So I’m under contract for another 3 family. Just wondering what types of paint most people use. I’ve used cheap paint in the past and have regretted it. Now I’m leaning more toward Benjamin Moore Aura or Sherwin William’s Duration but it’s probably overkill for a rental. Probably nice to only have to do one or two coats max though and if you pay more for paint, you’re supposed to save it on labor which is typically a lot more than the paint. I’m trying to figure out if there’s a middle ground. Most of the painting contractors seem to hate Behr or Lowes type paints. I do sorta believe that there’s something to it as they hate callbacks if they use an inferior paint or if it takes too long.
I like Sherwin Williams. Many painting contractors will tell you that the brand doesn’t matter, but the quality does. You can buy 5 year paint or 25 year paint. I suppose it could depend on how long you want to hold the property.
Remember in February, you may need to buy paints rated for lower temperatures if you are painting in an environment that is less than 50 degrees.
I have tried most of the different paint brands and have found that the WalMart paint is at least as good as the expensive paint. I now only use paint from WalMart and have been very happy with it.
I would not waste your money putting expensive anything in a rental. You certainly don’t have to worry about the life of the paint in rentals, they normally need to be repainted every tenant or two anyway. Ditto carpet, cabinets, fixtures, appliances, etc. None of these things have a normal lifespan in rentals - tenants are VERY hard on rentals.
Mike
I remember reading a Consumer’s Report article regarding house paint (indoor and outdoor, IIRC) and Home Depot’s house brand was rated “Best Value” (I forget the exact brand name). I use Glidden from Home Depot. Its a little cheaper and seems to cover just as well and holds up well also. I use it in my personal residence as well as my rentals and flips.
jmd_forest
Paint money can stretch a lot further if you rag paint. Say you have some dirty, scratched white walls.
Scrub off the worst stains with a little cleaner and water.
Take a 5-gallon bucket and dump in a gallon can of yellow or tan paint.
Now add 3 paint cans full of water and mix.
Grab an old T-shirt, dip it in the paint mix, rub it on the wall.
It’s best to start in a closet or behind the couch to get your technique.
Put much less paint on transition areas like just below the ceiling edge.
This gives a warm, cozy look as the white underlayer shines through. The irregular paint smears/blotches fool the eye and cover up imperfections. Dirt will show much less. It will look custom and last longer than flat overall paint. It will smell fresh and be very cheap and fast to do. If you mess up, well, you can just paint over it with a brush or roller.
This is a high-end look. My bank just paint someone megabucks to re-do their interior in this faux technique. Any gorilla could do it. This is the ONLY way to do a very rough surface wall, as the paint will go into the cracks and bumps and look even more custom and vintage. You don’t need to fill the cracks!
Have fun.
Furnishedowner
well This topic happens to be right up my ally 
haveing owner a paintinfg and contracting Business sense 1989
I think I have tried every brand of paint out in the market
You didn’t say what you were painting? interior or exterior
so here the run down> If you want serious paint try Valspar
but it kindof pricey
In all my rentals and paint rehab for Hire we use mostly Gliden
You will find alot of pro contractors use it as well
as for trim & Doors Oil will out perform everything for years to come
also Gliden
exterior you can use gliden for a good 5-10 year job
if you want serious time out of exterior SW Super paint is top shelf and will last for 15-20 years
of course prep work needs to be done right regardless of what paint you put up
But I would say try Gliden on for size I think you’ll be happy with the product and cost
I’ll tell you this slao the paint you buy at depot and lowes even of the same mane is Not the same quaility
I buy Gliden from paint stores that is much better then the stuff I get at depot
But the depot stuff is fine for rentals
Lets face it the tenants will screw it up faster than the paint will fail > LOL
to save money use ceiling paint as primer and buy it in 5 gal buckets
its actually better than the normal primer and will get you to finish coat much faster
I will say this I have painted 100’s of homes with Gliden and have never had an issue of recall to fix anything!
Just my Two cents
Oh, I’m painting the interior, the exterior has vinyl siding. There’s a couple of other forums like paint talk, contractor talk and those guys hate Behr which is the paint at home depot. I actually used the Gliden paint before from home depot, but used the flat paint and the reason I didn’t like it was that if you get a little dirt on it, it just doesn’t wash at all. Maybe part of my past problem was using a flat paint instead of an eggshell or satin finish. Also my thoughts on getting Aura paint which is about $47 a gallon on the contractor rate was that it can coat everything in one coat if the colors aren’t too extreme, two coats max so I thought that maybe it’d make a difference, pay extra on the paint and save it in labor. It’s also supposed to be self priming so you don’t need to use primer. It’s been out for the last two years and is also a low voc paint. The previous owner had some bright yellows, blues, browns etc that might require several coats. Trim I always use a semi-gloss and it seems to hold up fine. What’s everyone’s favorite color anyway? I’ve typically used a linen white. Might go with some other lighter earth tones though.
I’m told Walmart paint is also made by S.W. so it might be as good, but SW has several different lines of paint, I don’t think it’s equivalent to Duration, but maybe superpaint.
For cheap paint, check the “OOPs!” paint at Home Depot. It’s $5.00/gallon here. Also other hardware stores sometimes have mis-mixed paint that they sell cheaply. You can thin these colors with cheap white to get something pleasing.
Furnishedowner
Gliden Makes a washable Flat that stands up pretty good
Eggshell I use ,as well as satin
The opps paint is good> But i usualy dont get it because I like neutral colors for rentals and they always make the opps so dark.
as for touch up > flat works out best so they get markes on the walls keep your left over paint on site to each unit where it wont freeze
when tenant moves out just touch up the marks
it doesn’t flash like semi gloss so you can get away with it.
Find a sales rep from Sherwin Williams, give them a volume of paint you expect to use and have them quote you the property management series. I pay like $40 per 5 gallon bucket and it is better than Walmart paint which you can get for about the same price.
ABS,
I just had a completely different experience w/ Valspar paint. My wife and I used that to paint our bedroom. We used tinted primer first then two coats of Valspar. We still had tons of thin spots on walls even after that. Granted we’re rolling it and not spraying it, but I’m staying away from Valspar from now on. When I did commercial painting during my college years, we always used Glidden w/ good results.
I think when it’s your own home, you’re better off using a good paint like Benjamin Moore’s Aura line. You should be able to find it for about $47 a gallon, I think that was the lowest allowed price a few months ago. While it does mention it has one coat self priming abilities, it’s really a two coat max paint. I think the only complaints about the paint is the cost. I’ve heard of several other different brands of paint where you end up doing multiple coats of paint. I think the other issue is when you paint, it can be difficult in the summer with high humidity and also good wall prep is also important.
I am just finishing a job up on a house that we had used Valspar paint. We are painting over an off white paint using a much darker color. We have found the same problem with coverage. I can still see the white coming through in many places. I had a simular issue with Behr paint as well, also had problems with shading between to 5 gallon buckets. At any rate I have discovered this the hard way and doubled our time for painting and the cost as well.
I have discoverd that best bang for the buck for me was either Dunn Edwards or Sherwin Williams. It will cost you more but covers most the time on the first coat. The money you save in labor or your personal time is enough to convence me. Not too mention the extra trips to the store for more paint too for the second coat.
Note: With Dunn Edwards they have 3 grades of paint, I have been told the 2 will work great for most anything you want to paint, but you have the other grade just in case…
Another note: If you choose white for your color, try not to select the Ultra White, Bright White colors… almost all brands will require more than one coat. Use an off white color like antique white or my favorite for trim now is Dunn Edwards "Swiss Coffe’…
Good Luck!
Chuck