# Behr is no longer #1



## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

But unfortunately, Consumer Reports has sunk (is it possible) even lower and picked a Walmart paint as their number one paint. I do not think I can ever trust that mag again.


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## Norrrrrrrrrrrrm (Jan 20, 2007)

I can't wait to go into a million dollar home and tell the owner.....wait, I have to run to WALMaRT and get some paint!!!!......It's #1


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Behr has always been a big, stinky, #2 in my book


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## MakDeco (Jan 17, 2007)

slickshift said:


> Behr has always been a big, stinky, #2 in my book



#2 ?? Your giving it too much credit 

Doesn't SW make walmart paint? they make most everyone elses.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Wal*Mart paint, at least around these parts, is made by Kilz
They use different suppliers in different areas though...whoever is the cheapest and signs the ridiculous supplier agreement
Man, if you saw one of those things you'd wonder why any company would sign one
It's just W*M sells so much crap, it's too much for some to say no
Last I saw, nearly half the soap in the country is sold by W*M


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## MakDeco (Jan 17, 2007)

ahhh, Kilz thats right I saw they came out with actual paint on top of there primers. Interesting, Kilz is made by masterchem which is a Masco companies which also makes Behr.. go figure, hammerite and others.


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## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

That's what it was, Kilz brand. I could not remember the brand after they said "from Walamrt". The mind needed a minute to recover from the shock.


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## Thepaintman (Jan 17, 2008)

If a customer has Behr paint I *refuse to use it!*I dislike it that much.

Jerry


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## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

Years back, Behr's soild latex-oil stain good. Durable.

Now they've thinned it to the consistency of milk, so thin it runs down your arm when brushing. Plan on extra coats. Have heard explanations of the cost of ingredients driving this, but to me, its become unusable.


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## MIbeachbuilder (Feb 6, 2008)

You guys are right Behr paint sucks! and im not a painter, just a woman who wanted "cozy cottage" in my office on the walls and ultra white on the ceiling..... I had to coat my ceiling 6 times! and i used primer first! 

When i got fed up i went to SW's. Looks great now!


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## A.T.H.I. (Feb 8, 2008)

I don't like their stain it has the consistency of water and leaves streaks. I stained my deck with it and made sure I did a board at a time to always keep the edge I was staining wet. Well I could see streaks everywhere and had to go over everything again. Not even half a season later it started wearing off the deck all over the place. The next year I restained it twice and the same thing happened. This stuff is sh*t, I went to HD and they said you didn't prepare the deck right. I waited a full year for my deck to dry out before I applied the stain, I gave it a light sanding and washed all the debris off, I didn't paint it on a windy or hot day. I don't know what else I was supposed to do. This is stain isn't it supposed to penetrate the wood not sit on top and wear off like a paint would? This summer I'm going to have to sand the remaining stain off and find a better product. 

Seeing as their stain is so bad, I won't even touch their paint.


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## REMODMAN (Feb 15, 2008)

*Behr Paint*

I Have Never Used Wal-mart Paint .i Have Used Some Behr But I Usally Use S/w Paint It Works The Best For Me


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## cmvsm (Feb 16, 2008)

The Kilz Paint is just another re-label of Behr's old 'One Coat' which was a bomb as well. There must be some high dollars flying around at the old Consumer Reports each year from Behr/Masco to keep their products in the limelight, because the rating certainly isn't attached to true quality in regard to application.

I've used the Behr exterior, and it cost me more in materials and cleanup as it was a drippy, poor hiding mess. I'll never use it again.


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## perfect (Jan 29, 2008)

I WOULDN'T PUT BERHS ON MY DOG HOUSE OR WALMART FOR THAT MATTER JUST LOW END LOW GRADE PRODUCT YUCK , MOST HIGH END PAINTERS USE HIGH END PRODUCT :thumbup:


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## PaintMaster (Feb 20, 2008)

*Walmart Paint is not rated#1*

The paint product that is currently in the number 1 position in CR is (American Traditions) this product is made by VALSPAR and is sold through Lowes. They also have another product in 3rd place that is called the Signature Series that is also sold at Lowes. I believe benjamine Moore took the number 2 spot. Behr sucks in my opinion and I would rather use ICI or SW products. Both ICI and SW have been manufacturing paint for a very long time. I have also used Valspar and have been pleased with their products however there are not many Lowes stores in my area and they do not carry the volume I use.


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## orson (Nov 23, 2007)

I'm just passing along heresay here but I was told recently by a designer that Wal Mart paint is Sherwin Williams paint (sold cheaper at WM than you can get it at a SW store)

www.rubycon.us
Ruby Construction LLC 
Lancaster Kitchen Remodeling
Lancaster Bathroom Remodeling


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## paintr56 (Feb 4, 2005)

It doesn't matter who makes the paint. All the major makers make very good paints and very bad paints. It comes down to what is important to the buyer price or quality. Behr and wall mart look at price.

Jim


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## bg93245 (Feb 22, 2008)

*learning the hard way*

could not agree more on the Behr, when i was talking to the kid at HD about how it was like spreadin peanut butter he offered to sell me an additive that would make it easier to spread and maybe hit that never before seen "one coat " they all claim. of course the priceof the additive was the same as the gallon of paint GO FIGURE


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## PaintHead (Nov 14, 2009)

*Behr Paint Is Crap.*

I just bought Behr's supposed "Best Coverage Paint" and it sucks, does not cover, and goes on terrible.

I have to disagree that all paint companies make good paint, this is simply not true.

It appears Behr's plan is to sucker you in, and use their Home Depot market advantage to sell you twice the amount paint to do a simple job. While other name brand Premium Paints actually cover in one coat, and that's the way it should be. You should never have to paint, and paint, paint to cover anything; as with Behr.

I mistakingly second guessed myself, and choose Behr over other brand Glidden when purchasing, and allowed the stupid sales person to sell me Behr...after the true test Glidden Premium Paint covered in one coat and went on like butter, while Behr's top paint was a constant struggle and never covered anything in one coat not even light off white.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

DeanV said:


> But unfortunately, Consumer Reports has sunk (is it possible) even lower and picked a Walmart paint as their number one paint. I do not think I can ever trust that mag again.


That's awesome.

We always include a line in our contracts that says we will supply the paint to avoid a customer springing some crap paint on us.

A few months ago, the customer springs on us that, it's fine if you supply the paint, but we want to make sure it is Behr paint 

20 minutes later of explaining we only use SW or BM and the customer tell me how Behr is the best we ended up not doing the painting part of the job.:w00t: 

They simply had to have Behr paint!


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## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

ive posted a link to this thread in my profile here
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/08/behr-paints.html


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## katesmith (Nov 15, 2009)

*Unfortunate*

I have always loved Behr. It is unfortunate


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

katesmith said:


> I have always loved Behr. It is unfortunate


Why is it unfortunate? Does that mean how it will work for you will be lessened now? So someone else's rating actually affects it's performance?

To me, no matter what anyone else has said about it, it has always sucked.


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## jarvis design (May 6, 2008)

I can not believe what I am reading!!! You all say that Behr paint sucks???

I use Behr ALL THE TIME - I always have 4 cans with me.

those four cans and a couple of pieces of 2x4 make a great place to put the trim I just painted (with BM or C2):whistling


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## Jeffrey Watson (Oct 12, 2009)

Consumer reports performs actuality test when they test for coverage. Its side by side with other paint with the same rollers or brushes. One person on this forum says its so watery its runs and the next guy says it goes on like paste. Which is it? Consumer reports does not have sponsors or advertisers. Their test are performed to be objective. So when they say they took a roller and rolled Behr paint next to SW and the behr covered better. Why would they lie. Alltheir test are actuality test. They don"t listen to what others say to base their ratings.:clap:


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Jeffrey Watson said:


> Consumer reports performs actuality test when they test for coverage. Its side by side with other paint with the same rollers or brushes. One person on this forum says its so watery its runs and the next guy says it goes on like paste. Which is it? Consumer reports does not have sponsors or advertisers. Their test are performed to be objective. So when they say they took a roller and rolled Behr paint next to SW and the behr covered better. Why would they lie. Alltheir test are actuality test. They don"t listen to what others say to base their ratings.:clap:


But who determines what better coverage is? Someone who uses 100's of gallons per year or some lab coat geek who has used 5 gallons....ever?
If the majority of professional painters tell me SW is better than Behr, who do you think I'm gonna believe?


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## Steve Richards (Mar 7, 2006)

katesmith said:


> I have always loved Behr. It is unfortunate


Agreed.

It's unfortunate that you don't know good paint from crap paint.

Maybe after you've painted a few more years/a few more thousand gallons, you'll figure it out.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Jeffrey Watson said:


> Consumer reports performs actuality test when they test for coverage. Its side by side with other paint with the same rollers or brushes. One person on this forum says its so watery its runs and the next guy says it goes on like paste. Which is it? Consumer reports does not have sponsors or advertisers. Their test are performed to be objective. So when they say they took a roller and rolled Behr paint next to SW and the behr covered better. Why would they lie. Alltheir test are actuality test. They don"t listen to what others say to base their ratings.:clap:


Do you remember the 60 million dollar lawsuit for them doctoring the test results of the suzuki samari?


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## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

Well consumer reports didn't approve my post critical of consumer reports. I'm shocked I tell you! Shocked!!


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

I have never, nor would I ever, use Behr paint. On anything. The doghouse deserves better. 

Kilz solvent primer is great as far as i'm concerned - though I would be hesitant to pick up a Kilz paint.


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## chris n (Oct 14, 2003)

Rcon said:


> I have never, nor would I ever, use Behr paint. On anything. The doghouse deserves better.
> 
> :laughing::laughing::thumbsup:


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## Duckwarrior (Jun 14, 2009)

Some of these posts are amusing taking into consideration that under the Masco umbrella Behr has been formulating kilz for sometime now. Kilz paint is basically a scaled down version of PP. etc. etc. More than a few of the chemists responsible for Behr as you see it today came from BM.


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## chris n (Oct 14, 2003)

Duckwarrior said:


> Some of these posts are amusing taking into consideration that under the Masco umbrella Behr has been formulating kilz for sometime now. Kilz paint is basically a scaled down version of PP. etc. etc. More than a few of the chemists responsible for Behr as you see it today came from BM.


SAYYY WHAT???:blink::blink::blink:


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## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

Until the last few years, BM was way behind the times in paint formulation. Maybe they sent their old chemists over to Behr which has allowed BM to innovate and pull ahead of everyone else.


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## Duckwarrior (Jun 14, 2009)

DeanV said:


> Until the last few years, BM was way behind the times in paint formulation. Maybe they sent their old chemists over to Behr which has allowed BM to innovate and pull ahead of everyone else.


lol. a long shot, but whatever.


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## chris n (Oct 14, 2003)

All I can say is Behr AND Kilz both suck( the original oil Kilz was OK for what it did and for destroying brain cells. I am sure that is the cause of my attitude today and not all the recreational substances consumed in the 70's, the Kilz oil did all the damage for sure.( well,I will admit that over indulgence in Beefeater's and Jack Daniels might have done something to add):w00t:


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

oh boy... all thoes homes i painted with behr paint.... now they are going to fail

who ever saw this coming...

what a world, what a world


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

and for anyone who wants to take my post literaly, let me clear the air by saying i made the mistake only once of using behr paint at the insistance of a client "cause consumer reports sais..." and it was a horable experiance...

been in therapy since...


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## Builtmany (Dec 9, 2009)

Three things come to mind: 1) Behr is the WORST paint I've ever used. 2) CS does is no expert on anything. The people teasing paint were running vacuums a week before and toasters just before the paint. They are also typically recent college graduates. 3) No real professional painters use Behr ever, even if a homeowner gave it to them.


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## BuildersII (Dec 20, 2009)

Since I do a lot of repair and handyman work, I'm typically painting with whatever the homeowner has in their garage. Personally I think Behr is alright. I really don't mind it being thin as I usually count on two-coating any paint job. It's a two-coat paint, but I've yet to see a paint be a one-coat (unless you use a tinted primer, which is still two coats imo).

Now mind you, I'm no master painter. I can cut in very well, and I've probably painted over 300 hours of my life away in some form or another, but 9/10 times the homeowner wants to save money by painting themselves after we're done with the main remodel. Therfore I've never gotten to be too discerning about my brand choice.

I recently used SW "Pro Classic" trim and door paint, and I found myself chasing down runs. I didn't have these problems with the Cashmere however. Either way, it turns out I was using the wrong technique for that paint, and had to apply less paint and brush it out more. For this reason, I actually did not prefer SW to Behr because I still had to apply two coats, I was chasing down runs that formed 20 minutes after the paint had been applied and I had to work my paint out more. 

I actually would love to hear a response from a painter on tips for these kinds of paint, and why that happens. I'm assuming because pro classic is supposed to remove brush marks by being self leveling, it has a slower drying time to allow it's high viscosity time to level itself out.


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## Builtmany (Dec 9, 2009)

BuildersII said:


> Since I do a lot of repair and handyman work, I'm typically painting with whatever the homeowner has in their garage. Personally I think Behr is alright. I really don't mind it being thin as I usually count on two-coating any paint job. It's a two-coat paint, but I've yet to see a paint be a one-coat (unless you use a tinted primer, which is still two coats imo).
> 
> Now mind you, I'm no master painter. I can cut in very well, and I've probably painted over 300 hours of my life away in some form or another, but 9/10 times the homeowner wants to save money by painting themselves after we're done with the main remodel. Therfore I've never gotten to be too discerning about my brand choice.
> 
> ...


Pro Classic is a tricky paint to get used to. Cashmere is my favorite semi gloss. I either re-prime or coat with flat first and 1 coat Cashmere white is perfect. The exact opposite IMO of Pro Classic is the new Glidden at Depot it dries fast and drags like glue 30 seconds later so there is not time for runs. The Glidden does cover well and that's a plus.

The more you paint you will realize how bad Behr is. The only decent paint in the Depot is Glidden & Zinsser primers. There was a post on another forum on how a red Behr paint & primer in one took 5 coats to equal the coverage of what another paint almost did in 1 coat.


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## Jeffrey Watson (Oct 12, 2009)

angus242 said:


> But who determines what better coverage is? Someone who uses 100's of gallons per year or some lab coat geek who has used 5 gallons....ever?
> If the majority of professional painters tell me SW is better than Behr, who do you think I'm gonna believe?


 So your saying they lied


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## Baron (Nov 23, 2009)

I have never put too much faith in consumer reports. I've seen too many products listed well that from my experiences and every one I know has had poor experiences with.


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## Dolly07 (Dec 24, 2009)

slickshift said:


> Behr has always been a big, stinky, #2 in my book


When has Behr ever been #1 or #2? A serious painting contractor would never use this paint.


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## Dolly07 (Dec 24, 2009)

Well said... who the $#@! (in terms of any serious contractor) buys paint based on Consumer Reports opinion anyways?


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## Dolly07 (Dec 24, 2009)

Builtmany said:


> Pro Classic is a tricky paint to get used to. Cashmere is my favorite semi gloss. I either re-prime or coat with flat first and 1 coat Cashmere white is perfect. The exact opposite IMO of Pro Classic is the new Glidden at Depot it dries fast and drags like glue 30 seconds later so there is not time for runs. The Glidden does cover well and that's a plus.
> 
> The more you paint you will realize how bad Behr is. The only decent paint in the Depot is Glidden & Zinsser primers. There was a post on another forum on how a red Behr paint & primer in one took 5 coats to equal the coverage of what another paint almost did in 1 coat.





Jeffrey Watson said:


> So your saying they lied





Duckwarrior said:


> Some of these posts are amusing taking into consideration that under the Masco umbrella Behr has been formulating kilz for sometime now. Kilz paint is basically a scaled down version of PP. etc. etc. More than a few of the chemists responsible for Behr as you see it today came from BM.



So you think that means they are the same paint? You obviously have not tried Behr and BM paints


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## quality1stconst (Aug 13, 2009)

Dolly07 said:


> Well said... who the $#@! (in terms of any serious contractor) buys paint based on Consumer Reports opinion anyways?


 
Sheeple:laughing:


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## bellapaint (Jun 24, 2008)

I hate when people try to insist on Behr Paint becuase they think it's better and oh yea its cheaper. Really? If you break it down its peanuts compared to buying a premium brand like Benjamin moore or Sw. Gotta love marketing


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## House Van Gogh (Jul 27, 2010)

I am sorry to say that the main problem with Behr Paint these days all started when Masco Corporation bought this family owned firm in the late 90's.Behrs primary focus then was Quality ingredients for a superior product, now , they seem to be more concerned with how their paint cans look on the shelf rather than what is actually inside. I guess this is the end result of being driven more by marketing image than substance. As for me, its back to Dunn Edwards.


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

used plenty of BM, contractor as well as aura lines as well as glidden and behr and kelly moore and others. i'd say that bm and kelly moore are definitely better, but $60/gallon for the aura line of BM paint because it's zero voc and supposedly covers in one coat is crazy.
never found a paint that covers in one coat. if it's my house i use glidden because, when properly applied to a good substrate it will last just fine and is a lot less.


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## Andrew M. (May 25, 2008)

One coat of anthing is never enough for a 1st class job. Behr is a marketing hype by HD. If you have to buy there, Glidden is very good. The Valspar ext. is OK, but does not cover in 1 coat, the interior newer "green"formulation is terrible. These zellots on this eco religion crap are ruining just about anything we use. Wasting resources using 2 times the product and extra labor has no consideration to them. It is also 116 oz. not 128 oz /can. This "clean air paint "runs and foams easily, poor coverage and takes a week to dry, still not really hard after 2 weeks, and took 1 can[116 oz] to do a 10'x10' room w. a large window and 1 wall a closet! .Barely covered in 2 coats, and you can not back roller or it will lift. Hate the properties. It was eggshell, but came out more like satin/semi g. The paint is very thin, a joke as the can says "thick formula". Hate to see the "green" thin formula. . I will never use it again. Nothing like the exterior paint formula or the older white label Am. tradition.
Oh yea, Behr is even worse, did a job where HO insisted on it , took 3 coats to cover walls. Never again on Behr too.


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## NaeGan (Sep 8, 2009)

BuildersII said:


> For this reason I actually do not prefer SW to Behr because I still had to apply two coats, I was chasing down runs that formed 20 minutes after the paint had been applied and I had to work my paint out more.


If it was 20 minutes later it was probably sagging and not running. There's a few variables there. Either put on too thick trying to avoid brush marks or do it in one coat, or the first coat was not dry enough yet, or the surface was too shiny and the paint was sliding off. How was the humidity?

I have used Behr a few times. There was one time where the homeowners bought it off the bad tint rack and it was Ultra Premium. It laid down really well, but the other two times it was not good. If the homeowner insists I will deal with it because I hate to turn down the work. Those one coat, primer mixed in commercials piss me off and make me wish Behr ill I must say. I have used Pittsburgh once and was tremendously disappointed with it. The open time was about 4 seconds, it flashed horribly and covered like hell.


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## 4thGeneration (Nov 23, 2006)

I was at a Glidden Store and asked about why their paint was sold at HD and why it costs less. The answer the manager gave me was that HD wanted a professional paint sold there as a option. He also said the reason the same paint there is cheaper than at the actual store is because they actually add more water to the paints in order to sell it cheaper. Makes sense as HD is in this trade to make a buck.

Bottom line:

Even if a box store carries a name brand paint, do not buy it there because it is the same product only in name...


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## straight line (Aug 27, 2006)

I think walmart paint is better than behr or valspar,and that's not saying much.


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## kingston (Dec 19, 2006)

This thread is funny! Behr? Wally paint? wow... I won't even bother with punctuation on this one.


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## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

you can get better paint for less money at a paint store, and speak with people who actually deal with professionals all day long and actually KNOW their product lines... when dealing with a paint store. Why anyone would go to Home Depot and talk to the 20 year old kid behind the counter about painting is beyond me.


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## Steve Richards (Mar 7, 2006)

CarrPainting said:


> Why anyone would go to Home Depot and talk to the 20 year old kid behind the counter about painting is beyond me.


I have a 20 year old son, and he knows everything.

..but he doesn't think I know anything (because I'm old).


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## Andrew M. (May 25, 2008)

The first thing out of their mouths is Behr. The "kids" will never recommend Glidden. Kilz is now also owned by behr/HD. The Glidden there might have more water in it, the MSDS might be a way to tell. I usually add some with Floetrol anyway.


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