Exterior - Sherwin Williams better than Ben Moore? Huh?

15 years ago

We're getting estimates to have the exterior of our 100-year old cedar shingle & clapboard colonial repainted. One of the companies uses SW oil-based primer (2 coats primer - second coat tinted to match finish coat) plus one finish coat. All others do one coat primer and two coats finish. Anyway, the first company's rep said they recommend SW for both primer coats & finish coat b/c it's a better product than Ben Moore ("though both are quality products."). Have I been totally brainwashed my whole life? I thought that it went without saying that BM was the best mass-market stuff out there (not talking about Martin Senour or Farrow Ball, etc.). I guess now that I think about it, I never did any real research into it - just took as gospel what my elders told me. Someone please educate me! THANKS!

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Comments (3)

paintguy22
15 years ago
Some painters use Benjamin Moore. Others use Sherwin Williams, ICI or they may have a favorite regional brand they swear by (C2, Grahams, Muralo, etc). One company is not really better than the other I don't think. Painters just develop relationships with their suppliers over time and become loyal to them. Your painter is just loyal to SW. I will say however that over the years Benjamin Moore has done some excellent marketing. Is there paint the best ever? I would say no, until Aura, but that is relatively new. They have always been the company to me that markets its average paints very, very well. I know this because trying to talk a homeowner into using something better sometimes is nearly impossible because they are latched onto the powerful brand name of Benjamin Moore....they don't really know anything about paint though.
paintguy1
15 years ago
Need to be mindful that both companies make a wide range of products - some very good, some not so. So it isn't about brand comparisons, it's about products. SW's best exterior is Duration. BM's best is now Aura Exterior. Both should provide years of service but both come at a price. To PG's point however, if it were just marketing, don't think BM would still be around after 125 years as painters account for a large proportion of their business.
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PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
15 years ago
SW or Ben Moore, like the paintguys stated as long as it's a best grade it's going to be okay, can't go wrong with either one.

When it comes to exteriors, telling a painter what he *needs* to use because of brand recognition or past interior experience would be a mistake. If they want to use SW products, let 'em. Painting exterior is a big deal. Letting the painter pick their favorite usually means a better paint job. I paint infrequently, but I certainly have my favorite paint. So do painters and there's nothing wrong with them wanting to use products they know and trust.

Lastly, if something goes wrong as far as performance, you do not want it to be because you *made* them use product they did not particularly want to -- whether that would truly be the cause of a failure or not who knows, but it would be logical for them to lay the blame on having to use product they didn't feel was a best fit for the project.

Budget minded clients have chosen SW Super Paint ext. over Duration and that's a fine choice too. Duration is worth serious consideration if there is room in the budget.

Anxious to hear about Aura exterior. It's not available here yet.

Exterior - Sherwin Williams better than Ben Moore? Huh?

Comments (3)

paintguy22

paintguy1

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