# What did I do wrong? Behr paint horrible covering



## John Phoenix (Nov 13, 2011)

I have been painting on and off for 20 years and I have never had a paint look like this. either I messed up big time or somethings wrong with this paint mixture - ot it will correct itself with a second coat?

This is the first coat of Behr Premium Plus Disney Collection Color Gamma sector Green.



I rolled it after sanding a textured wall smooth, applying a coat of joint compound to the entire wall, sanded that ( had to be sure the texture was smooth and all texture removed), then applying a coat of Kilz 2 primer.

See the light and dark areas? I know paint will have some areas that doesn't cover well on the first coat but I have never seen anything like this.

It is critical this color winds up an even shade because this color is to be used as a green screen for video production effects. 

this is the color the paint is supposed to be: http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint/...eriorexterior-paint-tester-dc4b505-59326.html

Will this fix itself with a second coat or did I really screw up somehow?

Edit to add: The color is off in my picture, it really does look greener than the grayness my photo shows.. i don't know why the color is so bad in the photo. Taken with a Logictech 510 webcam.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

John Phoenix said:


> I have been painting on and off for 20 years and I have never had a paint look like this. either I messed up big time or somethings wrong with this paint mixture - ot it will correct itself with a second coat?
> 
> This is the first coat of Behr Premium Plus Disney Collection Color Gamma sector Green.
> 
> ...


 
Go to a real paint store ( Ben Moore) and buy a gallon of Aura tinted to that color, most likely 1 coat will cover that mess.


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## John Phoenix (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks but that's not an option. This color was tested for accuracy for use with video green screen applications and had the correct stats. The "real" latex paint that is made for green screen that has the same stats cost 65 to 170 dollars a gallon. That is also not an option. That is why an alternative, this color, was found and tested.

I have to make this color work - with the rest of the quart size I have that is enough for a second coat. (an 8 x 9 foot area) I have no other choice.

Could it be a bad mix job?

To add - The problem is you see that this color was tested against other greens of similar shade and quality with 1000 dollar computer video editing software to test for the proper amount of red and blue in the visual quality, among other things. I have no clue if just getting another brand to color match will produce the same results in video production. The results could be as much from the shade of green as it is from the quality of materials (high or low - higher quality paint does not necessarily mean the results will be the same) that make up the paint. This is an unknown, so I would be trading what is supposed to work, for an unknown.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

If someone is telling you that behr is the ONLY paint that will do the job, then your choice is obvious. Keep painting coat after coat until it smooths out, if ever. If not, do as Chris suggested. I seriously doubt behr has any properties that make it better for green screen. Crap paint is crap paint.

DM


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Was this actual can tested for the project or the paper color sample?

My experiences as a contractor using this paint---bad--worse and nightmare---I think the stuff is awful.--Mike--


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## John Phoenix (Nov 13, 2011)

Behr is not the only paint that will work but it's the one I have that I could afford.

Different paints ( assuming they have an exact mix for their formula) can look exactly the same to you and me but to a camera, they can either absorb or reflect different wavelengths of green red and blue light. These properties are what helps the software to filter out a green screen for video effects.

I did find out Benjamin More's Neon Green can do it but I was hoping to fix this one so I would not have wasted the money. I find it hard to believe Behr's Premium Plus is so bad - if all thier paint is that bad I don't see how they stay in business.. this has to be a fluke for the coverage to be this bad (even if a lot of "pros" on this forum do hate Behr paint this cannot be indicative of all Behr paints all the time.

It was the paint itself as seen by a camera that was tested.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

John Phoenix said:


> if all thier paint is that bad I don't see how they stay in business..


Marketing and volume. They sell enough to DIYers that do not know any better to make up the losses they incur by having people complain and return cans of the crap. 
SOME people can get *almost* decent results (under ideal conditions) with this garbage, but most pros avoid it like the plague. 

DM


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Gotta love the ad placement next to his post. :laughing:


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I know, I laugh every time I see their ads here. :laughing:

DM


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Paint is paint because of the solids left behind after the liquids dry----

Good paints run around 54% solids----Behr has a solids count in the high 20%s


The Chevy Cavilare is one of the biggest selling cars---they sell many more than BMW----this fact does not make the Chevy the better car.


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## tcleve4911 (Nov 6, 2010)

John Phoenix said:


> I rolled it after sanding a textured wall smooth, applying a coat of joint compound to the entire wall, sanded that ( had to be sure the texture was smooth and all texture removed), then applying a coat of Kilz 2 primer.


I might suspect the Kilz primer
It could have sucked into the raw joint compound.

Just a guess.
I hate Behr paint............


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

DangerMouse said:


> I know, I laugh every time I see their ads here. :laughing:
> 
> DM


Ad's, what ad's. I have them blocked through the ad-block add-on for Firefox.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Should have read the posts on Behr paint first. It is much loved here for obvious reasons. It is absolute crap.

A real paint store will have a super accurate color scanner. Some of them allow direct input of color codes and translate it into the pigments. If not, paint out a piece of illustration or index stock with 8 coats or whatever of the BEHRly paint color you need to cover. Or, if your color printer is accurate, print out a 4x6 or so swatch on photo paper. Then take it to a paint store and they will nail it dead on for you. Ben Moore would be my first choice.

www.easyrgb.com is another resource for you. Enter your RGB codes. It will display the four closest paint chips from the collections of the major paint company you choose. Last time I looked. Behr was not supported. Obviously the paint store scanner will kick out infinite possibilities.

I've painted many video green screens over the years and never paid $75-100/gallon for the paint. Never had to suffer using BEHRly paint either. Remember it is a dark color with a deep tint base. It may take you a 2 coats and some touch up even with a good paint. Make sure you are using a thick enough roller cover.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

gregzoll said:


> Ad's, what ad's. I have them blocked through the ad-block add-on for Firefox.


Opera browser (still the BEST browser IMHO) has _*built in*_ ad blocking, no additional add-ons required. 
Built in email, built in google, etc. works well for me too.
However, I turn it off once in a while to see who is advertising here.

DM


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> Should have read the posts on Behr paint first. It is much loved here for obvious reasons. It is absolute crap.
> 
> A real paint store will have a super accurate color scanner. Paint out a piece of illustration or index stock with 8 coats or whatever of the Behr color you need to cover. Then take it to a paint store and they will nail it dead on for you. Ben Moore would be my first choice.
> 
> ...


 
I hope the OP reads this, maybe now he will believe.:yes:


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

If we share this knowledge with just one person who decides not to buy that crap, we've done our jobs here.
How long will we allow scammers to continue ripping us off? I see ads on TV every day for products that simply DO NOT WORK AT ALL! yet they sell so many to unsuspecting folks, it's worth their time. 

I need to go "crystalize" my chest hair now.... brb..... 

(what's that nasty smell? It smells like HAIR BURNING!  ) :laughing:

Any product that "promises" great results should be researched thoroughly online before making any purchase decisions. Simply add the words "scam" and "ripoff" to the product search to see if it's legit. UNsatisfied customers will let you know. Be wary of too many "great" reviews as they are placed all over too, just to attempt to offset the bad reviews.

DM


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Behr was (is) a top rated paint according to Consumer's Reports and I've used it for years with good results. I think the issue was the primer. I would have used a primer for drywall as you had skim coated the wall with joint compound.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Behr is the most expensive $19.96 per gallon paint you will ever buy!


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

John Phoenix said:


> Behr is not the only paint that will work but it's the one I have that I could afford.
> 
> Different paints ( assuming they have an exact mix for their formula) can look exactly the same to you and me but to a camera, they can either absorb or reflect different wavelengths of green red and blue light. These properties are what helps the software to filter out a green screen for video effects.
> 
> ...


 


HOW MANY COATS CAN YOU AFFORD BEFORE YOU START TO WASTE YOUR MONEY ON PAINT??? NOTICE THE COLOR THAT I CHOSE TO HIGHLIGHT WITH:laughing:


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Gymschu said:


> Behr is the most expensive $19.96 per gallon paint you will ever buy!


Yup! But unfortunately CR puts too much weight on surface price of things and factors that in. So the paint can be crap but because it is cheap, CS ups its rating. 

But then, if people do not want to listen to people who do, or did, paint for a living and see CS as some sort of biblical reference? The deserve what they get.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

sdsester said:


> Yup! But unfortunately CR puts too much weight on surface price of things and factors that in. So the paint can be crap but because it is cheap, CS ups its rating.
> 
> But then, if people do not want to listen to people who do, or did, paint for a living and see CS as some sort of biblical reference? The deserve what they get.


That's the stupidest thing I've read today. 
Interesting that you seem to know the inner workings of Consumers Reports and how and why they rate things. 
Also a pile of crap.
If you get a bad result from the paint, it's due to operator incompetance, not the product.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

How they rate paint is no secret. Found this beyond ironic. 

http://forums.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=23&nav=messages&webtag=cr-paintgeneral&tid=83


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

I won't jump on the Behr bash bandwagan....never had an issue....

But my first thought....did they use the right base? It's not unusual for them to grab the wrong can of base when they go to mix it....easy mistake to make.

I know a lot of people also slam Kilz....but once again, it has worked for me....no issues.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

ddawg16 said:


> I know a lot of people also slam Kilz....but once again, it has worked for me....no issues.


Many people use the wrong product for their application and blame the product for not working properly.
Most times, it's operator error.


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## TGMcCallie (Nov 12, 2011)

DangerMouse said:


> Marketing and volume. They sell enough to DIYers that do not know any better to make up the losses they incur by having people complain and return cans of the crap.
> SOME people can get *almost* decent results (under ideal conditions) with this garbage, but most pros avoid it like the plague.
> 
> DM


****************************************************************

I have only used Bahr paint from Home Depot one time in my sunroom and the covering ability was absolutely horrible. I swore that I would never use Behr paint again, and I have not. 

I usually use Sherwin Williams and have been satisfield with SW paint except only one time and that was recently. 
I used their WoodScapes Fence semi-transparent stain and sprayed it on 200 feet of wood fence that had not been previously painted. I had to use 14 gallon to do the job and had to paint it 3 coats the last one being with a brush. When you started out it was fine but the farther you went down the fence the lighter the shade became. It acted like the pigment was not right. After buying it to do it the second time, I had the Manager come out and look at it and he said it was fine. Well I told him it was not fine to me or anyone else that looked at the fence. He gave me enough stain to do it the third time. That time I brushed it on and it was fine.

Needless to say I will not use WoodScapes when I repaint it next time.

Tom


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## John Phoenix (Nov 13, 2011)

I've read the rest of the posts above. It's only an 8x9 area. Anyone know what a quart of BM Neon Green will cost me? Helm paint carries it in my area and they are closed today. Course I could call em tomorrow, but I'm curious. The Aura gallon size is 64 bucks. I could not afford that unless I robbed a bank 

Primer. Would I have to re-primer this wall? I hope not, now that I have primer and a coat of paint on it - If I have to buy more paint to fix this, I'm hoping a quart will cover well enough to give me two coats and cover well while not letting the old color bleed through.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

You know, I love Aura but this is not a wall you are going to be washing or anything. I would think about stepping down to the contractor grades of good paint. Super Spec in the Ben Moore line and Pro-Mar at Sherwin Williams---for examples. Only sold in gallons but will be around the same price as a quart of Aura. Cans are not as pretty.

Super Spec (may have been renamed---sort of out of the business and have not bought any in awhile) comes in different sheens but not as many as Aura. Ask for a discount or check someplace like www.couponcabin.com to see if there are running coupons. The contractor grades have more vinyl and less acrylic than the high end. They are still much better paints than Behr and competitive in price. 

From experience, as careful as you try to be, you are going to scuff that "green screen" and want an adequate amount for touch ups or to redo it when the UV rays from the studio lights starts to fade it. 

Did a green screen for a kids museum and it needed repainting every other day it seemed. Amazing what slimey, destructive little maniacs "The Future Famous" can do when running in a pack. Aura would have been expensive overkill. I have done others for tv stations and video studios. I did a lot of painting for art galleries and we had a problem with lights fading the paint over time in the more permanent galleries and in one space the exhibitions rotated so walls had to be painted or touched up every month. The client wanted to use Pro-Mar and it worked well and is equally great paint. 

You just have to accept they are going to need a coat of paint periodically. I know you are trying to save money but a quart is not going to take you very far. 

I would not worry about repriming. Do remember, 3/8 or even 1/2 roller cover.


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## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

John Phoenix said:


> I've read the rest of the posts above. It's only an 8x9 area. Anyone know what a quart of BM Neon Green will cost me? Helm paint carries it in my area and they are closed today. Course I could call em tomorrow, but I'm curious. The Aura gallon size is 64 bucks. I could not afford that unless I robbed a bank
> 
> Primer. Would I have to re-primer this wall? I hope not, now that I have primer and a coat of paint on it - If I have to buy more paint to fix this, I'm hoping a quart will cover well enough to give me two coats and cover well while not letting the old color bleed through.


I'm a little puzzled...you're using this for video production and testing it with a sophisticated software, yet you can't afford a gallon of decent paint? Get quart of decent paint and be done with it.

And as far as green screen effects go, so long at the color field is consistent you should be fine. That means flat and even. You should be able to key in to the specific color you want to drop out from your video frame by simply sampling the color in software. The reason electric green is used is the simple fact that it is a color you rarely see in the real world...you can drop it all out from a video frame and not drop out part of your foreground subject matter. At least that's how it works in software that I have used.


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## ben's plumbing (Oct 6, 2011)

how about returning your behr paint for a refund...and start over with benjamin moore....or sherwin williams...you will get a much better JOB...... color match no problem....


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## TGMcCallie (Nov 12, 2011)

Home Depot will cheerfully refund your money if you tell them you are not satisfied with the outcome of the paint.

I take things back to HD and Lowes all the time. That is why I shop there.
Tom


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## John Phoenix (Nov 13, 2011)

Ironlight said:


> I'm a little puzzled...you're using this for video production and testing it with a sophisticated software, yet you can't afford a gallon of decent paint? Get quart of decent paint and be done with it.


"I" didn't test it with thousand dollar software, other people did. I can hardly afford to pay attention. I'm on a very tight budget. The editing software I'm using is free. The camera is a cheap but HD record quality webcam (40 bucks) and that was a gift. It takes everything I make a month to pay my bills and have the necessities we need like food and electronic cigarettes. I'm actually a little better off now than when I smoked the regular cigs because electronic cigarettes are so much cheaper, but it would still take me several months to save up for a whole gallon of 64 dollar paint.

BTW folks, the e-cigs work. They give me the nicotine I need without all the harm of smoking burning tobacco, so if you smoke and cannot quit any other way, try em, they may save your life.

~~~~~~~~~

I can return the unused portion of Behr huh.. cool.. that will work. I can use that to go towards better paint, it would be a big help. Didn't know they would refund after half the can was used.


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## TGMcCallie (Nov 12, 2011)

Just hold your own with them and insist that they refund you under their Satisfaction guarantee or your money back guarantee. It works, I have used it several timesl.
Don't give in insist you get your money back under the satisfaction guarantee.

Tom


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## tcleve4911 (Nov 6, 2010)

TGMcCallie said:


> I take things back to HD and Lowes all the time. That is why I shop there.


....so do I....!!!!!:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## operagost (Jan 8, 2010)

oh'mike said:


> Paint is paint because of the solids left behind after the liquids dry----
> 
> Good paints run around 54% solids----Behr has a solids count in the high 20%s
> 
> ...


They also stopped making them six years ago-- probably for a reason.


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## mnp13 (Jan 16, 2007)

What you are doing is called "chroma key" and if the video editing software is as sophisticated as you are saying, then any color can be used. It does NOT have to match anything else. The reason that weird shade of green is usually used is because there is very little in most scenes that is that color. When there is a lot of light green, blue chroma key is used. Over time, that paint is going to fade, and that will be another issue which is why paper or cloth is usually used in a smaller studio setting.

The editing software should have a calibrating tool for the green, infact it _has_ to, or any difference in your lighting will render the color replacement useless. That green under different temperatures of light will be very different, so if the editing software can't adjust, then it assumes that everyone has identical lights at identical temperatures and identical intensity and no gells or lighting effects are being used.


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## chrisBC (Dec 28, 2010)

Personally, I would prime it again, and buy another paint.

BTW, at a place like BM you do not have to buy the high end, most expensive paint in the place.

If you do proper prep work and application, their contractor grade paint is quite good for a typical repaint. The price is reasonable.

People have to remember that it is worth spending more money initially on paint, because a cheaper paint will take more time to cover, probably won't last as long, and I doubt will look as good.

I have used behr in the past, and while it has never "failed" on me, I find products from the traditional "paint stores" like SW and BM much easier to paint with, better coverage, and a much better finished product. 

I will not paint anybody elses property with Behr paint, as I guarantee my work and cannot guarantee a quality result with behr paint, as I can with mid or high end range paint from BM.

just my 2 cents, from pesonal experience painting with it. You may want to try another coat with it, however I would try on a small area and see if it works, don't put a lot of money and time into it. If you spend money, buy a better product. That doesn't mean it will cost an arm and a leg.


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