Aura will cover in 2 coats with a very light sanding first, no primer needed( most likely)
Aura or any BM paint is not in the same catagory( quality wise) as Behr

I have to add my experiences with Behr paints have been very poor. I do like the Color Smart app, But the colors sometimes just look off or muddy. Even when I go see the samples in real life. LOL

So I just used BM Regal Select, and I love it. More pricey per gal than Behr, but I will say with fair amount of certainty that I used way less with BM than I have with Behr. I doubt I will ever buy Behr again, coverage hasn't been great, drippy, etc.

Now at my paint store, my salesman told me that one should expect one coat coverage with the Aura, but that he didn't have it in stock so couldn't sell me any. Honestly, if I was a better painter, I half expect that I could e gotten one-coat coverage with the Regal Select that I used. And that was red over white. On the other hand, the last time I used Behr, it was 3 coats of light yellow over an ivory shade. So lots more work using Behr and probly about same price when all was said and done.

"Now at my paint store, my salesman told me that one should expect one coat coverage with the Aura,"

Don't believe him

"Now at my paint store, my salesman told me that one should expect one coat coverage with the Aura,"

I am painting with Aura for the first time. It covers really well in one coat (basically cream over cream). I had patchwork done which was pre-primed with Peel Stop. Now if I look closely I can see where there are some minor skips in the texture in one spot but being so close in color, it doesn't show. I believe my BM man said you can paint one coat if you want but two will wear better. Depends on the color, too. With a color it might be needed to cover better and come out richer. But this is really thick rich paint! Not like others I've used. You must move quickly or it gets tacky. I don't know why paint needs to dry this quickly. Sometimes you need a little time in tough areas.

With the one coat, I did notice a touchup to the wall I did later. It's supposed to touch up extremely well. So I will be seeing how that goes. It's one reason I settled on this paint.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Jan 10, 13 at 23:05

"Covers in one coat..."

What a meaningless phrase!
* For God's sake...ANY paint will "cover" the wall in one coat.
* BUT...How WELL will it cover though??
* Even the word "cover" means different things.
* How well will person X apply that "one coat"?
* Will they also use the cheapest possible tools as well, and then "blame the paint" if it doesn't hold up?!

Paint & Primer in one:
* From a "technical" standpoint, there is NO SUCH thing. It DOES make good ad-copy/slogans though!
* Primer resins and paint resins are 2 VERY different animals.
* They can be advertised like that because paint resin-blends are always being tinkered with. So, if a paint-film is developed that has a little better adhesion to it, thereby ACTING kinda like primer....
* ...it'll be marketed as "OUR NEW P-N-P IN ONE!!!"
* Please. I've been paint retail for a decade now. We tell customers what paint REALLY is.

Not the best analogy here, but consider this-
(read with a cheesy radio-announcers voice!)

>>> TRY OUR NEW CAKE AND FROSTING IN ONE....!! Faron

There was a popular misconception out there when Aura first came out that this was a one coat paint. BM never said that, but everyone else did. BM claimed some colors will cover in one coat, but most will take two. It's true that there isn't a paint on the market that covers better when you are talking about those deep reds or blues that used to take 5 coats over a grey primer. Thankfully, those 5 coat colors are a thing of the past. However, when it comes to Aura in Base 1 colors, it's nothing special. These are the whites and light yellows. If anything, the coverage is worse than other brands. Anyway, as always, when it comes to coverage, the two most important factors are this: what color you are painting with and what color you are painting over. Any paint will cover pretty well if you are barely changing colors. Paint manufacturers like to claim their paint covers better than the other guys but usually coverage depends on the color, at least in my experience.

With Aura, if the color you choose is from the Affinity color collection, even the reds, you can expect good coverage after the first coat and a sublime final finish after the second. Don't need a tinted primer to achieve color opacity, won't need a third coat provided you apply coat 1 and coat 2 at recommended spread rate.

When you choose colors from other color collections or even from other brand's color palettes mixed in Aura using the Gennex colorants, then it's a different story.

You have to take it one color at a time.

Agree about paint and primer in one.

Agree about one-coat coverage being a misnomer. However, many Ben Moore dealers do talk in terms of one-coat coverage for Aura.

Overall, "paint and primer in one" and "one-coat coverage" are two of the most confusing terms in the paint and color lexicon today. Not just for consumers but also for people who sell and use the products.