# Regal semi Gloss...garbage!



## KEEGS (Nov 26, 2009)

So, after years of loving Regal Aquaglo...I am definately now a hater. Honestly, I run a small family business..my brother and my son, and we all learned from the best...my father, and we know how to swing a brush, however, with all of our years of developed skills, we just can not maintain our relationship with the very nasty Regal semi gloss. That crap has become the nastiest, ropiest, fastest drying semi on the market. Who field tests this stuff? I will stop the bitching here. All I need from you guys is that question I have read before on this thread, but I am looking for the most current and up to date feedback. What has been your go to semi? Price is not an issue as most of the work is high end here in Ct. Oil is not an option (I wish it was :thumbup the Aura semi is pretty sweet, I keep hearing chatter about SW products. For me it has to be one or the other...BM or SW, California might be an option. I look forward to your responses! Oh and BTW, it needs to spray and brush extremely well. Do any of you remeber the "old Aquaglo?" man, I swear that stuff laid out like satin Impervo! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!


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## BrushJockey (Mar 15, 2009)

I would use either Aura or W/B impervo way before the regal semi. 
I like a splash of agua and a little xim extender, particularly in the Aura, but looks nice, tastes great, less filling! Oh wait...


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## IHATE_HOMEDEPOT (May 27, 2008)

Brush man's thinning recipe works for me as well. I hate brushing latex big time and I am fairly familiar with a brush, it all dries to quick. On the upside it hangs when you spray it. I am glad the manufacturers keep it thick so it will roll on walls right. I swear it is like you have to be part chemist anymore.


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

Aquaglo was always a 'wall' paint, imo. I always thought it chinsy painters used it for trim when semigloss was spec'd. Personally I think it's about the same it's always been.


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## Msargent (Jan 16, 2009)

Floetrol or pick up the pace and dont go back into it I havent had any trouble.


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## Slingah (Sep 24, 2007)

never thought of it a great trim paint.....like plainpainter stated I have always thought of it as a more of a wall paint...


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## ProWallGuy (Apr 7, 2007)

I hear ya loud and clear. For over 10 years my go-to semi trim paint was AquaGlo. I bought it in bulk to use on most jobs, always had extras in my shop at any given moment. I ran out of it in late summer of '08. When I went to buy more, it was the new reformulated 100% version available now.

I tried to paint some doors with it and failed miserably. I thought I got a defective gallon, so went and bought another. Same thing. I dried soooo fast I couldn't roll/tip it at all. I was only trying to roll/tip a 6" square panel on a door, and couldn't do it before the crap froze up. I added some extender to it (which I _never ever_ do) and still couldn't get it to work. I settled for Super Spec semi just to get that job done. I gave away my remaining gallons of the 100% acrylic AquaGlo just month.

I now spec/use the waterborne Impervo for all my trim.


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

You guys are ridiculous - remember back when everyone was saying - I can paint a door in 7 minutes flat - I can paint one side in 6 minutes - oh, I got you beat I can paint one side of a door in 4-1/2 minutes.

Sheesh - I average 12-13 minutes at best, and that's if nothing goes wrong. And I have helped a fellow contractor brush 100% acrylic aquaglo on doors - and I have never had a problem with it. 

Waterborne satin impervo - now that's some tough paint to deal with!


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## Bighead (Nov 28, 2008)

Totally agree, I've been saying it for years that the new Regal sucks. The shine is too much, it's hard to work with and dries way too fast. My go to was the Regal pearl, as soon as the new formula came out I was pissed. I've since switched to Waterbourne Impervo and have had great success with it.


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Sherwin Williams superpaint semi-gloss beats any BM. Try it. I've done new construction jobs by hand, that people thought I sprayed. Great stuff. Forget BM, not worth the money. Superpaint runs me about $21 a gallon after tax.


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## 4ThGeneration (Apr 17, 2007)

I use Murallo Waterborne for all my trim if I can help it. It goes on nice and dries very quick which is good on repaints when you have homeowners trying to follow your work and get it all over their clothes when they lean up against a door or casing. :thumbsup:

Have not used Aqua Glo in years, but it was a good product back then. I know every company "Updates" their products to be formulated for "Optimum" use, but most times it is really a crappy update.


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## deluxe (Nov 30, 2008)

We don't use the Regal semi gloss anymore also.I think that after the reformulation they ruined it. For brushing trim we use PPG Timeless , BM Aura or SW superpaint i like all three .Hope this helps :thumbsup:


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## Outback Painting (Nov 21, 2009)

I'm not too familiar with BM stuff. Are wall talking wall semi or trim paint? If your talking walls, I think SW Cashmere medium Lustre is awesome or for trim and doors go with the SW ProClassic waterborne enamel, sometimes you may need to hit it up with some "speed" (water) but just a touch.


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Muralo Ultra waterbourne


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## wje (Apr 11, 2009)

Would Regal semi be equivlant to our canadian line benjamin moore collection? If so I agree, it is poop.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Try the BEN Semi-gloss. It's very similar tho the old (non 100% acrylic) Aquaglo.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Wow! I never knew drying fast to ever be a problem....the quicker it dries the sooner we are completed.


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## Rick the painter (Mar 30, 2009)

One Coat Coverage said:


> Sherwin Williams superpaint semi-gloss beats any BM. Try it. I've done new construction jobs by hand, that people thought I sprayed. Great stuff. Forget BM, not worth the money. Superpaint runs me about $21 a gallon after tax.


 
Is that right One Coat? Every time i have tried to switch from BM to SW it always was harder to work with than Moores.Also here in Ct. those suckers keep theyre prices right there with BM also.I will give the super another try,the Aquaglo that i just bought is funky.Not only do we have to deal with all this new lead law crap,on top of it our fav. paints are getting ruined or eliminated all together!


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Rick the painter said:


> Is that right One Coat? Every time i have tried to switch from BM to SW it always was harder to work with than Moores.Also here in Ct. those suckers keep theyre prices right there with BM also.I will give the super another try,the Aquaglo that i just bought is funky.Not only do we have to deal with all this new lead law crap,on top of it our fav. paints are getting ruined or eliminated all together!


Build a realationship with SW and show some loyalty and their prices should be nowhere near BM. The only lines that compete pricewise with SW around here as far as BM goes is superspec and under. I will say though that BM ultradeeps are superior to SW. Make sure you use the right stuff. Stay away from all of the proclassic lines. The other guy said to add water, which is what you need to do to that stuff to make it flow good. It is more expensine than superpaint also. I use promar 200 on walls, superpaint on trim, and CHB on ceilings. Try that combo out and you should be good.


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## Rob (Aug 9, 2009)

I like the Sologloss from Sherwin Williams.


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## KEEGS (Nov 26, 2009)

Thanks for all of your responses. And believe me when I tell you I read each and every one! Very interesting to see the variance of products used by patrons of this site. My father, who taught me everything had some simple, great advice as I complained about the reformulating issues. He simply said "Don't stay married to any one product, you have to change and adapt as the products change." He is wise, and pretty much taught me the business. I think if I were to turn him on to this site, I would never get him off of his PC! :thumbup: I feel it is definately time to try some SW products out. They are good people who run the stores locally. We shall see... Anyone ever use the pro mar 200 semi...my brother said he used to love the stuff..just curious.

 This is my first time posting on this site, and I must say that I am impressed with the knowledge within the responses. And the simple fact that many of you are willing to share your expertise and insight. I look forward to many more postings amongst fellow professionals. It's kinda cool.


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## Outback Painting (Nov 21, 2009)

Your Dad sounds like mine, who also taught me most of what I know. I have used ProMar Semi, I wouldn't recommend it when your trying to high end work, but its works fine if you need to bust out a rental property that the owner wants to keep the price down. Not as durable as the ProClassic, which I swear by. 

I have to say also, I thought all painters were are bunch of closed lipped beasts who feared and hated other painters, who only maddog each other when seen face to face, but this website has totally changed my opinion. I'm glad to see that we can all share quality information with each other. I really appreciate the candor. Thanks guys! :thumbsup:


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Yes I have used the 200 semigloss, but the superpaint is far superior. 200 is great for walls though.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

We pretty much use SW for EVERYTHING...Pro Classic is alittle tricky but is the Shiz...can go right over oil with a light sand. Pro Mar is a great upper midgrade for walls. I have swithed to Classic 99 semi-gloss for trim to save a few bucks.


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

I'm gonna try the proclassic over oil you mentioned. Do you thin it at all?


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Some of my guys like to cut it just a smidge, others like it straight.


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

aaron61 said:


> Some of my guys like to cut it just a smidge, others like it straight.


I find you can address the applicability of a product by changing the model of your brush. Purdy has several models like the XL, Elite, Pro-extra - some paints that will make your brush drag like mad using the XL series, will suddenly glide easily once you switch to a different brush like the pro-extra or chinex. And vice versa - using an pro-xtra brush with a 'thin' paint will make the paint come off like a drippy faucet, yet change back to the XL and suddenly it works fine.

I work on changing to the brush model that is most conducive with the product I am using, and so far I haven't had to mess with adding 'extenders' that in my opinion have the potential to mess the original paint chemistry. I am not saying it will - but who knows what kind of surfactant 'package' you are adding to the paint and how it will impact the chemistry of the product you are using. Ever run into problems like a million little bubbles in your paint finish that don't go away? Those are nightmares I like to avoid at all costs. For exteriors I think it's less important - but again if you are painting towards the end of a season, even though the paint goes on fine and all. How do you really know how you are impacting the cross-polymerization ability of the resins especially if the nights are starting to get cool? These problems may not 'surface' for 2 years, then you have peely blistery mess that will make your customers angry - and not easily fixable.


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## tntpainting (Apr 3, 2008)

pro classics latex or waterbase whatever you callit works good goes on real heavy so you need to use a good thick brush . its sets up really fast so watch it for drips


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## Builtmany (Dec 5, 2009)

Regal, yes garbage IMO. A customer last year insisted that we use it and when he saw how it covered so poorly he was told to let me buy paint or pay for 3 coats labor.


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## BrushJockey (Mar 15, 2009)

You guys who throw the waterborne enamels on straight- don't you have lots of problem getting it to level? I have seen no problem in coatings working as they should from adding extender, or even a bit of water to flow out better, but I have definitely had problems using it without. 
Not a chemist, but I have doubts that the material is hurt too seriously by a little easier flow.


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## Rick the painter (Mar 30, 2009)

After buying my last quart of Aquaglue for metal doors,i started a new job with SW Super semi gloss white.I have to say its awesome,real easy to use and covers great.I know where i will be buying my trim paint in the future.I cant believe BM has trashed theyre semi gloss,what were they thinking?


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Rick the painter said:


> After buying my last quart of Aquaglue for metal doors,i started a new job with SW Super semi gloss white.I have to say its awesome,real easy to use and covers great.I know where i will be buying my trim paint in the future.I cant believe BM has trashed theyre semi gloss,what were they thinking?


Now you're talking:yes:


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## LOSTinDETAILS (Jun 17, 2009)

BrushJockey said:


> You guys who throw the waterborne enamels on straight- don't you have lots of problem getting it to level? I have seen no problem in coatings working as they should from adding extender, or even a bit of water to flow out better, but I have definitely had problems using it without.
> Not a chemist, but I have doubts that the material is hurt too seriously by a little easier flow.


For me not getting to far ahead with my stroke helps me keep a wet edge. They can be a bear but, I really like how durable they are.


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## papernpaste (Dec 10, 2009)

I know this is a late post but, my excuse is: "I just joined." I thought that I would chime in on this month-old thread. I'vetried just about all of the semi-glosses in the Delaware area and I can feel ya, regarding Regal Aqua-glo but, it's not a trim...like the other poster said. BM Waterborne Satin Impervo is my fav because it levels so well. It takes some getting used to because, although it sets very quickly, you have to get just the right amount on the surface to get the best, "leveled" look and, yet, just a bit too much will droop at the corners. But, with a bit of practice, it's the sh$%!!! Another thing that is piculiar about it is that you CANNOT go back over an area that you brushed out, a minute ago. You have to lay it on, spead it out to the thickness you think will set without drooping and then, ignore it until tomorrow. You gotta get it right or wipe it all of with a wet rag or leave it 24-36 hours. The only other down side of this stuff is that IMO it doesn't really cure to a "hard" finish like you would hope a "newer technology" paint would or should. It does turn out "smoooth," though...for sure. If you like that "brush-stroke-less, glassy-smooth finish in a semi and hardness, once cured isn't a major issue, then BM Waterborn Satin Impervo (Silver and Green Label) is my choice...for what its worth.


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## Bighead (Nov 28, 2008)

Regal Aquablo


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Try the BEN semi-gloss


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## Masterpiece (Feb 26, 2008)

One Coat Coverage said:


> I'm gonna try the proclassic over oil you mentioned. Do you thin it at all?


I was given a gallon of Pro Classic last year and so I used it on some doors and trim as an experiment. I wanted to try them in the worst case scenario so I brushed it over some doors/trim that were painted in lacquer. I didn't clean or sand anything, just painted over and was very impressed w/the coverage, hide and leveling. I also didn't thin or add anything to the paint.

It looked sprayed on and within a few hours, could barely be scratched w/your nails. Of course, full curing would take longer.

This wasn't on a job but just on some spare doors and trim as a trial run. I also like using Superpaint for int/ext work as well.

Jeremy


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## SWPainterTC (Jan 14, 2010)

What is Sologloss? I've never heard of this SW product. I us SW product in MA


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## friskypainter (Mar 12, 2010)

Ok, here's my latest. I'm doing a job now continuing with supplied BM regal semi gloss. One in a pastel base, a deeper off white, one in a white base AF-20 "Mascarpone White". I promised myself not to bash products but I must vent this out. I would have had better results using Elmer's White Glue than this product. BM should promote it as "A Multi-Sheen Capable Paint". I have achieved through 2 coats what seems to be a flat, satin, and semi finish on all of the base, crown and doors. Ugh! It was like glue straight out the can, pulling and dragging, so I added a bit of floetrol and water, and now it seemed to dry even quicker and it lost all HIDING CAPABILITY! My bad. I'm F...ed! Now I have done 3 coats over an "antique white" and I still see through it. This product should be removed from the market and I hope a BM rep. reads this review. It is unconceivable that this company put out such a poor performing product. I truly love my BM Aura Satin, and miss it dearly on this job. You don't know what you miss until they take it away from you, eh? Wake up BM!
frisky.


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