Why Professional Painters Don’t Like Box Store Paint?

Paint makes a house looks more attractive, especially if professional painters do the job. However, some homeowners buy paint from the store to paint themselves. Eventually, they’ll realize they won’t be able to finish it quickly because it takes a lot of time to do all the work.

 

After a while, homeowners call a painting company looking to hire professional painters to do the job. Initially, they ask for estimates to learn how much the project will cost. Before starting the work, there will be discussions between the potential client and the company.

 

Some homeowners want to use the paint they bought from the store months ago. These products are being advertised in TV commercials, claiming they’re high-quality. People buy them because they’re being marketed well and make them sound perfect.

 

These paint products are not necessarily wrong but are made for DIY customers rather than professional painters. And although professionals can use them for projects, the result may be entirely different once the work is completed.

 

Top three reasons professional painters don’t like box store paint.

 

1. Box store paint slows us down.

 

As professional painters, we don’t like to use DIY store-bought boxed store paint because it slows us down. Some products have ingredients that make the color thicker and stick like glue. Because of this, we would have to do more work to spread it out than we would have to with ordinary paint.

 

We’ll dip and smooth it out if we cut a ceiling line. Using box store paint, we have to smooth it out. It doesn’t matter whether you’re doing a DIY project or not. These products are not very fast at painting.

 

The outcome will be different if you hire a professional painter because we use products made for professional work. I’ve been a professional painter for 25 years and can paint a bedroom alone. Before beginning the project, I taped the floors and patched the nail holes and sand. Then, I can paint two coats in a ten by twelve bedroom for about three to four hours.

 

2. Box store paints don’t entirely cover the walls, as promised in advertisements.

 

We don’t recommend box store paints because they claim to be “high-end” products and have one-coat coverage. Some customers believe this, thinking they could get great results with just one coat. But in reality, that’s not true. You’re going to encounter several issues down the road.

 

If you prefer one coat, you can opt for it. However, it would help if you prepared yourself for possible problems later. After doing one coat, you stood ten feet away from the wall and thought, “it was perfect.” But when you get close to it, you’ll see where rollers leave little spots.

 

There’s also a difference in the paint color once you put it on the wall. While some cover better than others, darker colors don’t cover well. That means you need a little bit of a seal. But, if it’s the same color, using just one coat is alright. Note that this only applies if you’re not changing the sheen.

 

3. Box store paints don’t hide the wall defects and imperfections.

 

Speaking of sheen, professional painters don’t like box store paint because most homeowners have no clue what shine to get for the wall. People may think that paint is just paint, but there’s always a distinction between them. Usually, we use a matte finish because it is similar to flat paint – it hides defects and is washable.

 

The gloss and semi-gloss are washable with soap and water, but the light reflection shows every defect. Some are using these because Glossy paints look cleaner and more appealing. But that was an old-school thing. Thinking that semi-gloss is for kitchens and bathrooms makes cleaning the area easier.

 

Paint technology has advanced over the past decades, so you have a lot of choices you can choose. Others still prefer shiny ones, but I wouldn’t say I like glossy paints. Aside from not being attractive in my eyes, the shiny-ness shows any defects you might have on the drywall or from the previous paint job.

 

We always use a matte finish since it is super dull and close to flat paint when we have projects. It is also closer to satin but duller than it. The significant advantage of using matte is that it hides the defects and doesn’t reflect tons of light where you can see every slight imperfection. In addition, there’s no problem in cleaning it because it’s still washable. 

 

So, those are the top three reasons why professional painters do not like to use box store paint brands. There are still many reasons out there, but these are the things that we mainly consider when it comes to DIY paints. They are okay for primers and some woodwork coatings, but I do not recommend them for wall coatings.

 

Homeowners should always be careful buying the right paint products, especially if they plan to do a DIY. Some have no idea what proper coatings to get and what they need for different surfaces. 

 

Give The Picky Painters a call.

 

For us, The Picky Painters, we use different product lines for walls, woodwork, and ceilings. This goes for both exterior and interior paints. We are very specific on various surfaces that we are painting.

 

 

If you are in the Cleveland market and looking for any paint job, call us at (216) 403-2545 or book an appointment on our website (https://thepickypainters.com). We will get a few details from you and ask for some pictures of the area you want to get painted. Within just 10 minutes, we could give you the pricing estimate.

 

We’ll be happy to help you out!

 

Thank you for reading this blog; we’ll post more soon.