Hunzi, I've spec'd and painted with Aura and ICI mixed FS a lot. Rarely do I spec or use anything but those two. I like ICI's LifeMaster in eggshell. It, IMO, has a comparable *hand* to Aura Matte. ICI's Velvet Sheen and LifeMaster are similar to SW's Super Paint in that just about anyone can paint with them and end up successful -- they are very DIY friendly. Can't say that about Aura. It takes a certain knack and many DIYers (and painters) have to rethink and then adjust how they brush and roll the paint. There are several threads about that on here already. When it comes to color, there is nothing like full spectrum. Nothing. FS is an age old topic around here. Full spectrum mixed in Aura paint would indeed be it-on-a-stick and then some. Don't see that happening any time soon. :-D Affinity is the name of the color palette designed to go with the Aura paint. There are 22 colorants. Having had a handful of *regular* colors mixed in Aura I can say that 22 colorants does give the mixer person a better shot at getting a good match, but 22 colorants in the wrong hands can be about 20 colorants too many. As we all know from the years and years of full spectrum color discussions, it's as much about how all those colorants are balanced and mixed together as it is about the actual number used. Once you gets passed the basic spectral seven, one has to question what is necessary -- if ya need more representation in a color than the basic seven, maybe it's time to revisit color mixing philosophy and/or skills... or, maybe not. IMO, more is not always better. Which leads me to my critique of Affinity colors. They are rich, they are complex, they are pretty, they can have an edge of deadness and a feel of limited dimension. They are not full spectrum color. Having *regular* color mixed via Affinity processes can leave you with a can of paint that looks *puddled* with colorant, overworked, overdone. Totally depends on the color. Restraint with all that color power at one's fingertips is paramount. Doubtful that there are too many other people on the planet who would share that opinion with me. A lot of people really want Aura to be it-on-a-stick, all that and a bag o'chips in its own right. I think it's great stuff, lots of positives, but it does not hold all the allure and wonder of color to be had in the universe. Just like every other brand, it has pluses and minuses. At the end of the day, having to make the decision between Aura paint and full spectrum color is a pretty darn great place to be!

We had ours done a year ago. I had them brushed with oil base BM as I wanted the historic look of the brush in the paint. It is very subtle. I love the way they came out and they have held up great so far, I just wipe them with a dishcloth and soapy water. Hope this helps, caroline

Old thread, but I've been searching PPG paint colors with very little success. Everything is about SW and BM, but our builder uses PPG. Thanks for sharing your final colors, it looks great. I am considering Agreeable gray too, but feel it is too dark. Whiskers it doesn't look dark in your home at all so I might have to get a sample of that one. I was looking at Silent Smoke with Delicate White cabinets too.

Has anyone used white dove as trim for shoji? For those of you noticing shoji looks green..did you get it color matched from store other than Sherwin Willams? I have two samples, the one color matched from bm is  a totally different hue and very noticeable green tint.  Love the sw shoji.  Thanks