You get what you pay for... but how bad can it be?

February 27, 2009 7:03 AM

We're moving into an apartment with some really heinous paint on the walls and ceilings. We're painting it ourselves so we're not stuck with an all-white apartment; help us do it on the cheap.

The long and short is that we've got a budget of about $200 to cover about 1400 square feet of wall and 350 square feet of ceiling (many of the ceilings don't need to be painted, but nearly all the walls do). These are the actual surface areas that need paint (assuming my measurements were reasonably close). We can probably get a few more bucks from the landlord, but let's assume we can't.

Two questions: first, are we going to need two coats of flat white to cover flesh-toned satin or semi-gloss ceilings? (Seriously; who thought that was a good idea?)

Second, assuming we can't find enough matching "oops" paint, how much will we regret using the cheapest of the cheap paints? I'm talking about the $15/gallon satin stuff from Home Depot for walls, the $8/gallon flat stuff for ceilings. Remember that we really only need it to look respectable for a year or two.

Thanks, folks.

posted by uncleozzy to home & garden (20 answers total)

The thing about the cheapest of the cheap paint is that it doesn't give as good coverage, so you usually end up doing more coats (so it's a lot more work, plus you need more paint). I don't have personal experience with the paints you mention, though, so hopefully someone else can help.

You will need at least two coats of white to cover any colours. Painting ceilings is a major PITA so you will want to get that done in as few coats as possible; with the walls it's not so bad.
posted by different at 7:16 AM on February 27, 2009

I regretted using the cheapest of the cheap paints because it was an absolute pain in the ass to work with. It stuck to itself better than it did to walls, so when I peeled off the tape, the paint would stick to itself and peel off the walls. Kind of like that horrible removable nailpolish for kids -- it would just peel, and peel, and peel. And then I had to go buy more paint. Go just one rung up, and you'll be in much better shape.

As for covering the existing color, it'll depend on what color you want the walls to be. Darker? Same color family? Skip the white altogether. Lighter? You'll definitely need at least one coat of white in between. Expect to put 2-3 coats of each color on the walls for even coverage. I really don't think it's possible to do the entire place in your budget, but I'm assuming you'll also need to buy rollers, brushes, masking tape, paint trays, et cetera. You might want to go one or two rooms at a time.
posted by amelioration at 7:17 AM on February 27, 2009

reminds me of this thread --> here

Or, since your walls are fairly light, you can get yourself an expensive one-coat paint like BM Aura. At $55/gallon, it's not cheap - but at 400sf/gallon you're cost is under 14 cents/sf of wall in a single coat. It'll save time and maybe perform better then the cheaper stuff.
posted by spoons at 7:17 AM on February 27, 2009

Semi-gloss paint will cover more readily if you go over it lightly with sandpaper first to knock off some of the gloss.

A gallon will cover about 350-400 square feet so you are looking at about 5 gallons for one coat. A good paint is much more likely to cover well in one coat. I can recommend Benjamin Moore Regal paint (their matte finish looks flat, but is washable, which is nice). If you shop carefully you can probably find it (or another good paint) for $40 a gallon new, which will fit within your budget. Two coats are always better, of course. Ceiling white is going to be somewhat less expensive. (Get "bright white" -- it makes your rooms look bigger by reflecting more light from the ceiling. Very nice in an apartment.)

Don't skimp on the tools -- good rollers will save you much headache compared to cheap ones.
posted by kindall at 7:19 AM on February 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the main trouble with the cheap paint isn't that it doesn't last; it's that it doesn't go on as easily. This means more coats (i.e. more paint) and more of your time.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:28 AM on February 27, 2009

I'm assuming you'll also need to buy rollers, brushes, masking tape, paint trays, et cetera

Thankfully, we do already have many of the tools (although we need a few roller covers and tray liners), so almost all of the budget will go towards paint. We're not averse to spending a little more, but again, it's an apartment.

As for covering the existing color, it'll depend on what color you want the walls to be. Darker? Same color family? Skip the white altogether.

I think we're going darker or similar color on all of the walls (although the kitchen--which has very little wall space--will need primer and 2-3 coats for sure), and other than the 500 nail/screw holes that we're going to spackle, sand, and prime, the walls are in fairly good condition, so I don't think we need to do more than spot prime. The main concern is getting the ceilings from vaguely-glossy light-peach to flat white.

Semi-gloss paint will cover more readily if you go over it lightly with sandpaper first to knock off some of the gloss.

Ah, thanks. I'll rough it all up a bit before we paint it.

Thanks for the input so far, everybody. We'll have to do some pro-con weighing before we buy the paint.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:36 AM on February 27, 2009

There was a great post on Apartment Therapy about using Oops paint for large areas. I can't find it, but the gist of it was to find several gallons of similar color, then mix them together in a 5 gallon bucket. You'll have a consistent color for the entire room.
posted by kimdog at 7:37 AM on February 27, 2009

find several gallons of similar color, then mix them together in a 5 gallon bucket

Ah, yeah, I think I came across that article the other day, but had forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder. We're not too fussy about the color in the living room and dining room, so this might be the way we go.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:47 AM on February 27, 2009

Get some Kilz primer to cover the offending colors.

And use Sherwin-Williams paint. Trust me on that. As others have said. The cheap paint doesn't cover as well and takes twice as many coats.
posted by Fleebnork at 7:48 AM on February 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

If you're covering any dark coloured walls, invest in and use some decent (tinted?) primer first. And as suggested above, don't go with the cheapest paint - go one notch up from that.

Also, invest in good painter's masking tape (the one I get is green), not the cheap stuff. If you need to mask a previously-painted area, you absolutely don't want the paint to come off when you take off the masking tape. I made the mistake of using the cheapest masking tape I could find, and really regretted it more than once. I'll never make that mistake again.
posted by Simon Barclay at 7:53 AM on February 27, 2009

I just emailed you the latest Consumer Reports article that rates interior paints. Surprisingly, the most expensive brands aren't always the best, and the results of this report change from year to year because the paint manufacturers keep screwing with their formulas. There's lots of good info and advice in that article too. For the record, as of March 09, Behr Premium Plus enamel and Kils Casual Colors are both "Best Buys" and both are less than $25 per gallon. I've used the Kilz with good results.
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:54 AM on February 27, 2009

I just emailed you the latest Consumer Reports article that rates interior paints

Thanks for the article... I think we're going to see how much similar "oops" Behr we can find at Home Depot tonight. Hopefully enough to do a couple of the rooms.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:08 AM on February 27, 2009

Ask your landlord to buy the paint, and pay him for it. If he's a landlord for more than just your place, he most likely can get it cheaper than you can. This happens because landlords/apartment managers, in general, do a lot of painting, buy in bulk, and have connections to suppliers, etc. The downside is that you may only be able get giant 5 gallon buckets, so you're pretty much stuck painting everything the same color.

This worked when my roommates and I had to paint our place back to a neutral color when we moved out; our landlord bought the paint and took it out of our security deposit for considerably less than we would have paid, and we provided the labour.
posted by cgg at 8:30 AM on February 27, 2009

Here is a little page from Glidden that will give suggestions.

I would use Gripper, Glidden's primer, and use the grey, if any dark or bright colors are involved. Prep and priming are key, here.
posted by Danf at 8:44 AM on February 27, 2009

Just chiming in to second Benjamin Moore Regal and to approach your landlord about this. If you're looking to use sane colors, he may at least split the cost with you or have a wholesale connection.

Cheap paint is no bargain; painting sucks bad enough and having to do multiple coats is torture, especially with ceilings.
posted by rhizome at 10:07 AM on February 27, 2009

Ask your landlord to buy the paint, and pay him for it. If he's a landlord for more than just your place, he most likely can get it cheaper than you can.

In my experience, the grade of paint you will get this way is not going to be so great. Landlords buy cheap paint because they don't really need good coverage -- they're painting over the same color. One time I moved into an apartment where the management offered to paint everything if I supplied the paint. I got the Benjamin Moore Regal paint I mentioned uptopic, and the maintenance guys who did the actual painting told me how awesome it was compared to what they usually work with.

Your plan to use the "oops" paint is a good one if you get the best grade and can find colors you want.
posted by kindall at 11:12 AM on February 27, 2009

The magic word for cheap paint is "MIS-TINTS"

Go to a sherwin williams that caters to contractors (usually listed as a "commercial" store) Ask if they have any mis-tints. If you stop by at the right time, they will have a nice pile of mistinted paint there that was returned for one reason or another. look for ProMar 200 (blue label, covers pretty good) The commercial stores are more likely to have 5 gallons pails of screwups.

Be careful about mixing and matching paints, especially of different grades and sheens.
posted by freq at 1:26 PM on February 27, 2009

another option is to texture the walls instead of a flat colour - you get a colour you like that will go with the existing colour, and then apply the paint using something other than a roller - like a rag or a sponge. I did this once really sucessfully - I had painted a room a light blue that once on the walls was way too pastel for my taste, so I got some nice medium blue paint, and dabbed it on - that changed the colour just enough that it looked awesome. My favourite texturing device is a thick crumpled up plastic bag - you get really neat pointy shapes from this.

advantages to this method: uses way less paint and time, wear gloves and it's not even very messy

disadvantages: you need to select your texture colour pretty carefully - so for a flesh-toned wall, you could texture it with beige to lighten it, or if you want it darker, brown, or warmer, rust. You want the two colours to be fairly similar - I've seen green and pink together and it was barfy

it would probably be a bit much to do the whole place with this technique, but for one room it could look smashing, and save you $
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:53 PM on February 27, 2009

I have gotten free mis-tints and also free primer (which we used for ceilings) by asking nicely at a Benjamin Moore store that caters to contractors. The primer was in a 5-gall bucket that was cracked. Buy something, smile, bring donuts after they help you out.
posted by iscatter at 2:16 PM on February 27, 2009

I painted my kitchen with cheap paint that I got at a discount store, and it's one of my greatest life regrets. I painted my ceiling with quality paint (it was purple, and faded to white when it dried), and it was a million times easier, and didn't require all the endless coats.

Also, be careful with colored primers - I had a bad experience where it significantly changed the color of the paint. You may find that you don't need primer at all; test a spot to figure it out. And don't leave the tape up for too long or getting it off will make you want to die.
posted by you're a kitty! at 4:50 PM on February 27, 2009