Just Add Paint’s Most Trusted Paints for DIY Daily Use

 If there is one commonly asked question for us at Just Add Paint, it is “What paint should I use to paint my house.” Well, we wish there was one perfect answer to this- but alas, there is not. We do have a list of our most trusted items- products which have worked with such consistency over the years that we feel completely comfortable recommending them to almost anyone, when their individual job calls for them. The following is a short list of our most trusted items. They are chosen both for their quality and  their ease of use, with DIY homeowners in mind.

CEILING PAINT  

Sherwin Williams Qualikote in Flat finish is our consistent favorite for use on ceilings. This paint has a quality to price ratio that makes it the only ceiling paint we use for almost 100% of our jobs. We have found two aspects of this paint that make it so special. (Well, three if you include the price, which is absurdly low for being the best ceiling paint available.) First, Qualikote is a true flat paint. This means there is absolutely no sheen whatsoever. No matter the condition of your ceiling, the zero sheen look of this paint absorbs light and eliminates shadows and reflections that can make a surface look rough, despite being freshly painted. Second, Qualikote has coverage that is second to none. This paint will routinely cover ceilings one to two shades darker than the original color. And even more amazing, it tends to cover years of soot residue from older oil or wood based heating systems- a situation that often required us to use a primer before we switched to Qualikote.

WALL PAINT       

Sherwin Williams Cashmere is our wall paint of choice for most jobs. There are many qualities that make it an excellent choice, but the reason we like it is actually that it does everything quite well. While there may be some paints that excel over it a bit in certain areas, (like a paint and primer product might slightly out-cover it over a hard to coat surface,) there are no other wall paints that give the near perfect performance and ease of application balance we find in Cashmere. The following properties make it a stand out daily use paint for us:

• Cashmere paint is incredibly easy to roll on. While even the low luster version has a high sheen level, the overall appearance of the paint is very smooth, and shows very little line-up from roller application. The paint is also “light” on the roller, and rolls on easily when compared to thicker paint products.
• Cashmere covers very well. This paint has an overall record of covering all but the most extreme color changes in two coats. While there are some paint and primer in once products that cover slightly better, this is a moot point given that we always apply two coats for durability, unless otherwise directed by the homeowner.
• Cashmere dries to a hard durable finish, and so is suitable for use even in very high traffic environments.
• Cashmere has very little odor, and we find that it is a much better choice in homes where allergies to paint odor, or people with breathing challenges, live.
• Cashmere colors go on bright, and stay bright for years.

TRIM PAINT     

If we had to select a single paint to use for trim, we would take Sherwin Williams Duration 100% of the time. This paint excels in even the most difficult applications, yet flows on smoothly and self levels as well as any paint we have used. The following is a list of reasons we love it:

• Duration has the best coverage of almost any paint we have used for trim. It tends to cover even much darker trim in two coats.
• This paint Flows off the brush very smoothly. This makes it ideal for us as pros, because we can cover lots of surface area quickly with it. For homeowners, it is excellent because it has a long “open” time, meaning that it is forgiving if you must go over the same area several times to get things just the way you want them.
• Duration Self Levels beautifully. This gives this paint, when dry, a look much closer to oil than latex based products usually provide. Brush marks melt away, yet there is very little trouble with dripping, as when other latex paints are thinned in an attempt to achieve these same results.
• This paint falls in the middle  of Sherwins price range, despite being of an overall quality that we feel matches their highest product lines.

EXTERIOR / OUTDOOR PAINT  

This is an extremely important category for us at Just Add Paint. During the Summer months, we do a great deal of outdoor painting. Often, the jobs we do involve taking extremely weather damaged surfaces, (including everything from old, neglected wood, to vinyl or old, weathered aluminum siding.) This means that we are starting with an exceptionally difficult surface to paint in the first place. Add to that the fact that the exterior of homes in our area have extremes of hot and cold, as well as rain and snow. These factors mean we need a paint that is up for any challenge- one that goes on thick, sticks to nearly anything, and dries to an extremely durable, weather resistant finish. The paint we chose for our outdoor jobs is Valspar Duramax Exterior. We have had 100% success with it on all surfaces prepared properly, (ones we prepped ourselves,) and have gone back to it time and time again. What are the specifics of why we love it? Here they are:

• The coverage (hiding capability) of Duramax is second to none. Regardless of the condition of the exterior surfaces we begin with, this paint will two coat in almost every case. (This does require proper surface preparation to be true. This may include Degreasing, Power Washing, Sanding, etc….)

• Valspar Duramax paint DRIES T0 AN EXTREMELY HARD FINISH, but does not crack out with extreme temperature changes. This allows it to remain bonded and peel resistant in any climate regardless of moisture level. We painted a house bright yellow 6 years ago with this paint, and check on it yearly. It remains unblemished after all of this time, and the color looks as bright as the day we put it on despite the siding being exposed to full sun.

• Mildew Resistance. Outdoor surfaces are prone to mildew. We know this because we do a lot of business power washing mildew off of old paint before applying the new. This paint tends to resists mold and mildew growth, which keeps it looking nicer, for longer.

• Duramax rolls on very thick.  It is interesting, because this paint is not advertised as being extremely thick on the Valspar website- yet the paint provides and exceptionally thick finish, even with just one coat. We find this extremely important, because old exterior surfaces, (especially wood,) tend to be very uneven and difficult to cover. Using a thick roller, this paint fills in many areas which would require an extra filler to fix- if we weren’t using Duramax.

• Duramax has Super Fast dry time. This paint dries so fast that even when a surprise light rain rolls in during a paint project, there is no damage to the paint- even those that have barely dried. We always try to avoid sprinkles when painting- but since weather can be a surprise, this  is an excellent insurance policy.

By W. Grant Tankersley writing for JUST ADD PAINT