I quit using Aura for wall painting about 2 years ago though I will still use the Matte finish when people want a washable flat. I'm leaning away from BM these days and more towards SW. BM is more durable for sure, but the application and getting it to look good on the wall is becoming more of a challenge. My theory is that a paint manufacturer will introduce a paint line, people will love it for a while, and then they mess with the formula or cheapen it to increase profits or whatever and the painter will start to notice about 4-5 years down the road. Case in point, I just did a job last year painting trim where I painted an addition in 2008 with BM Aura semi-gloss and there was still a half gallon left from 2008 so I was able to compare the 2008 version with the 2016 version and it was a night and day difference. The 2008 version covered better and levelled out better. The whole reason I used to love Aura was for it's levelling out properties. Ahh well, at least SW is cheaper!

How does the middle of the line on each brand compare? Cost per gallon? It's more useful, arguably more accurate, to price it out price per square foot, not per gallon. Read the label to find out how many square feet the manufacturer says the gallon will cover. Divide the price by the square feet. Coverage and hide are not the same. A gallon may cover "x" number of square feet, but the color selected will determine how well it hides. It's really not fair to make all-encompassing judgments about a specific brand of paint because many things contribute to how well a gallon performs. Every brand has positives and flaws. The color dictates a lot. In other words, the same color in another brand would not hide any better - so it's not the paint, it's the color. Prep of substrate also makes a difference. If prep isn't done correctly, doesn't matter what brand you use, it's not going to end well. Bathrooms are notoriously difficult environments for any brand of paint. The streaking is normal; it's called water whitening. It happens with lighter colors too you just can't see it like you can with darker colors.

I went to Sherwin Williams first, and the guy was hesitant to match It all depends on the color. Some colors cross brands flawlessly. Some don't. And that's not just my opinion. We can pull data to prove it. It's a mistake to say that you can have any color matched in any brand as much as it's wrong to say that you NEVER can cross brands with any color - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'll tell you exactly how I deal with this. The only way to know for sure is to buy a sample of Clunch directly from F&B, paint a sample board and have SW use that real-paint sample as the target for matching. F&B paint chips are notoriously "off". Which is why you have to buy a sample. Any other brand and you could use the chip - but not Farrow & Ball. F&B has issues and this is just one of them. Then buy a Color Muse - you can pick one up right at the SW paint counter because they sell them with Sherwin Williams branded stickers. It will be $50 or $60 well spent. 1. Download the Color Muse app. Even if you buy the one with SW stickers, the Color Muse app will work with the device. 2. Follow the directions to connect the device and calibrate it. 3. Find and Choose "Inspect" it's a triangle icon. On my phone it's in the lower left corner. 4. Tap "options" and from the choices of Inspect Options, choose "d65 Lab". 5. Tap "options" again to close that menu. Now you're ready to scan. 6. Take the cap off and put it on the button end. 7. Place the device scanner eye end directly on your painted F&B color sample. 8. Tap the big "Reference" square on the app. It has a finger tapping a button icon. 9. Place the device scanner eye end directly on a DRY version of the Sherwin Williams draw down sample of their attempt to match Clunch. Do this right at the counter in the store. 10. Tap the big "Sample" button. It too has a finger tapping a button icon. 11. The app will compare the two colors based on their color DNA and it will tell you in terms of Delta E if it's a good match or not. It looks like this... A Delta E below 0.5 is a really good match. I would buy the paint. A Delta E below 1.0 is going to be decent, usually close enough for most people. A Delta E above 1.0 and it's a matter of settling and deciding that the match is good enough and you'll be happy with it. IF YOU HAVE THE DATA THAT PROVES THE STORE CANNOT MATCH YOUR TARGET REFERENCE COLOR THEN YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO BUY THE PAINT. They all understand D65 Lab color data values and Delta E differences. Using the device and the data is VERY different than standing there and just saying "you don't like the color and you don't *think* it's a match". If you have the data, everyone KNOWS if it's a match or not and there's nothing to discuss or debate - it's either an acceptable match or it's not. Period.

They are wonderful here too Kris. I was there just the other day and they were working so hard to accommodate everyone through all of this! Nothing is as good as seeing the color in your own space under your own lighting conditions! Even if you have to buy a fan deck it’s worth the investment for now and the future!