Tips for Choosing Quality Paint

Walk down the paint aisle of any hardware store and you will find three or four price points for what looks like the same colour in the same size can. The difference is real, and it shows up about two years later.

What you are actually paying for

Better paint contains more pigment and better resin. That buys you three things: it covers in fewer coats, it holds its colour longer under UV, and it forms a film that survives being washed. Cheap paint does none of those well, which is why it usually ends up costing more — in extra coats, in extra labour, and in repainting sooner.

Match the product to the surface

There is no single best paint. The right choice depends on where it is going:

• Interior walls: a washable matt or eggshell. Matt hides imperfections in the plaster; eggshell is easier to clean in hallways and kids' rooms.
• Kitchens and bathrooms: a product that stands up to steam, grease and regular wiping. This is not the place to save money.
• Exterior walls: something formulated for sun and humidity. In central Florida, UV and rain do more damage than temperature does.
• Trim, doors and cabinets: a hard, durable enamel. These surfaces get touched, knocked and opened every single day.
• Ceilings: a flat finish. Nobody looks at a ceiling, and flat paint hides the imperfections that a shiny finish would highlight.

The sheen question

As a rule: the higher the sheen, the more durable and the more it shows every flaw in the surface underneath. Shiny paint on a badly prepared wall is a magnifying glass. If the wall is not straight, flat is your friend.

Two things that matter more than the brand

First, preparation. No paint on the market sticks to a dirty, glossy or damp surface. Second, primer. Going straight to topcoat over bare drywall, bare wood or a colour change is the most common way to end up needing three coats of expensive paint to do a job that two coats of cheap paint plus primer would have done better.

If you are not sure what your walls need, that is a perfectly reasonable question to ask when you get an estimate. We would rather answer it than come back in a year.