This thread came up when I did a search for Benjamin Moore Natura. I have always done my own painting (for 30 years) and consider myself an fairly experienced DIY painter. We're at the tail end of completely repainting the home we moved into 7 months ago. My husband picked up paint for me today, and I made the mistake of not specifying which paint I wanted. He brought home Natura. I shouldn't have tried to paint once I stuck my brush in it and realized the consistency, but I did. This is the thickest paint I have ever seen. It's like trying to paint with Elmer's glue. It has no flow at all, and cutting in against my crown molding with it was just a mess. I never did try rolling it, I can't imagine what that would be like! I'll be back at the paint store in the morning to exchange it for "real" paint. I've never returned paint in my life, this stuff is that bad.

Ok, let me expand on tr65 said First let me preface it with the fact that I own and operate a store that sells BM Aura and has a web presence, I know many of my customers on line have found us through this web site. So while my post here will certainly favor BM Aura, I will try to give a unbiased explanation of everything. First of all, The Affinity Colors are special in 2 small ways. 1 They are designed(or selected) to harmonize with one another. You can pick any 3 colors and they blend together, its kind of like a "color selection for dummies system". Secondly, none of them require the use of the Aura Foundation Coat. The Foundation coat is a specialty product for use primarily with certain reds and yellows mainly from the Color Preview Collection. If you choose a color that requires it, use it! Otherwise you will not get two coat coverage. The foundation coat acts as a first coat, with the actual Aura providing the second coat, giving you the two coat coverage(You shouldn't need a coat of the foundation coat then 2 coats of finish paint). Secondly, Aura can be mixed in ANY Benjamin Moore color, and almost any competitive color. One thing you will hear, that was even mentioned in another post is that some colors do not match well. Depending on how you look at things this can be seen as true. Aura gives you a greater depth of color. It is not a full spectrum paint like EK, but it does behave more like one that traditionally mixed paints. This is why some colors do not seem to match particularly well. When you move into the world of full spectrum paints, and paints that behave more like them(such as aura) you have an issue with color metamorism, colors changing in different lighting conditions. Since I ship Aura, I always check the mixes against a color swatch just to be sure. I have had one particular instance where a color did not seem to match particularly well(and I am pretty anal about this). I wasnt going to ship the gallon. I then took it under another light source, and it was a dead on match to the chip. So did it match or not? In one light I thought it was an "ok" match, it could have been a little better, but then under another light source it was perfect. I think this is why major paint companies have stayed out of the full spectrum ring, it is very difficult to depict these lively colors on a color chip which gets produced by a printing process. Next...the colorants. If you get a gallon of Aura (or any other of Benjamin Moores new Waterborne Products, such as WB Eco-Spec, WB Ceiling Paint, or the forthcoming Natura) it will be mixed with the Aura Colorants(these are reffered to as the Genex Colorants). It doesn't matter if the color is an Affinity Color, another BM color, or a competitive color. Aura gets the "aura" colorants, not the universal(glycol) based ones. Also on this note, there was another post about people getting the Aura Colorants put into Regal Paint. I do not recommend this for a few reasons. First of all, there are no formulas to mix Regal Paints with 'Aura' colorants, so you would have to guess. While the colorants do tint in similar ways to each other, they do not tint exactly the same, so replacing the universal colorants with the aura ones is bound to cause some matching problems. Also, the universal colorant system is a 12 colorant system, aura is 13(though one of the yellows is only for the exterior line), not to mention there is no brown colorant in the aura system, where there is one in the universal system. Also note that Aura is really a 2 part deal. Both the paint and the colorants are special. If you use the Aura colorants in the Regal Paint, you don't get the benefits of what BM Calls Color Lock(that's part of Aura, not the colorants). In my opinion, Aura has a lot of good marketing points(better leveling, better coverage, very low VOC, etc) but the ColorLock is the most important and impressive. The color just does not rub off! Now, as for Afinity colors in Regal Paint. BM provides formulas for some of the Afinity colors to be mixed in Regal but not all. My experience in doing this has not been good. I tried to mix Wenge in Regal. First I scanned the chip with our color computer and mixed the formula it gave me. It came out AWEFUL; not even close. I then called BM and had them scan it for me and mixed that formula(paint companies have better equipment than you will find in any retail store for computerized color matching). It was equally bad. I also tried to mix Dinner Party in Moorglo exterior. I had the same results. After about 10 attempts to try to get that can right (including having to scoop some paint out of the can to make room for more tint), I got it close. Retailers who do not have Aura will tell you its ok, out of both lack of experience, and not wanting to miss a sale. If you do decide to try this, please.....try a quart first!!!! Personally I wont do it without explaining to the customer the results I am expecting, and saying outright, that if i do it, the can of paint is theirs, I am not promising accuracy. And frankly, it has nothing to do with preferring they buy Aura, or making a few extra dollars on a sale. We are a family owned business operating under one family for 55 years, "upselling" someone on a gallon or two of paint isn't a good long term idea for customer relations. As for a 125 year old house...One thing that I will recommend is BM's new Waterborne ceiling paint. It is in the 25-30 dollar per gallon range. I recommend it because it is a DEAD FLAT, and because of this, it hides surface imperfections like nothing else. I just used it myself and was very impressed, and its cheaper than Regal Flat (and it uses the Aura colorants, so its a Low VOC paint that stays Low VOC, even when tinted). Hope I didn't put you to sleep and gave you some good information for making your decision.

Okay, I’m going to put in my 2 cents here, mostly to educate the DIY’ers out there About paint. I worked in the paint department of both Home Depot & Lowes for a combined 6 yrs up until 2016. I’ve taken ALL the available paint classes. I’m going to tell you guys a secret... the reason it takes a MINIMIUM of 2 coats, is due to several influencing factors. #1) your wall texture. The more porous, or heavily textured your wall is, the more likely you will get less “coverage” out of your paint, because it is either being sucked up by the texture, (usually unprimed) or it is a bumpy texture which has more surface area to cover per brush/roller stroke. #2) your roller. The texture of your roller must match the texture of the wall. Smooth walls require a shorter napp. Heavier textures require a longer napp. When these things don’t “match” so to speak, you’ll get what are called “hollidays” in the painting world. It’s those little spots where the “under Color” shows through, as if the new paint took a “Holliday” in that spot. This happens all the time when using rollers, regardless, but it’s worse when your napp is too short for the texture. #3) the amount of titanium white your paint brand started out with Before tinting. Titanium white is GENERALLY what are Considered “solids” in the paint, although I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting. #4) the COLOR of the new paint. each color has a “depth” which requires a particular amount of tint. Whites, off whites, pastels, and generally lighter colors are tinted using a WHITE tinting base. These cans are the purest whites that company offers, and can be used right off the shelf. They are usually 3/4 or more full of Titanium white. Medium dark colors are tinted into a “medium” tint base. These cans CANNOT be sold directly off the shelf and must be tinted. They have less overall volume inside the can to begin with, (in order to leave room for tint.) & they are around 1/2 titanium white. Dark or deep colors are mixed into a ”DEEP” tint base. These cans have the least overall volume to begin with, and there’s about 1/4 or less of titanium white in each can. Here’s the secret.. titanium white is what provides the coverage! Tint, by itself, doesn’t cover, it’s somewhat like a gel, and is VERY sticky on its own. It is essentially pure pigment, mixed with an additive to make it viscous. when you take a color, let’s say RED, which by itself has a very translucent property, and you dump a whole boatload of it into a can which (in order to achieve that deep rich he’d you’re looking for) has virtually no titanium white in it, you’re going to get a see through paint, no matter the brand. now, have you ever been offered a tinted (usually grey) primer to put on under that red paint? Did you choose against it, thinking it would be unnecessary? Think again! That neutral grey, gives that red paint a dark neutral base to start from! It richens the color on the first coat! You can sometimes have the primer tinted pink, but grey primer or a grey paint base coat works best. (Don’t believe me? Do a sample board painted 1/2 white, 1/2 medium grey, then paint red across the whole thing.... see? 😉) also, don’t expect your deeper colors to dry as quickly. they don’t. Tint, by itself, never stud.. or “cures” because there are zero gardeners in it. All that tint needed for that deep color, created a very sticky situation inside that can. The other secret I’m going to tell you deals with the other additives in your can besides the titanium white. They are the clear liquids. The chemical mixture and amount of each of these, determines the dry time, viscosity, elasticity, yellowing propensity, durability, hardness and water soluabLilith of the paint. They are basically the GLUE holding it all together, and keeping it on your wall. Each company has a different proprietary blend, making its paint unique. Ive found, that for the most part, how well it turns out with YOUR can of paint, is based on the project, the knowledge of the painter, and the teaching/advising capabilities of the sales clerk. Other than that, MOST paints are created FAIRLY equally. Do your research people. There! Now that’s a thing you know. 😉👍

Sheen? You don't want gloss for your walls. With white appliances and window/door trim, you can take your pick of colors for the wall but do remember ... If your apartment is small, lighter colors of paint are probably a better idea since darker colors can visually shrink a room. That said, an accent wall in your bright bold favorite color could be a good thing. As you decide what color(s) you're going to paint your rooms, think about how well the color(s) in one room will blend with the colors in the adjacent space. (To state the obvious, beach colors and goth will not blend well.) If you and your girlfriend are on a tight budget, you might want to experience the adventure of checking out nearby Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores. One HfHRS near me frequently has cans of paint in different brands-- some actually full and others nearly full -- where someone bought more than they needed and donated what was left of it. Spring and summer are the seasons for building and rennovating so you're likely to find construction items through fall. The larger stores will have more room and more stuff. If you don't find anything of interest on the first visit or two, do a walkthrough occasionally. [ Just before the holidays, it seems you can find a lot more interesting furnishings (perhaps its people wanting to upgrade before their relatives visit?). You might also try the larger GoodWill stores and nearby charity thrift stores. When you walk through, do so with a critical eye -- think of it as visiting an urban museum -- and don't get in the habit of buying things you don't actually need.] A bit of unsolicited advise -- stuff to consider: When furnishing a small space, remember to buy furnishings that are of a smaller scale. A round table with a pedestal and chairs with legs that are mostly vertical -- as oppesed to splayed -- are less likely to be knee knockers, groin jabbers and/or toe stubbers. Small lightweight items and/or items with wheels are much easier to move about, including for cleaning. Taller storage pieces (tall chest of drawers vs. low dresser w/mirror above) will get you more room for the amount of floor space used. Getting the most use out of what items you do choose to furnish your place is another good idea -- his/her lockable wood two drawer filing cabinets as bed side tables and/or living room end tables can help secure items when y'all have nosy visitors: it has been said that every party has that one guest that opens the medicine cabinet and a few unlocked doors. Tables with shelves below can provide storage but take more dusting. A used hutch w/glass doors (top part of a china cabinet) can be used as a china cabinet and/or double as a tv stand and/or a bookcase and/or a curio cabinet w/less dusting than displaying collectibles on open shelves. Less time cleaning means more time for enjoying other things. Let us know how your project turns out; good luck to the both of you.