CohenCottage
04-27-2009, 05:20 PM
Since we are a bunch of paintin' fools, I thought y'all might appreciate the results of my recent paint testing.
We are going to paint (again, please don't laugh) our dog room (aka nursery), living room, kitchen, and hallway soon, and I've been trying to decide what kind of paint to use. Since we have 4 dogs that are messy, I want a paint that washes easily without changing the sheen of the paint (or having the paint come off on your cleaning rag). We usually use Benjamin Moore paint, so I was interested in trying their new Aura line. It's super pricey, but it is supposed to be very low VOC, easy to use, great coverage, and WASHABLE (even in matte). I really didn't believe the claims and had only found a few reviews online.
So yesterday I put up several test patches of colors and let them dry overnight. Tonight I did a scrub test where I rubbed each type of paint (Restoration Hardware, regular Ben Moore, and Aura) with a damp microfiber cloth. None of the Aura paint came off on the rag, and it didn't change the sheen of the paint when it dried. It also didn't streak when I let water run down the patch and dry. The Restoration Hardware paint was second best... some paint came off, it didn't change the sheen too much, but it also didn't really come clean in the dirty spots (this was our actual living room wall, not a test patch). The regular Ben Moore got opaque and noticeable in the area I scrubbed, and a TON of paint came off on the cloth. It also took awhile to dry, and the streaks of water showed badly. So, my verdict is that the Aura paint may actually be worth the extra 10-15 bucks.
Just as a side note, I noticed that the Aura was the easiest to apply, and the spots I touched up later were not noticeable, and it dried in minutes. There was also no smelly paint odor. Happy painting!!
We are going to paint (again, please don't laugh) our dog room (aka nursery), living room, kitchen, and hallway soon, and I've been trying to decide what kind of paint to use. Since we have 4 dogs that are messy, I want a paint that washes easily without changing the sheen of the paint (or having the paint come off on your cleaning rag). We usually use Benjamin Moore paint, so I was interested in trying their new Aura line. It's super pricey, but it is supposed to be very low VOC, easy to use, great coverage, and WASHABLE (even in matte). I really didn't believe the claims and had only found a few reviews online.
So yesterday I put up several test patches of colors and let them dry overnight. Tonight I did a scrub test where I rubbed each type of paint (Restoration Hardware, regular Ben Moore, and Aura) with a damp microfiber cloth. None of the Aura paint came off on the rag, and it didn't change the sheen of the paint when it dried. It also didn't streak when I let water run down the patch and dry. The Restoration Hardware paint was second best... some paint came off, it didn't change the sheen too much, but it also didn't really come clean in the dirty spots (this was our actual living room wall, not a test patch). The regular Ben Moore got opaque and noticeable in the area I scrubbed, and a TON of paint came off on the cloth. It also took awhile to dry, and the streaks of water showed badly. So, my verdict is that the Aura paint may actually be worth the extra 10-15 bucks.
Just as a side note, I noticed that the Aura was the easiest to apply, and the spots I touched up later were not noticeable, and it dried in minutes. There was also no smelly paint odor. Happy painting!!