Nerd Alert: Happy about finding the right cabinet paint
Okay, I -again- forgot to take pictures today, so I have to find another thing to blog than "all the cabinets are primed! (which they are!)
It's funny (and maybe a little bit pitiful) what brings you joy when renovating.
In my case it was finding the perfect finish paint for our kitchen cabinets.
And the winner is.. Insl-X Cabinet Coat Satin
The runners-up were: Benjamin Moore Impervo Satin, Behr Oil-Based Semi-Gloss, Sherwin-Williams Oil-Based Semi-Gloss and Rustoleum Oil-Based Satin.
So if you're a paint-geek or renovator, here's the rest of the story.
Cabinet Coat was the clear winner, despite being the only water-based paint in the mix, despite my general leeriness of water-based paint. It was the walk-away winner clearly and by a long shot. Just no question about it. I think what put it over the line was that it's not latex, but rather urethane based. The winning qualities that made it 'the one' were an ultra-smooth spray on, the exact-right not-flat-but-not-shiny finish, and fast dry time. In other words it behaves exactly like urethane... except it's white.
I had gone in fully expecting Impervo to be the winner, and the rest to be distant seconds. That didn't happen.
I had gone in expecting to not even consider a water-based paint - I was "talked into" trying Insl-X by my paint-store guy.
In fact, "2nd place" was pretty much a free-for-all. If I had to declare a '1st runner up' it would actually be the totally-unexpected Behr - the paint I only even tried because "hey, I'm here at Home Depot anyway and a quart is cheap, so why not?" Bottom line is all the oil-based paints performed about the same, and Behr is by far the cheapest.
Of the 'runners-up'... They all sprayed on pretty nicely. They all exhibited the slow drying-time of oil-based paints. They all provided a nice smooth finish. Subjectively, the 'semi-gloss' variants were still too shiny for us (and some aren't available in Satin). None was 'bad'. Any and all of them would have been a 'good' finish paint.
What surprised me most was how much the ~$80 a gallon Impervo was not noticeably better than the "Big Box Store" Behr at less than half the price. (maybe with durability over time that would change, but in terms of initial application? No.)
Having said that, I must point out I remain a Benjamin Moore fan... and that Insl-X is made by them.
PS - Shout out to ColorMaxx (http://www.colormaxxpa.com/) - simply the best paint store in Central PA.
/end paint geek rant.
ADDENDUM (1/17/19): I remain even more thrilled with the paint as I use it. And it does provide excellent 'coverage' with only one coat, as promised. BUT to get the proper 'satin' finish effect will take two coats (which you should be doing anyway, of course). Just sayin'
It's funny (and maybe a little bit pitiful) what brings you joy when renovating.
In my case it was finding the perfect finish paint for our kitchen cabinets.
And the winner is.. Insl-X Cabinet Coat Satin
The runners-up were: Benjamin Moore Impervo Satin, Behr Oil-Based Semi-Gloss, Sherwin-Williams Oil-Based Semi-Gloss and Rustoleum Oil-Based Satin.
So if you're a paint-geek or renovator, here's the rest of the story.
Cabinet Coat was the clear winner, despite being the only water-based paint in the mix, despite my general leeriness of water-based paint. It was the walk-away winner clearly and by a long shot. Just no question about it. I think what put it over the line was that it's not latex, but rather urethane based. The winning qualities that made it 'the one' were an ultra-smooth spray on, the exact-right not-flat-but-not-shiny finish, and fast dry time. In other words it behaves exactly like urethane... except it's white.
I had gone in fully expecting Impervo to be the winner, and the rest to be distant seconds. That didn't happen.
I had gone in expecting to not even consider a water-based paint - I was "talked into" trying Insl-X by my paint-store guy.
In fact, "2nd place" was pretty much a free-for-all. If I had to declare a '1st runner up' it would actually be the totally-unexpected Behr - the paint I only even tried because "hey, I'm here at Home Depot anyway and a quart is cheap, so why not?" Bottom line is all the oil-based paints performed about the same, and Behr is by far the cheapest.
Of the 'runners-up'... They all sprayed on pretty nicely. They all exhibited the slow drying-time of oil-based paints. They all provided a nice smooth finish. Subjectively, the 'semi-gloss' variants were still too shiny for us (and some aren't available in Satin). None was 'bad'. Any and all of them would have been a 'good' finish paint.
What surprised me most was how much the ~$80 a gallon Impervo was not noticeably better than the "Big Box Store" Behr at less than half the price. (maybe with durability over time that would change, but in terms of initial application? No.)
Having said that, I must point out I remain a Benjamin Moore fan... and that Insl-X is made by them.
PS - Shout out to ColorMaxx (http://www.colormaxxpa.com/) - simply the best paint store in Central PA.
/end paint geek rant.
ADDENDUM (1/17/19): I remain even more thrilled with the paint as I use it. And it does provide excellent 'coverage' with only one coat, as promised. BUT to get the proper 'satin' finish effect will take two coats (which you should be doing anyway, of course). Just sayin'
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