Source: Aircanada
The discussion of paint brands is always a hot topic and often a hotly debated subject in this industry.
Whether you are asking designers, painting contractors or homeowners,
there's a variety of opinions. Not everyone is aware that
there are a few different official rankings available that are based
on testing and criteria.
The three I frequently look at
are JD Powers, Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping. While JD
Powers ranks consumer satisfaction, Consumer Reports and Good
Housekeeping rank paint brands based on testing. Unless you're a
color nerd, it can be a bit daunting to sift through the data to filter out the overall results.
For example, my latest issue of
Consumer Reports (March 2012) tested various paint lines from 13
different major brands, ranking by 3 sheen's and challenging:
Hiding
Stains
Gloss change
Scrubbing
Smoothness
Mildew Resistance
Resisting
Sticking (tackiness when dry)
Fading
VOC levels
In 2012, Benjamin Moore edged out Behr
which held all three top ranks in 2011. Benjamin Moore came in first
for Satin/Eggshell as well as in the Semi-gloss category. Consumer Reports
states they've seen a steady improvement over the years in Benjamin
Moore's quality but Behr remains the best value for what you get
money-wise. Blue checks were also given for overall good values for
the quality in different paint brands.
Here are the rankings for the top 4 in 2012:
Satin/Eggshell
Benjamin Moore Aura (Up from #6 last
year)
Behr Premium Plus Ultra Satin Enamel (
1st Place last year)
Kilz Brand (Stayed in #3 spot from
2011)
Glidden Premium Satin (Down from #3
last year)
Flat and Matte
Behr (Premium Plus Ultra ) Same rank as
2011
Benjamin Moore's Aura Matte ( up from
7th place last year)
Behr's Premium Plus Flat Enamel (#2
last year for Behr)
Benjamin Moore's Natura Flat (3rd
Place in 2011)
Semigloss
Benjamin Moore's Regal Select (jump
from #7 last year)
Behr's Premium Plus (Held at #2 spot)
Benjamin Moore's Aura (Huge jump from
#13 last year)
Royal Interiors by ACE ( Up one spot
from #5 in 2011)
Bottom rankings in all three categories
goes to Color Place by Walmart.
Good Housekeeping ranks paints
differently ….......This data is harder to sift
through compared to Consumer Reports and it's fuzzy regarding how many
paints were tested overall. Less precise rankings were given besides letter grades and a conclusion of pro versus cons in the
resulting 25 that they listed.
Good Housekeeping 2011
The test process was explained for
achieving the following tests:
Splatter Resistance
Scratch Resistance
Drying Time
Coverage Area
Coverage Quality
UV Resistance
Stain Removal
Color Consistency
Overall Quality and Texture
A grades went to:
Freshaire
PPG Pure Performance (Eggshell)
Dutch Boy Interior Semi-Gloss
Ace Royal Interior Flat
JD Powers and Associates 2011 Consumer
Rankings
These rankings were based on 6 criteria
from consumers/homeowners only for 19 major paint brands:
Application
Production Offerings
Durability
Price
Design Guidelines
Warranty
Benjamin Moore came out as the stand
alone winner while Porter Paints and Sherwin Williams came in second
and third reflectivity. At the bottom of the heap were Color Place
(Walmart), Martha Stewart (Surprise!) Glidden, Olympic, True Value
and Ace paints.
When I analyze the plethora of data and
the fact that:
1. Not all paint brands were included
in all rankings.
2. Consumer Reports and Good
Housekeeping listed different criteria and ultimately conducted testing
in different ways.
Ace: All over the place with higher
rankings through Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping but below
average points with JD Powers.
Behr: Middle rankings with Good
Housekeeping and JD Powers but high marks with Consumer Reports.
Benjamin Moore: ranked top in both JD
Powers as well as Consumer Reports although the Aura, Regal and Ben
paint lines only scored in the B grade ranges for Good Housekeeping.
You're not going to find too many colorists who don't use this line
as one of the back bones of their paint and color preferences.
Glidden: This was all over the place!
While placing well in most of Consumer Reports 2012 rankings, they
placed a B grade in Good Housekeeping and below average with JD
Power.
Kelly Moore: The darling of painting
contractors in my area, Kelly Moore only appeared in the JD Powers
reviews and ranked average in all criteria but above average in
durability.
Olympic: Wide ranging reviews again
from middling to low reviews in latest Consumer Reports, B grades
from Good Housekeeping to poor reviews from consumers for JD Powers.
Sherwin Williams: While receiving lower
reviews from Consumer Reports, they received high marks from
consumers in the JD Powers rankings. No published reviews from the
latest Good Housekeeping latest list.
Valspar: Middle of the road reviews
from all three rankings.
Bottom of the heap: True Value received
middle lower to downright bad scores over all three ranking systems
while Walmart's ColorPlace came in last place with Consumer Reports and
JD Powers but are not in Good Housekeeping's latest rankings.
Hey I'm only the messenger on this but
I do love asking my clients and painter for their experiences with
paint brands. Many of the other paints reviewed only appeared in one
of the rankings so I didn't delve into them. Where do YOU stand
on paint brands? What are your experiences?
