Interior Paint Review

While interior paints can be water-based latex or oil-based alkyd formulas, most paint sold today is latex, and that's the type experts say is best for most situations. Latex paints adhere well to most surfaces and resist cracking, chipping, peeling, blistering, chalking and fading. It is also non-combustible, and it goes on smoothly and evenly, with less brush drag and less odor than oil-based interior paint. Latex paint also dries quickly (in one to six hours), which permits quick recoating. Water and a little soap are all you need for cleanup.

For this update, we found good information from professional reviewers, as well as illuminating -- and sometimes highly opinionated -- feedback at a host of contractor and homeowner discussion forums. Among the pros, Consumer Reports leads the pack with a comprehensive test that covers 57 interior paints from a variety of makers in an assortment of finishes and grades. Jim's Home Repair Stuff lists best and worst interior paint brands, but their testing methods are not made clear. We also found an article on interior paint written by a homeowner association, which mainly consists of interviews with professional painters on alternative paints. About.com site guide Coral Nafie recommends eight interior paint manufacturers. Her picks appear based on experience and industry knowledge rather than objective tests, but they do correspond with what we found in other reviews.

User forums that contain lots of great information include DoItYourself.com, PaintTalk.com and ContractorTalk.com. Though comments can get pointed at times, the threads are both helpful and fun to read. Enough professional painters and contractors, along with experienced homeowners, frequent these sites for the recommendations to bear considerable weight.

Eco-friendly paint continues to be a hot topic these days. Many new interior paint brands are low-odor, with low or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). VOCs emit a breathable gas when applied, are known to diminish air quality and may be a health hazard. Fumes can cause eye and throat irritation, as well as headaches, nausea and dizziness. Although it's more expensive, low-odor, no-VOC interior paint can make painting much more pleasant, and many types perform as well as regular latex paints. Keep in mind that not all zero-VOC paints are odor-free. If you are interested in eco-friendly paints, a comparative review at The Green Guide is the best professional report we saw. The same user forums named above also contain good information.

Most professionals say you should buy the highest quality interior paint you can afford. They add that while nearly any paint can look good once it's up on the wall, the biggest factor separating budget brands and premium brands is the effort it takes to get it there in the first place. That's why most contractors and professional painters pointedly refuse to use less expensive paints like those sold at big-box retailers. In discussion forums, they say that in real-world situations -- which are impossible for any reviewer to duplicate -- budget paints just don't deliver the same covering ability as premium choices. The result is that extra preparation work and extra coats are often needed to achieve the same results -- which translates to higher labor costs.

While homeowners don't have the same bottom-line concerns if a project takes a little longer to complete, it is important to weigh the extra time -- and extra paint -- an additional coat or two will require against the up-front savings. Still, we saw good professional recommendations for several budget offerings and many homeowners reported getting great results.