Valspar vs Benjamin Moore

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Our new house was professionally painted, using Valspar paint. We are now finishing some basement bedrooms and want to use the same/similar colors. Our local hardware store sells only Benjamin Moore, so we brought in one of the spare cans of the Valspar. They have a computer which can color match any major brand. We decided on BM Aura, even though it was more expensive than Regal. The hardware store shook up our old Valspar paint, and then one gallon of their Aura. Upon getting home, we decided to use up the old paint on a less visible part, and then the Aura on the remainder. The Aura actually performed worse - poorer coverage, more splattering and more negative edge effect. We are thinking about switching back to the Valspar for the rest of the rooms, but would like comments here. One problem is that the nearest dealer which carries Valspar (Lowes) is an hour drive away, and we wanted to support the local store. Thank you.

PS in both cases, this is the first coat on unprimed drywall.

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Comments (5)

carlos229
5 years ago
Are you not sealing your new gypsum board? I would prime with PVA or any other primer. Aura is "self priming", but 2 coats are required. What Valspar line are you comparing it to?

I know Aura has a learning curve (I have heard it can be thinner and dries sometimes too fast.) It also has a lot to do with color selected; some of the issues occur only in certain colors. Aura is top of the line; there are very few paints line that compete with it.

If you are using lighter tones, Regal Select is more user friendly, an less expensive than Aura. You might want to try it before committing, but would try to do a second coat of Aura and see how it looks.

I hope this helps.
mtvhike
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks, Carlos. We have used up the Aura we bought and, before we bought any more, we wanted to get more information. I will have to ask my wife, who is doing the painting, what differences she noticed other than your comment (thinner and drying too fast). It was used on new gypsum board, as was the Valspar. We were trying to avoid many coats, including avoiding a primer coat. I'll find out what Valspar line we are using.
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Color matching can sometimes be a problem when you are looking for a perfect match and are very picky about the color being exact. The problem isn't so much that Benjamin Moore can't match your color. They probably can. The problem is that most people choose a color from a color chip and then after they paint an entire room with that color, it doesn't end up looking like the color chip or it doesn't end up looking exactly like they expected. This could be because of lighting, shadows, sheen or the fact that painting a large area is always going to look different than a small sample chip. This is especially true with greens, yellows and light blues. You try to pick a squash like yellow and it ends up looking like the sun. You want a pale blue and it ends up looking like the sky. You want a sagey green and it ends up looking like mint ice cream. All of this has nothing to do with having your color matched in some other brand, but you may end up blaming your displeasure on a bad color match anyway, just because the color didn't come out looking like you expected. Also, it is important to realize that there is really no such thing as a perfect color match. All a paint store can do is get the color close enough to make most people happy. If you are not 'most people' and you are dead set in love with the color you have chosen, you should probably have it made in the brand that makes the color or you could be disappointed. As for the quality of the brand Valspar vs Benjamin Moore, this really depends on what you are using the paint for. I have never used Valspar, but I'm going to assume that it's medium quality paint and that the durability of the paint isn't going to be as good as Benjamin Moore Aura. If the area you are painting is going to take a beating and you need a great durable paint that you can wash all the time, then Aura will probably be better. If not, then you probably won't notice much of a difference. I'm really learning these days as a painter that all of these 100 percent acrylic paint brands you can buy these days are pretty much the same animal as long as you choose top of the line. In other words, if you are spending $30 or more for a gallon of paint, I expect it to be pretty good stuff.
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PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
5 years ago
Aura might be harder to work with but there is no comparison in the quality of it. It is by far one of the best paints on the market.
paintguy22
5 years ago
I quit using Aura for my wall painting after I couldn't solve problems I was having with lapmarks. This was with eggshell. Also, it's no good for bathroom use as the moisture from the shower leaves streaks on the wall that can't be washed away. I still use the Aura Matte when customers insist on a washable flat though. I would really prime though if you are painting new drywall. You can get Zinnser 123 for less than $20 a gallon and have it tinted like your finish color then you only need to do one topcoat. If you want to stick with the hardware store, use the Regal Select eggshell. It's a fine product.
jellytoast
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I LOVE Aura and have had zero problems with it. I used it on the entire interior and exterior of my home, some matte finish, some low luster, all DIY. I primed all the exterior surfaces, but not the pre-painted interior walls. I followed the instruction video on BM's website on how to apply it; super easy. The finish is flawless and I can't see a single lap mark anywhere; I did use two coats. I also did not use Aura on any of the trim or in the bathrooms, so can't comment about how it works there.

Valspar vs Benjamin Moore

Comments (5)

carlos229

mtvhike
Original Author

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Valspar vs Benjamin Moore

Comments (5)

carlos229

mtvhikeOriginal Author

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mtvhike
Original Author