A few years ago, I did a comparison test of several brands of paint, including BM Regal, FPE wall paint, Behr, and a few others. I also read Donald Kaufman's book about full-spectrum paints and mixed some of my own colors using the finest quality pigments of artist's acrylics (after studying color theory a bit). My opinion, after all those tests, is that going from the low end Behr up to BM Regal is a big difference in appearance -- much better coverage, quality of appearance, and prettier colors from the better pigments. After that, going up in price to FPE or full-spectrum, I don't see much (if any) difference in my tests. BM Regal cleaned up just as nicely and looked just as good as the FPE. Read the MSDS for all these paints; all the high-quality paints are acrylic resin binders, titanium dioxide for coverage, and good pigments for colorants. Among the many brands using those quality ingredients for a wall paint, I don't see how there could be much difference other than marketing. However, I didn't get around to my painting project back then, and BM has different formulas for Regal now, supposedly better according to my local BM dealer. He also sells FPE now, and told me that an employee who was a long-time rep and fan of BM did his own tests of FPE and BM, very aggressive with brillo pads and all kinds of dirt, and concluded that FPE was superior in cleanability and durability. Even if this is true, how much durability do you need? I need to clean scuffs and dirt and dust occasionally, but I don't think our everyday life is brutal like a brillo pad. If I can touch up an occasional gouge, I'm fine with that. Besides, how many people really NEED a paint designed to last for many decades? If there's any chance you'll move or repaint just to get a different color in less than, 20 years or whatever the supposed lifetime of FPE is, you won't get your money's worth from FPE, which is supposedly in the longevity. In my opinion, among the many brands that make good-quality paint, the most important thing is to put a pleasing color on your wall, given the light and other surface colors in YOUR room. All brands have good and bad colors. FPE in particular, I'm not loving the colors. The big challenge in paint is not choosing a brand, it's getting the exact shade of color right for your room and your own preferences.

"Titanium dioxide. Waterbased vs oil based finish. Titanium dioxide is what makes white paint white. You can add titanium dioxide to the base up to a point. After you reach that point, the paint takes on the properties of titanium dioxide and ruins the paint. Almost all factory finishes are now waterborne; cars, furniture, ect...The main difference is the carrier. FPE waterborne paint is made with alkyd urethane base. So are some other brands that are equivalent. Another good base is acrylic urethane or acrylic copolymer. As far as the VOC is concerned, use a fan but waterborne is much lower than oil based." Yikes. Talk about confusing. All alkyds will indeed yellow. The type of oil used in the alkyd (safflower, corn, tung, etc) plays a part along with the type of solvent used. Both the presence ammonia (think bathroom) and/or absence of light will accelerate yellowing while bright light can reverse it (to a certain extent). Most alkyds do indeed dry harder than latexes but then again, they are not as scrubbable. The new water dispersible alkyds like Eco do offer a nice compromise between latex and oil but if yellowing is a concern because you will be painting cabinets white next to another white object (think appliance or tile), then a premium latex would indeed be your best choice. BTW, like most things, there is a rule of diminishing returns with TiO2. Up to a certain level, you do indeed get incremental hide but after a certain level, you are just wasting money. What this means is that FPE doesn't cost twice as much as other because it has twice as much TiO2 as other premium brands (never mind that its volume solids would need to be in the 70% range) - you need to look elsewhere to solve that puzzle. Keep in mind it's only the white/light base that has a high TiO2 load in any paint - TiO2 is pulled out of the other bases in order to hit the deeper colors.

This "big" box with the 1-liter in it arrived today! Eurolux Interior Matte...#6038 Brown Cafe. Rubbed a sample on the white box. 30 min. later, I couldn't rub anything off of it...amazing! Here's my Sunday project! Faron

"Unfortunately, in too many professions (including mine), there are a host of untrained, inexperienced people willing to work for very little, and they muddy the market and can make it very difficult for the seasoned pros to earn a decent living." People have to start somewhere, as in any field. Most people can't hire the best, so there is a large market for those who are less experienced. The real problem is the "host of untrained, inexperienced people" who charge us high, professional wages simply because they are in a certain field, so charge the going rate regardless of their skill or experience. That is not the job ladder where I come from. Around here, you will also find GC's (expensive!) that employ cheap untrained laborers. So you do not get what you pay for. Now, if you're talking about paying even more than what people already pay (outrageous), not many people make the kind of money they could afford them anyway. The average American family income is only about $50,000. The real problem is that the construction industry really needs to have educational requirements, certification and strict regulations in place to stop all the nonsense that goes on. It really chaps my hide to hear people say we don't, or are not willing to, pay enough. I've heard this plea for more money a number of times recently. And by the way, I know highly educated people who feel the same way about this and wonder why some of these clowns are making more than them.