Howdy,

I am looking for opinions on the best kind of wall paint to buy.

We are re-painting old walls and painting new walls.

I am going to prime everything with a vapor barrier primer from Benjamin Moore (The only latex vapor barrier primer I could find), so that I can get a uniform base coat.

I am going to use a Wagner Paint Crew paint sprayer so that it will be more quick and hopefully provide better coverage.

In the past, we have used Behr and Pratt & Lampert paints and have good luck. We typically paint the walls in a satin finish as they are easier to keep clean (2 young kids)

I was reading about Cermic paints and wondered if anyone has tried them.

Thanks as always for your help.

Dan

My mum is a pro at interior design and find that paint with a Matt finish is always best. But considering you have kids then a satin finish is quite appropriate.

I don't think my mum has tried ceramic paints - I cannot say I am too familiar with them myself either.

Paint branding has become quite tricky these days. The truth is, many brands are made by one company. Yes, Behr is good - and so are the others.
Ralph Lauren even has paint nowadays.

The best paint in all of the major players lines - even good old Sherwin Williams - are all going to be very, very close; as far as quality goes.

Proper preparation, including the good primer - along with top of the line paint of a major brand name - is going to leave you thrilled for years.

[This I got from my buddy, a Pittsburgh Paints Regional Manager, earlier this year]

''[This I got from my buddy, a Pittsburgh Paints Regional Manager, earlier this year]''

Hummmmm! Somebody that works for a major paint company recommends using a major brand? The first 10 years I was out of school I worked a chemist at a paint company. I was more into automotive and industrial finishes rather than house paint. Still I do know some things in addition to my personal experience.

Several years ago anticipating a move, my wife and I did a bunch of painting. We started with some Sears stuff she bought. The ceiling took 2 coats and avoiding lap marks was tough. Going on to some other rooms, I decided to slap on cheap stuff from Big Lots on. One heavy coat did fine and much easier to work with. We didn't move and years later it looks better than the Sears stuff.

Look at the label. Go with the highest percentage of titanium dioxide or TiO2 you find. In a white or pastel, that usually is the biggest factor in how well it covers. If the label doesn't give the composition, go with a brand with less to hide.

I used a vapor barrier paint on some of my ceilings I thought came from Sherwin William's, but it could have been Benjamin Moore. It appeared to be a pigmented shellac. I left it exposed on the ceiling as a flat white. Did a couple of bathroom ceilings recently and wanted semi gloss. I thought if I had to put another coat on it, I would just use shellac. I could buy a small can of it, and it goes bad if not use up soon. Semi gloss latex doesn't spread right over shellac. I am not sure it sticks right either, but at least ceilings get very little wear and tear.