What Is the Best Quality Paint – 6 Qualities to Look For

What is the best quality paint? The move is finished, the wall is wallpapered, and only the paint is missing. But arriving at the DIY store, one stands in front of a big shelf of countless colors, different suppliers, and different prices.

One asks oneself the question: Which color is the best for my interior wall? How do you recognize a good color? What do I have to pay attention to when buying my wall paint? Moreover, are there any differences at all?

We help you with this decision, and show you what you should look out for when choosing your color.

What Is the Best Quality Paint

Is Expensive Paint Worthwhile?

Yes. As a rule, the expensive paint always wins over the cheap one. Also with the price.

A typical mistake is to buy “cheap” paints because you want to save money. However, cheap paint is often the cause of a pale and striped wall. Buying a cheap paint is one of the common mistakes you make when painting walls.

If you buy cheap paint, you often have to paint a second time, the white does not shine and dirt cannot be removed. So, it is better to use more expensive paint. It saves time and nerves, and looks even better.

But beware: Even with quality paints there are enormous price differences.

What should you pay attention to when buying a wall paint? Read on.

1. Opacity of the Paint

Each wall color has a different degree of opacity. Opacity is divided into different “opacity classes” from 1 to 4. The number 1 stands for the highest opacity. The number 4 stands for the lowest opacity.

Advantage of a higher opacity: One coat is usually sufficient. If the hiding power is lower, it is often necessary to paint twice or even more often until the old surface is no longer visible. A cheaper paint is therefore not really cheaper, and is sufficient for fewer square meters of wall.

For example, if the previous surface has stains or is even colored, you will not get anywhere with a low opacity.

Another disadvantage of low opacity: If you paint several times, stripes often appear on the wall.

2. Which Is the Best Quality Paint – Wet Abrasion Class of the Paint

How well can I remove dirt and grime from my dried wall with a damp cloth? This is answered by the wet rub-off class of a paint, which is divided into five classes from 1 to 5.

The number 1 stands for highest durability and cleanability. With a wet abrasion class of 1, it is therefore easy to remove dirt with a cloth. This class usually includes high-quality latex paints. In most cases, level 2 is already sufficient for normal use.

From this level on, a paint is considered “abrasion resistant”. So you can also wipe over the wall without any problems. However, only the higher priced quality paints reach this class.

3. Gloss Level of the Paint

Here it depends on personal taste. The degree of gloss of a color describes the appearance of a color in a dried state. The gloss palette consists of the following gloss levels:

Dull matt

Matt

Silk mat

Silky Gloss

Glossy

High gloss

The most popular gloss levels are “matt” and “silk gloss”.

Which color is chosen depends, among other things, on whether the wall should also be cleanable. Glossy colors are easier to clean than matt colors.

4. Degree of Whiteness of the Color

It is precisely the degree of whiteness that shows the differences in the quality of colors. The degree of whiteness describes the purity and radiance of the color. Cheaper products use cheap white pigments and use more fillers.

Higher quality colors, on the other hand, use higher quality white pigments. This can usually be seen in the end product: colors with a higher degree of whiteness shine more and appear purer. A cheap color, on the other hand, makes the wall look somewhat grayish – and painting over it several times does not make it whiter.

5. The “Flood” Of Paint

If the paint distributes well on the wall, and you can easily paint with it, then the painters say that the paint has a good “flow”. The “flood” has a particular effect on the range. If a paint is too viscous and too thick, you get less square meters painted than indicated.

That is why you should buy special paints for do-it-yourselfers that are already pre-mixed and do not need to be thinned. When diluting it is difficult to achieve the same consistency twice.

6. What Is the Best Quality Paint – Labels

With some cheap paints, information on opacity, wet abrasion class or gloss level is missing. You should avoid such colors. Read the manufacturers’ labels carefully.

Although it is worth buying the more expensive colors, you should look at the prices of the various brand manufacturers. There are sometimes enormous differences here, which do not really have a reason.

Decide here according to the criteria mentioned above. Often, you as a customer only pay for the “brand”.

The best paint for an ordinary wall for a living room looks like this:

• Opacity class 1
• Wet abrasion class 2

Gloss level: You should paint rooms such as the kitchen, children’s room, and hallway with glossy paints because they are easier to clean.