Buy the top-of-the-line Olympic and try it out in one room. What I have learned from reading here is that paint preferences are quite individual, what one person hates, another will love, and to some people the brand doesn't matter at all. The wall prep will determine much of the success of the job.

"but I also want it to look nice".

Most any paint will "look nice" initially after it is applied,( if applied properly). It's how long it will last and stay nice that should be your concern and that starts with proper prep applications. Spending a little more now for a quality brand paint will save you money over the long haul.

also how well it goes on is important, i.e. coverage, drips, etc. I once was convinced to try Behr paint. I was covering off white walls with another shade of off-white. It should have only needed a single coat, but it needed two. My days of experimenting were over. I now just stick with Benj. Moore.

Unless your brother in law is giving you paint for free,I would go to a REAL paint store and get QUALITY paint there.

PS, I personally would not take either one for free

I have always had good results with Behr and am just now trying Olympic on some furniture I'm redoing. I have been on GW hearing everyone talk about BM and SW etc. and I'm always tempted, but when it comes down to it, I am just not willing to pay $40-$50 a gallon for it. I might be missing out on some one of a kind experience. But so far, whatever rooms I have painted (with my Behr, or Valspar or Kilz or Dutch boy) have turned out nice and have stayed looking nice until I was ready to paint them again.

Do what's within your budget and dont be influenced by brand ology. LOTS and LOTS of people use these brands of paint and are happy with them.

well Olympic is the same paint company as Porter paint, also called PPG. I love porter paint, but have no real idea how that transfers in quality. One good thing though is that you can get these samples for 2.97 of olympic and try out your favorite colors from your favorite brands and see how they feel to apply.

There is basically no QUALITY paint sold in either HD or Lowes , some primers yes , finish paint, no.

That's one man's opinion.

That would be most any professional painters opinion

I have used all of the paints from HD and Lowes. I have also used probably ten or so other brands of paint in the last 30 years.Yes, I have an opinion, based on experience.My opinion is that the big box stores sell cheap paint for a reason, it is cheap paint.It is just paint for sure but in the long run the DYI will end up saving $$ using quality paint and materials. Just my 2 cents and I am sticking with it

ho hum here we go again...did my whole home with Behr a few years back...no issues at all, very happy, holding up nicely too. Just don't skimp on prep work and use good tools. If in doubt, by a gallon Behr and try it in a spare room. If your happy you just saved $20+ a gallon. If not, you got a primer on that wall. I would not exppect anything to cover in one coat. HD/Lowes sell millions of gallons of paint..if it were really bad you'd know it and they would be selling something else. Good Luck.

OMG, this past weekend, I used Olymbic from Lowes on my accent wall in the living room. I must tell my DH to hurry and cover it over before someone notices... Use what you like and what you can afford. There is nothing like the looks of a new paint job. I personally couldn't tell the difference between a $40 can of paint and a $20 can of paint. It's all in the prep work.

gladly echo what graywings stated. Both lines of premium paints are great to work with.

The latest issue of Consumer Reports just rated interior Behr number one in all finishes, satin, flat and semi-gloss. BM was further down the list and SW way down the list, which is too bad because we are building a new house and the painter wants to use SW. Sometimes there is a perception of quality with higher priced consumer goods which may not be justified. The Olympic was between BM and SW in satin and flat, but Behr beat them all.

Don't put much stock in Consumer's ratings of paint. SW and BM mid-line paints blow away anything Behr makes.

I repainted our bedroom a couple of years ago. It was a light aqua and I painted it light peach. I used a Behr primer, didn't cover, and at least four coats of paint on a couple of walls. I finally went to BM and got a gallon of their primer. Big difference. Took only 2 coats (max) to do the other two walls. I'll never buy Behr again. I don't like painting that much.

There's an interesting thread about Behr on the House Painter forum. The forum is mostly professional painters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Behr Discussion at House Painter Forum

I am curious if someone would say the typical discount a paint contractor gets on BM?

I'm thinking that BM costs about the same to manufacture as Behr. HD marks up less, does higher volumen then pait store, and there is no contractor markup hence the big retail price diff.

I think BM is a product priced and marketed to provide profit to painting stroees and contractors. There is nothing wrong with profit. The painters provide a service and must profit. They deserve a profit on materials because they procure, deliver, install and support them.

I had George do my 3rd job for me, and it was his worst work. He used BM. It looks like he rushed it. Lines along ceiling and trim are not so good looking. In the sun I can see many spots where the 2nd cost did not cover. I'll be doing the next one myself, probably with Behr.

BTW I have no doubt that a professional painter who paints every day knows what he likes to brush or roll on. What lets him work faster. And he knows what makes him a profit, and costs him the least problems.

I also believe CR can dream up some pretty good tests for paint. And that HD spends some time trying to make the product easy to work with for consumers, and to perform well in those CR tests.

I would believe Terry Love any day over CR on toilets. I know he knows what he is replacing that does not work, and what he has installed that is causing him repeat problems. The workings and problems with toilets are very tangilble.

I don't see problems with paint as easy to indentify. For one thing years can go by before problems occur. When a painter goes into a customer with bad looking paint he has no way of knowing what paint brand that was, or if good methods were used to apply it, or how many coats.

I think there are several good paints, and most pro painters will only promote the brands that make biz sense for them.

The majority of the cost of hiring a painter is the labor, not the products. Do the math. If BenM costs $30 per gallon and we'll go overboard and be overly dramatic and say the painter is getting a completely ridiculous 50% discount. So he's paying $15 per gallon and charging you $30.

How many gallons will it take for your project? Again we'll be over the top and pretend you need ten gallons. In this 'what if' scenario the painter might be 'making' a whopping $150 by not passing along any discount on paint.

But you can't forget one more part of the equation -- to be fair you have to factor in -- and average out -- how many man hours it takes to APPLY TEN GALLONS of paint and a bump up of $150 is so insignificant it's not even funny.

A more realistic scenario is the project takes 5 gallons with the painter getting a discount of 30%. That means the painter might be making $45 off the paint. If the budget is so tight that it can't absorb $45 to hire a professional painter, then it really needs to be a DIY project.

> The majority of the cost of hiring a painter is the labor

You make a good point that trying to get your pro painter to use cheaper paint will not save you much off the job, and make him unhappy. But I think most people here are asking what paint they should use for DIY.

BM is more like $50/gallon, and Behr $33 or less. Other paints CR rated above BM cost less. For me it is easier to stop at HD and get the paint and other supplies, plus I get to spend less.

When I go into the paint store nothing has a price on it, not even tape. I have to ask for a price on everything and most is higher $ then HD. They have to go look up prices. It's a PITA. They do have some products HD won't and I think they probably know a lot and are more helpful.

So for the home owner it is easier and cheaper to go to the home center to get paint, supplies, lights, fruance filters, etc, in one trip. Is it really worth 50%+ and an extra trip for BM paint for a DIYer? It's impossible for me to say, but I am willing to trust that CR will not be 50% off the mark.

I get a pretty darn good discount at my BM store and that is one thing I do not do. I do not overcharge the customer to compensate for that discount. I will not buy sundries at my paint stores. They are ridiculous. I get them from another supplier.

Well, of course, you can't lump all painters in the same bucket (ha! full of puns today :D) but I really think most of them are decent, hardworking folks who are not out to rip off their customers. Most painters don't spec the uber grades of paint rather they include paint, that on average falls, in that $20 - $30 per gallon range.

The small margin on a gallon of paint isn't worth compromising a customer relationship and the chance to be recommended or asked back to do more work. I mean the retail price of a can of paint is not a secret and the fact that painters get a discount based on volume isn't a secret either. Homeowners can do math too and painters know that.

inter_a, you're absolutely right about the paint store experience. If it's not efficient and pleasant, why shop there? Sometimes the local home store is preferred. Heck, for some people the local home store is the ONLY resource they have to get paint; professional paint stores are not on every corner where they live.

For others the special trip to the paint store or ordering online to get the upper grades and luxury cans of paint/color is more that worth it because they want nothing but the best for their home. They understand that paint and color is not always about just the price per gallon. And there's nothing wrong with that if that's what someone prefers. That's their choice the same as it's your choice to one-stop shop at the Home Depot.

inter alia quotes "I'm thinking that BM costs about the same to manufacture as Behr."

There , your thinking would be dead wrong.

I am not going to get into the paint manufacturing process but you can look it up. The difference in what , resins, binders, etc, are used by each is as different as night and day. That is a lot of reason why BM cost more, it is a MUCH better quality than the Behr.

THE Olimpic 0 OVC paint does not smell in the can, but smells on the wall for months,
never dry up completly, you will end up removing all painting surfaces.

Thank you Lora for mentioning the Olympic paint odor issue. I just picked up color cards for this line but I am senstive to strong odors so I will not purchase it now.

Olympic one..where do I begin ..it smells really bad,in fact I used to work for a woman who never cleaned her literbox(this is a ligit example) the amonia urine smell was so over whelming ,heavy,thick enough to gag you..well this is exactly what my home smells like right now ,disgusting and the odor is not letting up. Next the paint after sitting for a very decent ammt of drying time is not completely drying. As we carefully remove the protective painters tape it is removing large portions of the paint up with it. I used BM ,BEHR with amazing results and absolutely will NEVER EVER EVER USE OLYMPIC ONE AGAIN

I had the same experience with top of the line behr from home depot. I switched to sherwin and have the same problem. Painting just sux.