We are about to paint my son's bathroom in a few weeks and we wanted to know if Valspar Reserve is worth it or not.

Then I suggest you look for reviews online from a place that sells it. This is a forum where people talk shit about other people in northern VA - not fucking house paint.

^ A tad harsh, don't you think? Admittedly, this thread belongs in off-topic, but it's a valid area of inquiry.

Anyway, I haven't used Valspar, but a quick glance at Lowes online site shows that it gets five stars from hundreds of users because it 1. includes a primer with the paint, and 2. it claims to offer one coat coverage.

I've generally found that you get what you pay for in paint. Personally, I use Benjamin Moore paint (expensive but worth it). BM makes a line called Aura that seems comparable to Reserve (more expensive). I like the idea of one coat coverage, but I find that I need two coats to smooth out the imperfections in the first coat.

In your case, since you're just painting a kids room, you probably aren't looking for perfection. If that's true, then the convenience of a combined primer/paint and one coat coverage would seem to be worth the additional cost for Reserve.

Probably depends on how drastic the color change. Going from beige to beige? Doesn't matter and you don't need a primer. Painting bare drywall? Get one with a primer. Color changes? Pay more to get solids in the paint or you will be painting more than one coat.

And, in a bathroom, use a satin finish. More durable. If you can stand it, semi-gloss is even better.

I've never used Valspar, but typically premium and super-premium paints are worth the difference if you will be in your place for at least several more years.

Both valspar and behr are very good

Moore is no better. You pay for store overhead

Picasso Wrote:
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> Both valspar and behr are very good

You're probably right. Behr is consistently highly rated by Consumer Reports.

> Moore is no better. You pay for store overhead

I started using Benjamin Moore years ago after having used a variety of other brands. It's good paint. I still use it in part because I'm familiar with the color palette and because my local store has an excellent color consultant.

Moore is definitely good. But the retailers lack the economies of scale that the Lowes and HD have.

Back in the 70's and 80's BM was THE paint the buy. Sears was good, but the next level down. I remember my Dad being excited about painting the bedroom with BM back in the day.

Martin Senour, carried at Hechinger, was good paint, too.

Like everything these days, relentless cost-cutting is forcing everything to converge to the mean.

Sherwin-Williams/Duron has a premium product that has the exact same consistency and can be color-matched to just about any paint brand for more favorable pricing. For example, I had a whole house painted 6 yars ago and wanted about 70% BM, 20% Pratt & Lambert and 10% Duron and my contractors had a standing 50% discount on SW paints and simply color matched them all and saved us $1800 vs. if we were to have only used BM. 6 years later, the paint is still in great shape.

The brand may not be as important as the grade. Most top of the line paints will provide excellent results. Because of the extra moisture however, you may want a different type of paint in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms from what's going in the bedrooms, living, and dining rooms. Rec-rooms, playrooms, closets, store rooms, workshops, and finished basements may also present different challenges and situations. Know what sorts of performance you want and need, then use the paint that best suits those needs.

Just a tip - if you have spackled patches on your wall, make sure you prime them before putting on paint or the spackle will bleed through.

Gongadom Wrote:
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> We are about to paint my son's bathroom in a few
> weeks and we wanted to know if Valspar Reserve is
> worth it or not.


I've used Valspar interior and exterior. Your son's room will be fine.