficult to cut with, even on a smooth surface because it didn't spread too far. After three days drying, it feels soft, like I can mar it with my finger nail. That might be normal, not sure but I had no problems in many years with Aura.


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## Exactoman (Mar 28, 2013)

Rocco, did you use extender?


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## Paint Pro CA (Jun 17, 2014)

If I had to choose between Aura and Emerald I would go Aura for sure. That being said I have not used Emerald exterior but it was a huge let down as an interior paint especially considering the price point.


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## 804 Paint (Jan 31, 2014)

SemiproJohn said:


> The literature pertaining to Emerald and Duration only claims one-coat coverage if painting over the same color. The SW rep doesn't know this?


To be fair, he wasn't recommending I prime and 1-coat. I was asking him about the coverage on the TDS…only 250-300. I was asking how difficult it was to brush it out to broaden the coverage since I was putting on two coats no mater what. That's when he said it was designed to be a 1-coat paint. 

Would any of you consider Emerald to be a high build paint by default?



Exactoman said:


> I know you can be tempted with some of these test drive price schemes, and I've heard emerald is a blend between the smoothness and flow of resilience and the durability and coverage of duration, but even with the test drive I don't see the rational for 45$ a gallon. I got duration on a test drive for 23$ a gallon and I liked it much better than resilience. With the right amount of extender the paint flowed smooth and covered amazingly. If you are already priming, a paint like duration in my book is the best value from sherwin williams.
> As for ben moore, sure their aura has got name recognition, but I must say, for the flow ability and super adhesion, you can't go wrong with their product called moore glow. It has just a slight bit of aklyd added to the formula which really adds to its adhesion and beautiful finish.
> That's my piece!


I appreciate the info. I've used MooreGlo and MooreGuard extensively, but I have yet to use Duration exterior. How much extender are you adding to a fiver? I've heard it can be like glue. 

Like I mentioned, since the HOs are shelling out for Mad Dog, I figured I'd go with the top shelf stuff for paint. I trust most of BM's products but am a little gun-shy of SW, which is funny since the majority of my own home is painted interiorly with SW (Cashmere, Duration, Emerald, ProClassic). 



Paint Pro CA said:


> If I had to choose between Aura and Emerald I would go Aura for sure. That being said I have not used Emerald exterior but it was a huge let down as an interior paint especially considering the price point.


I was a bit prematurely disappointed with Emerald interior (matte) but I love it now. It's in my kitchen and the sheen is perfect (as is the color, Austere Grey). I have small kids and it has already seen strange black greasy stuff, blackberry fingers and crusted over spaghetti. It has cleaned up beautifully with a rag wetted with Simple Green. I also changed out a bathroom fixture which left a holiday and it touched up seamlessly. Love it.


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## thinkpainting/nick (Dec 25, 2012)

804 Paint said:


> To be fair, he wasn't recommending I prime and 1-coat. I was asking him about the coverage on the TDS…only 250-300. I was asking how difficult it was to brush it out to broaden the coverage since I was putting on two coats no mater what. That's when he said it was designed to be a 1-coat paint.
> 
> Would any of you consider Emerald to be a high build paint by default?
> 
> ...


Used MD on a big exterior last year with Emerald as topcoat . It's nothing like Aura but the proof will be in the pudding as the years go by see how it holds up.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

You could say Emerald is a 'high build coating', at least in the sense that its designed to be applied at a thicker mil (5.3-6.4), and has a higher solids content than a lot of paints. Not as thick as Duration, but thicker than your average house paint. 

Aura and Emerald have similar solids contents and spread rates. And both can do a nice one coat job on a repaint, provided they are applied within specified thicknesses. Shouldn't be too hard to stretch better footage out of the Emerald if that's what you want to do. Average brush and roller application ins't likely to be anywhere near 5.3 anyway.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

I've used Emerald exterior before, been at least a year, customer supplied it. But, I spec'd it on a quick one day job, or three hours it actually took for eight shutters and a front door that I used Solo semi on. It was a really dark, ultradeep, purplish blue "black swan". I spec'd two coats as the HO wanted maximum durability. Same color as before, but going over the original crappy builder flat. I was hot in partial sun, and dried so fast. In the shade it worked like a dream. One coat was, eh ok, you could see the brush & roll marks up close but not from the ground, these were all second story. The second coat made all the difference, looked nice. Still not a product worth the money IMHO, even at $50 on the "test drive" promo. I need to use some Aura exterior to compare, I know my price is $53 for exterior flat, and if what Damon says is true, that it spreads farther then expected, I might switch from Duration on my higher end jobs.


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## two fingers (Sep 28, 2014)

Regular masking tape and blue tape does not stick to emearld. Green works but thats $$. Aura or duration all day

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