# aura paint



## jms (May 26, 2007)

This is for the people that have used aura paint.
Does it live up to its new hype? Or is just maybe a little better and more expensive than regal. I have used it in a few homes now. and besides being
pretty expensive and being able to cover in one coat I don't see the big difference that they say this is. Almost always needs two coats to look good and cover properly. Just my two cents. anyone else?


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Well...interesting question...not an easy answer
"Does it live up to the hype"


First off, it's not a one-coat paint
There's no such thing...one coat...for any/all situations...guaranteed...not gonna happen
_But BM doesn't say it's a true one coat_
They say "most applications" one coat
I'd almost agree...except I'd say if it's a primer two top coat job, Aura will do it in two coats (rather than three total)
If it's a two top coat job,Aura should do it in one
-but still...with a decent real color changes it could be two...it depends...there's some "not quite" color changes and other stuff
But that's quite a bit of a slogan to put on a magazine ad...it just doesn't work...to many words lol
So you can't read too much into their slogan...as most people are doing and only repeating the "one coat" part
But most apps....eh...probably/maybe

Second, is it an ultra-low VOC paint?
Yup
There's almost no smell at all while painting...and it's gone in an hour
You can paint that afternoon and have the baby sleep in the room that night

Third, are the tints water based (as opposed to the solvent based tints of other latex paints)?
Yup
It is greener, and less toxic than most paints

Fourth, is it self priming?
It's too new to say long term (from personal experience) at this point
But so far, so spectacular
I was a firm un-believer in "self-priming" paints....until now
I don't even spot prime repairs when using it...with no flashing even on eggshell!

Fifth, does it dry in an hour?
Less

Sixth, does it touch up well?
Yup...like a dream...even in eggshell (extremely difficult to do with other paints)

Seven, does it level even better than Regal
Yup

Eight, higher resistance to burnishing?
Good lord yes...I can't seem to even get it to burnish

Nine...high scrubability?
Yup...even in flat (matte)

Ten...mold mildew resistant?
Too early to tell for me...I haven't had a good test of this yet

Well...not 110% in each category (and it does have other issues, like spraying and brushing doors...but that's another thread...), but all in all...

I'd have to say it does live up to the hype
It absolutely will save time and money, effort and materials
And it does look great (which would be 11 in the hype I guess)


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## flashme18 (Jul 22, 2007)

so you dont prime over joint compound? or wood?


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## ting (May 13, 2008)

*aura*

HI, ting here w/ first post. 

bit about myself: 

15 years painting almost everything imaginable
have used hundreds of products, and many tens of thousands of gallons of paint in my lifetime, so I just had to comment (I could not resist) on Aura. 

Prestige clients would gladly pay me 100 dollars a gallon (or more) to buy whatever I want, so I tried aura. First off, the fact that it is self priming is only as true as it is for any other latex finish paint. 

Self priming means moreso that it will adhere and begin to seal an unprimed area (ie spackle/plaster repair, caulk) than to act as two ore more separately cured coats of primer sealer and topcoat. 

So the comment from slickshift about how he does not spot prime repairs and that it covers in one, shows me that his 2000 plus posts must have referred to his many previous paint jobs in homes owned by the blind.

( I can just smell that aura flashing over it's chemically enhanced un-odour. saying Aura does not smell is like saying the a perfumed wet dog is unnoticeable. )

There isn't a paint on this planet that does not flash on anything other that a perfect surface. Even BIN flashes on itself, and is 1000 times the sealer of aura.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great product, I would just recommend to all proprietors in computer land that -if it is specified by your contractor/client/designer, it would be more beneficial and profitable to do the following:

1) Call bejamin moore, on behalf of your paint rep, tell them that your said rep had a spill, and needs 120 aura labels purolatored asap( or if your paint rep is a dick and does not do everything you ask him to like mine does, just re-use the first and only aura label you ever purchased over and over to make all those numbskull brand-loyalists/enviro brainwashees think they are getting what they think they need to make their maker happy )

2) then slap them on a generic can of whatever, and call it a day. I recommend something decent in the 25 dollar/gallon range, other than "o'l 3-coat" aka moorestle or collection. If aura were as perfect as it is made out to be, it would not have so many variations, it would just come in one- a flat latex that is as washable, hard, fade resistant, and rich as some sort of imaginary high gloss oil/eggshell latex lovechild.

To conclude my first post, I would like to say that even in a sealed, cool can, I will once a month or so open up a leftover can of my customers "moorestyle" or "collection" to find a hideous moldy mess that smells of aging cat urine. That is a true testament to bm's mold resistance- that it molds in the can. Low VOC means no ammonia, which means leftover (curdled) paint stinks 10 times worse that the ammonia that it "replaced"

Open a window, put on a mask, whatever it takes, don't use these products- use something ungimmicky and of high quality. BM is a dinosaur as much as oil paint was 15 years ago. 

take the pain out of painting- call me.


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## flashme18 (Jul 22, 2007)

ting..i always suffered from poor reading comprehension growing up..

are you saying that Benjamin Moore is crap paint?? Benjamin Moore molds in the can?? i have never experienced that before? 


what brand of paint do you use?? and what grade? 


sorry if i misunderstood


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

I'm not a pro-painter, but I have actually used Aura paint - and for the sake of clarity I was very satisfied with it.

My two sisters and my brother, and I painted my Mom's family room for Mother's Day/Birthday. 

Two coats went on the walls in less than two hours and looked like a million bucks, even over some freshly spackled patches. My little sister is four months pregnant and did not find the smell offensive - it does smell, but not like _new paint_ or febreeze - it is just a light non-chemically smell.

Mom chose a color from the affinity line. I am impressed with the bounce of the color as the light changes in the room. It showed many of the depth characteristics that so-called full spectrum paints pride themselves on.

For this DIYer it was a great paint, and I will use it for my own painting projects.


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## DIYHelper (Feb 28, 2007)

So which competitor do we think "Ting" works for? I'm going to say Sico.


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## ting (May 13, 2008)

*ting here- me in an eggshell*

Very good guess, I mostly use sico superwhite melamine for my outside work, and interior latex over oil work. I guess you associated my appreciation for great coverage aherence and wear with their company. However... For semigloss, General is better (and stinkier) than sico, and for eggshel "bang for your buck" (and constantly good hc/cc/oc bejamin moore colour matches), I depend on sherwin williams for cheap and cheerfull supply of eggshell (and they give me my "adjusted white" ceiling paint with three extra ounces of white for 11 bucks a can- It could cover almost any white based colour in one coat EASILY and I have sprayed it over black in one coat in night clubs many a time. When I tint my own eggshell wall paint on site, I use sheffield tint to color a certain no name (selectone) I get that is good and smells not, and is but 60 per 5er. selectones celing paint with a gallon of the sherwin ceiling paint cut in to the fiver covers very well and is 35 a 5er. How many ceilings can aura paint for 35 dollars? probably as many ceilings as ther are people who scrub their flat ceilings/care about flat paint flashing.


That's me in a nutshell


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## ting (May 13, 2008)

well, for starters, I use -when I have to- collectrion and moorestyle, and have on ever so many occasions. I try not to buy it, but some people want to se that label they saw in the BM store where they went to pick their colours, and other customers who I work for to fix other painters (and homeowners) messes have their own collection of leftover Collection.

Basicly, the deal is if it is even stored in ideal circumstances, it is still succeptible to molding in the can, smelling generally rancid, having the teflon peel of of the lid and the inside of the can ( the way the resulting bare "steel" rusts, and then the rust and teflon sheet falls into the paint making any paint pinker -and chock full o'chunks- is to die from.)

If you have not experienced this, that is a good thing.


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## paintingguys (Feb 28, 2010)

slickshift said:


> Well...interesting question...not an easy answer
> "Does it live up to the hype"
> 
> 
> ...


:thumbup:
Ah, my first post. What what a fun thread to start off with here. After a few years of testing this paint, I couldn't agree more with slickshift. :thumbsup:

I have over 33 years in painting. 
I am a high end painter so the cost of anything is not a problem for me. I use what produces the best results. I paint for the fussiest people you can imagine and never have a paint related complaints. 
My goal is to paint the most proficiently, most cost effective, have least amount of impact around others in both timing and air quality while producing the finest looking paint jobs possible, at a profit. 
I could write a book on painting and may one day. I earn a very good living on my own. 

I've A/B many brands over the years. 

Benjamin Moore has always been a superior product and what they are doing with Aura is right on... 

I would bet anyone on the planet, I can paint a room as fast or faster, have it look as good or better, if not the nicest paint job you have ever seen using Aura. I challenge anyone using another brand of paint, to do a finer paint job than I can accomplish using Aura. 

Anyone that doesn't like it, is in a different league of painters for absolute certainty.

Cheers!


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

paintingguys said:


> :thumbup:
> Ah, my first post. What what a fun thread to start off with here. After a few years of testing this paint, I couldn't agree more with slickshift. :thumbsup:
> 
> I have over 33 years in painting.
> ...


Not gonna boast too much for your first post??:laughing:


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## BMDealer (Dec 9, 2008)

Wow great thread and post "ting".....

Over the many years I've dealt with Ben Moore I've never had a customer proclaim what you just have. Smell and bad paint in a can, certainly poorly stored already been opened 3 year old paint will do just what you've said, mainly in the entry level product lines of most all manufacturers.

Aura has been a huge success though I was skeptical in the beginning because of price. Our contractors have taken to it very, very well. They have discovered that they can actually save money using this product with out sacrificing their work. Even the trim, satin and semigloss, net great results with 1 coat of a primed surface. Aura is a low odor, which dissipates rather quickly...lastly aura never touted itself as one coat coverage, they do say however never more then 2 coats.


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

*OK great...*

but can a DIYer apply Aura and get great results?


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I've been using $20 a gallon Dutch Boy and getting great results.... I imagine I could do just as well with more expensive paint.

DM


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

DangerMouse said:


> I've been using $20 a gallon Dutch Boy and getting great results.... I imagine I could do just as well with more expensive paint.
> 
> DM


It will come back to bite you some day:laughing:


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Nah.... I plan on different coverings when all the rest is done. Wallpaper, wood, etc. This is sort of temporary.

DM


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

How important is wall prep with Aura?

My new home was spray primed with PVA and then sprayed with 1, maybe 2, coats of cheap flat white wall paint by the dry wall guy.

I have found spray sags a foot long, uneven texture, bubbles in the drywall mud, etc...

Is eggshell Aura going show these drastically? 

Should I plan to re-skim my walls?

Should I go with the matte Aura?


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

Aura is just paint- if you want surface problems not to show, you need to fix them. 
Aura will stick to the primer fine, but sounds like a little mud work is in order. If they are minimal you can go right to Aura. Some would have you do that anyway, but I prefer to throw on a quick prime to even out a wall. 

Think of Matte as a really low eggshell- not flat. It is my favorite wall paint.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

WoodySoCo said:


> How important is wall prep with Aura?
> 
> My new home was spray primed with PVA and then sprayed with 1, maybe 2, coats of cheap flat white wall paint by the dry wall guy.
> 
> ...


Woody, I would suggest that you prime the walls first with a quality primer/sealer, BM Fresh Start or Enamel underbody. Some years ago BM sent out a memo stating the need to prime prior to finishing over builders flat because they were having problems with less than satisfactory finishes. And, yours truly had such a problem, which is how I learned of the memo. Now, Aura is supposed to be self priming. I don't know if they would consider it so in that case. I would have a discussion with your BM dealer about how to proceed with that. Where is NCPaint when you need him? You're going to have to skim out the sags and drywall imperfections and yes, the higher the sheen, the more highlighted the imperfections will be.


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

More bad news!:thumbup:

Thanks for the help guys.:yes:


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## NCpaint1 (Aug 13, 2009)

WoodySoCo said:


> More bad news!:thumbup:
> 
> Thanks for the help guys.:yes:



Unfortunately yes, most of the imperfections you described will show through anybody's paint. How to fix them will have to be determined by you. Sand, skim...up to you.

Lower sheens will make the imperfections less noticeable, not invisible.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

NC, did you read my last post in this thread, I posed a question that might be able to answer regarding Aura?


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## NCpaint1 (Aug 13, 2009)

jsheridan said:


> NC, did you read my last post in this thread, I posed a question that might be able to answer regarding Aura?


Haven't heard of any issues regarding Aura and builders flat. Will it work over builders flat, or bare drywall?.......sure...does it make sense monetarily? ...have to take it job by job. A complete house, I probably wouldn't do it. A single room, I most likely would.


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

*Decisions...*

Would I be better off with BM Regal in terms of money savings AND not needing to prime again?

Of course, I will need to sand, skim, sand etc..


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

Woody, Regal is also a fine product. So it depends on what you want- 
Aura is much lower smell (voc), better coverage if you're using a hard to cover color (reds, yellows are worst), and better burnish resistance and scrubbability. If these aren't very important, Regal will get your color to the wall and look nice for maybe around 10 a gal less.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

WoodySoCo said:


> Would I be better off with BM Regal in terms of money savings AND not needing to prime again?
> 
> Of course, I will need to sand, skim, sand etc..


 
If you are doing all the above, of course you will need to prime anyway.
Regal is fine, Aura just better, but they are not miracles in a can. Just prime it , it does not take that long.


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## NCpaint1 (Aug 13, 2009)

WoodySoCo said:


> Would I be better off with BM Regal in terms of money savings AND not needing to prime again?
> 
> Of course, I will need to sand, skim, sand etc..


Im a big Regal fan. I like the way it applies, much better than Aura. Thats just me though. If you have some dark colors, Aura would be the way to go. Light to medium colors, use the Regal Select. Both products are low VOC... >50G/L


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

My list gets longer and more expensive !

Thinking I'll go all out on the LR with a vaulted ceiling, but pic away at the rest as time and finances allow.

Thanks everyone.:thumbsup:


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## painter162 (Apr 6, 2011)

Yes, Ben Moore does mold in the can, seen it multiple times as well. 
That said, Aura, Collection and regal are all awesome paints, their coverage is unmatched.


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