# Benjamin and Moore "Aura" paint -- horrible



## Guest

I just spent 2 hours fighting with this paint. They advertise it as "Quite Simply the Finest Paint We've Ever Made" ... but it's more like trying to paint your walls with mud and a spatula. 

It's very very thick, doesn't cover very well at all and it coagulates literally within 2 seconds, if you try to touch it after that 2 second period it pulls itself right back up off of the wall in big ugly streaks -- but any runs don't start to show for 5-6 seconds -- where does that leave you? It leaves you with a big mess. It took me 2 hours to do cuts that should have taken me 30 minutes tops (I say this from experience as I spent the entire day painting with their other paint line, which is cheaper and went on like butter) and I'm likely going to have to let it fully dry and sand it off the wall (yes, it's that bad).

I'm considering taking the remains of this gallon (which was about $70) back to the store and ask for a refund, along with pictures of what it did to my walls.

Also of note I did buy a tester of this paint, which went on much better than this, but I was informed (after they mixed this paint for me and I paid for it) that the testers are actually a different mixture than the actual paint by the gallon. They did warn me not to try and go back over anything I had painted for at least an hour, which I tried my best to heed ... but I thought I would have more than a 2 second window. It's so bad that you get one single pass with a brush, you can't even go 4 inches then back over it to even out the paint or it completely ruins it. It reminds me of model paint when it's almost hardened and no good anymore.

I don't typically post notes/rants like this one, but I wanted to save anyone else considering using this new premium (and expensive!) paint to save yourself the hassle and DON'T DO IT.

After spending the last 2 days with Farrow and Ball paint, and Benjamin and Moore "Collection" series paint -- which were both fantastic -- I think it's safe to say they really badly missed the mark on the "Aura" line.


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## Macfury

That sounds impossible! What a drag.

I highly recommend Farrow and Ball, which is at the same price point as Aura but has much better coverage. Also environment friendly (no VOCs and clay-based).


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## Guest

Ya this Aura line was supposed to be environmentally friendly too ... I was going to do farrow and ball (the rest of the house is all farrow and ball) but they didn't have the color I was looking for specifically for this room's accent walls :/

We did several other rooms with farrow and ball and it was a pleasure to work with compared to this crap they call paint :/


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## Macfury

Yep, with Farrow and Ball either it's on the palate or it isn't available.


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## kps

Macfury said:


> Yep, with Farrow and Ball either it's on the palate or it isn't available.


You mean aside from it being some overpriced, pretentious, designer paint? 

Haven't found one single brand that covers in one coat...and at one time or another I tried all of them. So dishing out more than $100/gal for F&B is not in my nature.

Too bad about this new BM product, I too have found their "Collections" line pretty good and superior to most.


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## Macfury

kps: I wouldn't recommend it for everyone but for period houses I would recommend it every time. I think the last gallon cost me $78 and it went on in two coats.


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## kps

As with anything, their paint has valid applications.

We're one of their vendors and I used to go to their mixing plant in Etobicoke where they'd offer me free paint, but usually it would end up being single gallons of botched colours.


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## dona83

I used Benjamin Moore's Ulti-matte line of paints with great success, I'm very happy with how it turned out. I heard some people complaining about one of BM's top of the line paints but he didn't mention a specific line. 

I must ask... if you're using a latex paint, are you priming before painting over existing oil based paint? Silly question but it happens... because i see most people raving over the Aura line of paint and I can only think that you did not prime your walls.


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## JumboJones

I've always had good results with Behr.


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## The Doug

JumboJones said:


> I've always had good results with Behr.


Ditto. It's the only brand I use.


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## Macfury

I still use Behr but I was disappointed when--a few years ago--they cut down on the range of pigments they use.


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## kps

The problem with Behr is that you have to line up behind 20 people at Home Depot to get it. lol

dona83: you don't have to prime oil if you're applying latex over it, but you need to prime if you're applying oil over latex. Gloss finishes including "eggshell" need to be sanded with a pole sander, if a wall had wallpaper --wash with TSP --sand--prime if necessary.


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## gmark2000

Para paints for me.


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## Sonal

kps said:


> you don't have to prime oil if you're applying latex over it, but you need to prime if you're applying oil over latex.


Um.... isn't it the other way around?


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## screature

Sonal said:


> Um.... isn't it the other way around?


You are right Sonal it is the other way around. Oil will stick to Acrylic. Acrylic will peel off of oil and slip and slide around (streaking) as you apply it over oil.


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## Guest

dona83 said:


> I used Benjamin Moore's Ulti-matte line of paints with great success, I'm very happy with how it turned out. I heard some people complaining about one of BM's top of the line paints but he didn't mention a specific line.
> 
> I must ask... if you're using a latex paint, are you priming before painting over existing oil based paint? Silly question but it happens... because i see most people raving over the Aura line of paint and I can only think that you did not prime your walls.


Valid question to ask (like asking if the printer is plugged in when people have printing problems!) ... it's not an oil/latex issue. The previous paint was latex and I have painted over many other walls in the house already without issues. These particular walls I didn't prime (some others in the house I did).

I did some more googling and a lot of other people have the same complaints. The stuff coagulates WAY too fast which causes all the problems. Lots of contractors are saying that it even coagulates right in the trays and cans on them too.

Farrow and Ball is $78/gallon. This stuff was $68/gallon. Just for those that want to know, so there's not a huge price difference here between the two.

My choice to go with Aura was all about the colour, I couldn't find this color in any other lines. I guess I'll have to re-examine my palette now and pick something they provide with a paint line that works for me.


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## EvanPitts

kps said:


> The problem with Behr is that you have to line up behind 20 people at Home Depot to get it.


Never had a problem with Behr paint, nor with CIL Dulux. I recently painted a bathroom, and primed with Zinzer primer (because the walls were stained from the at least 9 layers of old school lead based enamels that I had to strip, plus the huge holes that had been improperly patched over the years. Two coats of CIL, and the bathroom looks pretty good. Funny thing is that even though the colour was mixed the same, the bathroom looks a little yellowish, perhaps because of the brightness of the primer - but the paint chips held side by side look the same. But we ended up liking the "yellowish" because it brightens up a bathroom that is a little small and darkish to start with.

Home Despot. They actually have good employees - but the bad management scares or drives them away eventually. They also do not carry any number of items, and as well, it is very inconvenient to have to drive to another city because they do not have a store in The Hammer itself. They have the worst locations, I preferred when we had Acorn Lumber down the street because I could walk there for small items and it is like a two minute drive. Home Despot is more like an hour commute there and back - with more cars in the parking lot sitting near the doors all day than they have at the Milton Auto Auction...


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## kps

Sonal said:


> Um.... isn't it the other way around?



Oooops, um...yeah, I wrote it backwards. lol


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## dona83

Ok I just took the plunge and used the Aura line of paints in my home... superb!!! The self priming feature alone saved me a lot of time, so much that I _only_ want to use Aura for the rest of my house. I used a matte finish and although it's not as flat as their Ulti-matte line of paint, it's very beautiful and hides minor imperfections in the wall very well.

Keep in mind of a few things....

The paint dries really quickly... the paint is dry to the touch on the wall in less than half an hour. If your room is dry, this "feature" may cause paint to coagulate right in your paint tray. This may also cause the paint to dry quicker than it can bond to the wall causing it to peel. Take steps to humidify the room to 50% RH (Relative Humidity) if you are in a dry climate. 

The paint is self priming but your wall must still be clean and dry, free from rust and paint chips etc.

The one coat of paint claim holds true -- so long as you use a good cage with the Aura line roller and brush.


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## Guest

having to humidify your room is a bit of a joke to me. I went with Farrow and Ball and didn't look back. If it worked for you the great but I stand by my statements that it was the worst painting experience I've ever had.


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## dona83

I live in south coast BC, I didn't have to humidify my room.  Beats priming...


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## Max

I have never seen a brand of paint that went on in one coat satisfactorily. Use anything half-way decent and do two good coats and walk away. Bargain basement paints are something to avoid - they require two or more coats because they tend to go on unevenly and provide very poor coverage.

I've never used the Benny Moore Aura stuff but from the sounds of it I'm wondering if you didn't have the ill luck to get a can from a bad batch... if not, thanks for the tip; not that I like to spend a ton of money on supposedly high-end house paint but you never know. My better half is a scenic painter so we either make our own or, if we got a custom job and if we change our minds and decide we want to tweak it, she has the tint kit right there.


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## Guest

dona83 said:


> I live in south coast BC, I didn't have to humidify my room.  Beats priming...


Well I guess if it worked for you congrats. Funny .. I live a 10 minute walk from lake Ontario ... you wouldn't think that it's not humid enough here. The store also wouldn't take it back, even when I opened the can there and demonstrated by asking the manager to paint a strip to test with. He said that was "normal" for this paint. All-in-all a bad experience from the paint right down to the representation. 

The Farrow and Ball I used went on very well in one coat here! No additional priming or anything either. I guess it all depends on the colour and what you're going over I suppose, but I used "Down Pipe" -- going over a pale yellow and one coat did it very nicely. The rest of the house took quite similarly with a couple of exceptions where we had to do a second coat.


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## Max

Yeah, much depends on what you're coating with and what you're painting over - a light colour over a dark generally demands more coverage, and applying a colour over its primary opposite suggests the same treatment. Oh, and a good brush works wonders. Cheap brushes bring about shoddy results.

Wow, whatever store that was, they should be avoided. That is truly craptacular customer service. They ought to have refunded your money without hesitation, or at the very least take the can back and give you credit towards another paint brand. What a shame.


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## Guest

Max said:


> Yeah, much depends on what you're coating with and what you're painting over - a light colour over a dark generally demands more coverage, and applying a colour over its primary opposite suggests the same treatment. Oh, and a good brush works wonders. Cheap brushes bring about shoddy results.
> 
> Wow, whatever store that was, they should be avoided. That is truly craptacular customer service. They ought to have refunded your money without hesitation, or at the very least take the can back and give you credit towards another paint brand. What a shame.


Yep quality brushes and rollers are the only way to go. And agreed on that store, they lost my business -- to the tune of $500+ in paint and supplies this time around ... too bad for them!


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## Max

My last bit of advice would be to let the store owners know why you're taking a pass on giving them any more service. Sometimes it works wonders; other times at least you have the consolation of knowing you gave them what for.


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## Guest

Max said:


> My last bit of advice would be to let the store owners know why you're taking a pass on giving them any more service. Sometimes it works wonders; other times at least you have the consolation of knowing you gave them what for.


Yep I did that as well, after I was told they wouldn't credit or refund me for the paint I left the $50 worth of painting supplies that I had already picked up sitting on the counter and told them that I wouldn't be needing them and that I would get them from a different supplier. THe store manager just shrugged and said that was fine, they would "take the time" to reshelf them.

I also sent an email to B&M detailing the experience to them and explaining why they had lost my business.


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## Brushstrokin

I've just found this forum. I own a Benjamin Moore store in Toronto, and previously was a manager at Home Depot. I've sold several brands of paint, and what I find ironic is the emphasis that people put on application. Paint is designed to protect surfaces. Easy application is important, but not the be all-end all. The reality is that the paint needs to be durable-able to withstand the rigors of life. People give up on a product in the first ten minutes, because it applies differently than they are used to, without considering that an hour spent learning how to work with the product will save them countless hours in the future. The reality is that the technology that Benjamin Moore has developed for Aura paint is the future of paint, if for no other reason environmental concerns. Benjamin Moore is just 1st to market a waterborne paint, while automotive coatings have already switched over. I've used many products, and will fully admit that the cheaper the paint, the easier to apply- but so what? The importance is to find a balance.BTW Farow & Ball is the least durable product on the market today. It is clay based, which is old technology. It's kinda like paying more for a replica Model T and driving it to work every day, thinking you look cool. At least buy CIL and get what you pay for-average paint.


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## Zecopa

I am a Toronto Painting Contractor.
For over 20 years, we used a lot of paint of all types, I just have some
comments on this discussion.
Behr is low quality paint (any search and you will find all contractors hate it)
CIL at home Depot is average.
Farrow & Ball is not durable at all.
Aura is, by far, the best paint ever made.
Yes, it is a bit different to work with (especially the eggshell).
But after using it often for some really difficult colours (major retail client)
and seing it perform as it claims it does,
I know there is no paint like it anywhere. 
I would hope the occasional homeowner has some difficulty sometimes,
Our apprentices have to do 6,000 hours on the field and months in class
to become painters.


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## MACenstein'sMonster

Zecopa said:


> I am a Toronto Painting Contractor.
> For over 20 years, we used a lot of paint of all types, I just have some
> comments on this discussion.
> Behr is low quality paint (any search and you will find all contractors hate it)
> CIL at home Depot is average.
> Farrow & Ball is not durable at all.
> Aura is, by far, the best paint ever made.
> Yes, it is a bit different to work with (especially the eggshell).
> But after using it often for some really difficult colours (major retail client)
> and seing it perform as it claims it does,
> I know there is no paint like it anywhere.
> *I would hope the occasional homeowner has some difficulty sometimes,
> Our apprentices have to do 6,000 hours on the field and months in class
> to become painters.*


^^^ Dude just said a mouthful.

A friend of mine who's a painter by trade once told me, "anyone with 2 ears and an a**hole can paint". Well, if you don't mind a crappy paint job sometimes I guess that statement holds true. For a person who doesn't paint for a living, I've done a fair bit of it both on my own and along side those in the trade. Based on my personal experience and standards not everyone with 2 ears and an a**hole can paint.

As far as the OP's opinion of the product he was using I was thinking along the same lines as others - low humidity. Despite living near a large body of water the humidity could have been low in the room (furnace running? dehumidifier in the house?). I've encountered something along the same lines before with average paint where the home owner had the heat cranked up and it was drying the paint too fast as I was applying it. Asked her to turn it down and problem solved.

BTW, I recently used CIL Dulux Smart3 kitchen and bath paint. As good as any I've used before.


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## Guest

Yep I concede that there may have been extenuating factors when and where I tried this paint, but the experience I had I still stand by the fact that there was little to do with skill factor when putting it on. It coagulated so fast that with a brush you couldn't do a downstroke followed immediately by an upstroke. The upstroke was pulling the paint back up. I'm not talking pausing for any length of time, maybe 3 seconds tops it was too congealed to go over again.

@ Brushstrokin: Farrow and Ball also is also much more environmentally friendly paint because it's clay based. I loved the colors and it went on the walls like butter, covered in one coat for most part and if it doesn't last 20 years or "protect" my drywall good enough I won't lose sleep over it to be honest. In < 10 years I'll be sick of looking at it and want to change the color scheme anyway.

@ Zecopa: The small amount I got put on the wall was nice I admit (and it was a pretty deep color), but I didn't have the time to learn how to paint with it -- nor the desire. There must have been something wrong with my environment because if it was like that for everyone they would share my feelings ... but for all us non-pros that are doing our own paint it wasn't a great experience and not something I would do again, both on the point of the issues I had with the paint, and the service I got from where I bought it.


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## penguin456

I am going to be using the Aura paint soon, to paint 3 walls of a bedroom. I've never used it before, and want to try it on a small space. Thanks for the insight on the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of using this product. Forewarned is forearmed!

So, if it does work, great! And if it doesn't, i suppose I'll have to prime the walls before I use something else. Kind of ironic, if that happens.


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## Stirmyeggs

*Do not use Aura Paint by Ben Moore!*

This is very difficult paint to work with...even as an experienced painter. We were not instructed not to back coat initially. Had to sand the doors and re-do it all. It took 3 and in some cases 4 coats of paint. It sets up extremely fast BUT too fast in the tray and skins up! You can only paint a few inches and then have to roll your cut -ins right away! I found the brush stroke too obvious and can not re-work it! We were then instructed by the paint professionals that it needs to be cut with water. Why on earth would I want to spend $70.00 dollars per gallon only to have to cut in myself with water.....then we were told that there is an "extender" that costs about 8.95 to assist with the thinning of theis paint...too inconsistent and the results are not impressive by any means! Please, I urge you not to waste your money or worse...your precious TIME!!!!


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## BENNYMOO

I agree with MACenstein's Monster. There is no paint like it and I suggest you use the Matte finish. It is the most beautiful finish and still extremely durable.


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## Macified

We just painted our first room with Aura paint. I was concerned after reading some posts here so had another painter with me. We had one painter cut across about 6 feet of ceiling and then started on the walls. Humidity in the room wasn't bad. We had no problems whatsoever. Yes it sets fast but we were prepared for that and it went well. First paint I have ever used that truly covered in one coat. I would use this paint again without hesitation.


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## ehMax

BENNYMOO said:


> I agree with MACenstein's Monster. There is no paint like it and I suggest you use the Matte finish. It is the most beautiful finish and still extremely durable.


This thread ranks high on Google's search engine, and its funny all these no name people coming on just to spam the thread. Yeah, when you join ehMac with the name, BENNYMOO, and post one comment about how awesome this paint is, we really take that review seriously. 

Go spam someone else's forum please.


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## wpontariocanada

*Happy painter in Ontario!*

I wanted to let everyone know that I love Benjamin Moore Aura paint. We just completed painting our main bathroom and both my husband and I commented on how beautiful it was to work with this paint. 

I was painting over a dark gray and the new colour is November Skies (medium blue-gray colour). It covered in one coat. It goes on wonderful, no streaking and dries fast. I will defiantly use this produce again. 

I noticed that the negative reviews of this product were from a few years ago so I assume that BM have corrected those issues. Please don't let those reviews stop you from buying it....it is worth every penny!


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## Guest

ehMax said:


> This thread ranks high on Google's search engine, and its funny all these no name people coming on just to spam the thread. Yeah, when you join ehMac with the name, BENNYMOO, and post one comment about how awesome this paint is, we really take that review seriously.
> 
> Go spam someone else's forum please.


Yes it does seem to attract a lot of "first post" attention, just like the one above. If any of you folks love the paint so much, I still have a can about 4/5 full that was the reason I first posted about this sitting in my storage room  I tried to use it to paint something else a couple of months ago and it is STILL terrible IMHO. Maybe I got a bad batch, but after the treatment I got at the B&M store about it they'll will never get my money for their products again.


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## Paxalot

*Aura - not ready for prime time*

I've been renovating for 25 years and have painted countless homes. I bought the hype and bought some Aura semi-gloss in semi-gloss in Cloud White for a heritage kitchen. The stuff is a nightmare if you are a fussy painter. If you put it on too thickly you'll get a thousand quarter drips that must be sanded off. If you put it on too thinly you'll get roller marks. If you dare revisit an area that has been rolled less than 20 seconds ago you'll get an ugly roller mark. If you dare wipe a drip that is more than 5 minutes old you'll get a nasty smear that will have to be sanded and refinished after its dry. On the positive side, the stuff cures hard as nails and is incredibly durable. However, if you screw up in the learning process you'll never get it off. You'll have to skim coat the brush and rollers marks with drywall mud and re-prime before you can paint again. You cannot sand or slice this stuff off!

I managed to salvage the job by sanding down the first coat and applying two more thin coats with a high end Purdy roller. It now looks good enough for the client but not good enough for MY home. If this is the future of paint, I'll take the past.

For those of you who claim to be happy with Aura in anything other than matte, take a halogen light to your wall using the harshest and ugliest angle and check out the marks. Not pretty. 

If you are going for a matte finish you will likely have better luck. When I complained to my local BjM dealer about my troubles THEN they told me about the super fast drying times and the never-touch-up-until-after-its-dry rule. The instructions on the can need to be much clearer.

Out of sheer morbid curiosity I am going to try spraying some Aura using my Fuji HVLP sprayer. If that works out I may use Aura again. If not, that will be it for this lifetime. If BM actually expects Joe six-pack to use Aura, well good luck with that.


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## SINC

Amazing how this thread keeps popping up once every three months or so.


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## G-Mo

FWIW, it's just Benjamin Moore, not Benjamin & Moore.


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## Macfury

EhMax, plese don't lock this thread. The ongoing world's slowest debate is a source of neverending fascination to me.


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## Guest

It will be years in the making! It is funny how random people just pop up every few months that have never posted here before and need to chime in. At least this time around it wasn't all "pro" Aura


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## InLivingColour

*Aura*



mguertin said:


> Yep I concede that there may have been extenuating factors when and where I tried this paint, but the experience I had I still stand by the fact that there was little to do with skill factor when putting it on. It coagulated so fast that with a brush you couldn't do a downstroke followed immediately by an upstroke. The upstroke was pulling the paint back up. I'm not talking pausing for any length of time, maybe 3 seconds tops it was too congealed to go over again.
> 
> @ Brushstrokin: Farrow and Ball also is also much more environmentally friendly paint because it's clay based. I loved the colors and it went on the walls like butter, covered in one coat for most part and if it doesn't last 20 years or "protect" my drywall good enough I won't lose sleep over it to be honest. In < 10 years I'll be sick of looking at it and want to change the color scheme anyway.
> 
> @ Zecopa: The small amount I got put on the wall was nice I admit (and it was a pretty deep color), but I didn't have the time to learn how to paint with it -- nor the desire. There must have been something wrong with my environment because if it was like that for everyone they would share my feelings ... but for all us non-pros that are doing our own paint it wasn't a great experience and not something I would do again, both on the point of the issues I had with the paint, and the service I got from where I bought it.


I have been painting professionally for almost twenty years. I have used almost every single paint brand available in Ontario. After leaving Benjamin Moore for over 5 years using Sico and Sherwin-Williams in the interim I have gone back to Moore for life because of Aura. The cost of this paint is justified by it's unmatched finish and more importantly that it covers in one coat in most cases. My method is to not over brush and be sure to not over roll as well. About two roller widths and a nice even pressure with a high quality roller sleeve. (I like the purdy sleeves with the blue stripes) Do not go back over the fresh paint. Just apply a good amount to make sure the area is covered and the paint does the rest! I find this to work perfectly every time and touch-up is a breeze. The cost is more than justified by the time you will save and the prestige of using the finest paint on the market.


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## Macfury

InLivingColour said:


> The cost is more than justified by the time you will save and the prestige of using the finest paint on the market.


Personally, I will take prestige over cost and results every time.


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## Guest

mguertin said:


> It will be years in the making! It is funny how random people just pop up every few months that have never posted here before and need to chime in. At least this time around it wasn't all "pro" Aura


Almost 2 years later and another first poster hits this thread. That tells me one thing ... this thread still has good google page rank 

P.S. I finally tossed away the can with the remaining paint in it on the last local collection day for toxics, glad to be rid of it.


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## Macfury

mguertin said:


> Almost 2 years later and another first poster hits this thread. That tells me one thing ... this thread still has good google page rank
> 
> P.S. I finally tossed away the can with the remaining paint in it on the last local collection day for toxics, glad to be rid of it.


There goes your prestige!


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## eMacMan

FWIW 

Behr makes a one coat paint that does indeed do it in one coat. Did not even have to spot prime an area that had a different base colour from the rest of the room nor the inevitable patched areas. No problems at all using it. One thing I really liked was zero splatters. Even when I rolled paint on to the ceiling above a bath tub there was nothing to clean-up. Oh and this stuff cost me about $21/gallon Stateside at Home Depot. Probably about double that this side of the border.


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## Macfury

eMacMan said:


> FWIW
> 
> Behr makes a one coat paint that does indeed do it in one coat. Did not even have to spot prime an area that had a different base colour from the rest of the room nor the inevitable patched areas. No problems at all using it. One thing I really liked was zero splatters. Even when I rolled paint on to the ceiling above a bath tub there was nothing to clean-up. Oh and this stuff cost me about $21/gallon Stateside at Home Depot. Probably about double that this side of the border.


Not only that, think of the prestige involved in using imported paint!


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## imactheknife

Behr blows chunks....thick and crappy...my opinion....Benjamin Moore great paint, but you should use good quality tools for best results.....kinda like using Macs...


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