I've found 3 colors I really like for our family room, problem is they are Olympic paint colors and I've heard horrible things about their paint. SO...anyone know if Lowe's will color match Olympic into Valspar? Will BM or SW color match? I've searched and searched my BM & SW fandecks and just can't find the right equivalent. The colors are:
Oyster Shell D14-4 (BM Alexandria Beige comes close)
Adobe White C14-1
Pony Tail C15-3 (BM Yosemite Sand and Richmond Bisque are close but a tad too light)

Thanks,
Renee

Every paint manufacturer offers good, better, best levels of quality. If you heard terrible things about a paint, it's likely the consumer did not buy the premium paint and failed to do proper surface prep and application. Olympic paint is a PPG product. It is one among Lucite, Manor Hall, Monarch, Pittsburgh, and Porter Paints, which are all PPG products. Olympic Premium Paint has a 25 year warranty. Low odor. Great coverage.

Oyster Shell is offered by Monarch, Pittsburgh, and PPG. BM Alexandria Beige is a close match.

Adobe White and Ponytail are offered by Monarch, Pittsburgh, and PPG.

It was actually several people on this board who said to avoid Olympic at all costs. I do not know which level of Olympic paint they used but they said it's runny, drippy and offers poor coverage when compared to BM, SW and even Valspar.

DH went to Lowe's today and they said they would colormatch the Olympic chips into Valspar although the salesman (wearing an Olypic shirt) wasn't too happy about it.

Let them color match some samples. Take home and paint on cardboard or walls and view at different times of day under both natural and artificial light. Paint colors vary from chips and online pictures. Just because they say there is a match, that can vary from 80-100%.

If you want Olympic colors I would ask for them to be mixed in Valspar's Signature, it's a dark blue lable with copper lettering and graphics. I think it's around $25 - $29 per gallon. The accuracy to the color chips should be just as good with VS as it would be with a can of Olympic. VS is a great can of paint, DIYers are consistently successful with it. Of the big box store choices, Valspar Signature is by far your best bet IMO. One of their strongest points is that their sheen levels are in line with typical expectations. Meaning their satin looks like what most people expect a satin finish to look like, or an eggshell, or a matte, etc.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: funcolors,

Renee,

Valspar ultra premium (the American Tradition) line which is 100% acrylic based as well as the Signature line, are excellent paints to work with. I mainly use the signature line for customers and the American Tradtion line following second.

I can't really speak about the olympic brand paint. I have never used it, but I do know some painters that do. As twelepole mentioned there are different qualities of paints and prep and precedures are absolutely key .

I also like to say, "if all else fails, blame it on the paint". That seems to be the norm. Every paint manuf. is constantly striving to have the best quality paints and nowndays, it is almost impossible to have a paint to be considered bad or don't use. Each paint will handle differently. Learning how each paint performs is important. Buying the best quality in a particular line is important also.

So, yes your olympic colors can be matched in either the valspar-american traditions or the signature line. The bases will be different, but the tints used are the same. Some of the bases are red&yellow. Don't remember if you mentioned your color choices or not.

Thanks everyone. We ended up just varying our color choices a bit and going with BM paint. End result with be slightly different than we originally envisioned, but on the upside we get to try the new Aura paint!

If you're doing the painting yourself, then you need to read Paintguy's tips on using it:

"Because of the fast dry/recoat times, you cut in the whole room and by time you're done, go back and roll the room with no worries about hatbanding. Put it on and leave it, you cannot roll back into it. Use the best quality 3/8" roller cover you can buy (microfiber or shed resistant from Wooster or Purdy or BM) and don't over spread it - about 400 sqft per gallon."

Pro painter advice there.

If you don't feel comfortable using the aura because of the fast dry times, try using the new x-tender BM has come out with for Aura.

Casey, well that part about not being able to roll back into it, is really not totally accurate. You do have a window of opportunity there to distribute, roll, and go back into the paint, but one cannot just stand there brushing/brushing and rolling/rolling forever if they think something just don't look right.

In this case, with aura that is where you leave it. Don't roll the paint on the wall, and two rolls down you notice lines, or holidays. This is where you leave it, don't go back and try to fill in, smooth out. This paint is soooooo self levening it will lay down beautifully.

One of the biggest issues , I could ever see anyone doing with aura is actually loading their roller/brush to much which could cause some sagging especially in corners. I have had great success with touch up's using aura also.

Just quoting "paintguy".

hey casey, yeah that is true to a point. I have said the same exact thing, but there is a small window to work with. Not an all day window or getting up/down ladder to do get something else or do something without the paint starting to set up.

wait - so we should cut in the whole room and THEN do the rolling? That's exactly the opposite of what the BM paint guy told us yesterday. He said that with Aura you should actually do the rolling FIRST and then cut in the trim. Now I'm confused.

chirenee,
if you are using aura, this paint is loaded with lots of volume solids and their own acrylic resins/ both paint and the special waterborne colorants. just like artist colors, they have lots of binders in them and acrylics do dry fast without an extra boost from some kind of extender to keep a wet edge.

I have been using aura for quite some time now, and JMHO you really want to do your cut-ins first ; let dry and then come back with your roll coats..

This paint is not like the typical vinyl acrylics where one can get buy with doing cuts and rolls at the same time.

Now, on the other hand, if you have a helper, where one person can cut and the other rolls at the same time, this can be accomplished, but do remember, the person cutting needs to get down from a ladder, move the ladder and out of the way so the person rolling will have enough space to come right back in with the rolled out cut-in span.

May want to check on their extender if you don't feel comfortable with cutting and rolling and you think the paint will set up on you before finishing a wall corner to corner.

JMHO, I would cut first, let dry and then come with your rolling. This paint will level out great.

Well, there will be 2 of us working on it (we paint as a team, I do the cuts, DH does the rolling), but I think we'll still do all the cuts, let dry and then roll.

It should actually be easier for us to do that way as the room we are painting has 14' vaulted ceilings so we'll be working on a scaffold. this way only one of us will have to be up there at one time.

thanks for all the suggestions!

higher ceilings; definitely the way to go.
good luck- be safe.

A DIYer who doesn't paint every day needs to practice just bit first with Aura.

Worst mistake is to go straight to the wall with this stuff. A little practice board will do wonders in your getting the feel of Aura -- and it IS different.

After a practice board, start behind a door or on the most inconspicuous wall that gets the least amount of direct light - psychologically, that's a relaxed place to start with Aura because it's giving you more time to get the hang of it.

I've had clients totally freak out with the first wall of Aura. They hate it and can't paint with it. I say take a minute, breathe and give yourself and the paint a chance. By the start of the second coat, everything is fine.

One of my out of town DIY clients went to purchase Aura and they guy asked her "have you been warned about this stuff?" and went on to talk about how it's different. After chatting with him, she left without buying the paint because she's not that great of a painter and she knows it. She was hesitant to spend that much money on a paint she was not confident she could be successful using. "Warned" was too strong of a word.

Being aware of what it is you have to work with in regards to Aura and having strategies at the ready to deal with it is why threads like this one are important for DIYers to read.

If you're prepared, Aura is a piece o'cake.

OK, so I know to do all the cuts first and allow them to dry before rolling. I know that you can't back roll with the stuff. Any other "warnings"?

once again, if you get the extender for aura or use XIM extender - it will be much easier for you to handle especially painting 14' heights.

Hope you have a good strong extender pole for your roller frame.

again, you want to roll on, distribute within a 2'span and back roll . Different pressures for each pass and go on to your next working span. There is no need for anyone to over brush or roll because this paint will self-level on its own. Aura has excellent flow and leveling. The paint will do what it was designed to do. If you see you have missed a spot, leave it alone. Don't go back into it. Of course , this holds true painting with any waterbase product. You can get it on the next coat or your touch-ups. Don't be afraid of it. It is just paint and should perform beautifully. No warnings from my POV.

may go today to get the extender. can't hurt, right? I'm pretty good at trim, but I wouldn't say I'm fast so I'm a little concerned about it setting up too quickly on me. I'll also be buying a few sample boards to do some test runs on. Thanks again for all the help! I'll post pics when we're finished!

Renee,

just do your cut-ins first and relax. What size brush do you use? I use a 2 1/2 and 3" brush. Some people don't like the bigger brushes , so 2 1/2 is a nice decent size. Just follow the directions and you should be fine. Just don't go back into an area after you have already left that space. Just move on. Another thing, watch the temps. and air flow in the room. This is also important when painting with any paint or doing any type of decorative finish.

Well, doing sample boards. Here is my take on that. Sample boards are number one in my book for any type of work one is going to be doing. Great to experiment with, but here is the downside "AFTER" working with sample boards.

You just can't get hung up with sample boards with the mind set that it is going to be a piece of cake. Doing a sample board is just a sliver , drop in the bucket as opposed to a big huge wall space. Working on a very small board may seem like it is a piece of cake, but just remember a 2 x 2 sample board is no where near a 8,9, 10 or higher wall space. The main thing to remember when painting your walls, is to roll it on, up/down and back roll. Move on to the next section and repeat. You don't need to apply lots of pressure with this paint as you are rolling. The paint will go on and release nicely.

Are you planning on taping or just freehanding your cuts? Do you have smooth ceilings or molding?

Yeah, when I watch the pro painters on This Old House, they have a very fluid smooth motion and do one strip like RXSL says on the whole wall -- none of that "make a W and fill in" stuff for them.

Additional warnings? Just want to restate what I know is most important when it comes to Aura and DIYers.

After you get the hang of it a bit on a sample board, pick an inconspicuous wall to start with.

Having coached DIYers for a very long time now, I can not emphasize enough that you do not want to go at the walls with Aura without practicing and do not start on an obvious wall.

We did the first coat last night.

RXSL - This particular room has a vaulted wood beam ceiling so I taped it to protect the wood. Normal ceilings I just free hand. I used a 2 1/2" angle brush. Cuts went well I thought. Paint seemed to flow and cover well. We ended up using the extender, but only 1/2 of what the bottle recommended because even that amount seemed to really thin the paint out.

Rolling went not so well. DH didn't take my advice, of course, and rolled it the same way he rolls any paint and unfortunately you can see lots of streaks and roller marks. He actually paints quite well, but as you've said, this paint requires a different touch and he didn't really get it. I think he was working too big of an area at one time. Only one coat on so far, so the jury is still out. I'm hoping the 2nd coat will fill it in. He seems to have learned the error of his ways and has agreed to work it different on the 2nd coat. We'll see. Tried to convince him to let me paint it myself as I'm a bit more meticulous...but he insisted on helping.

Funcolors - unfortunately no inconspicuous walls in this room. The 2 side walls are large walls with 14' vaulted ceilings. The back wall surrounds the fireplace (so obviously a focal point) and the wall opposite the fireplace is open to the kitchen & has a sliding glass door to the patio so has no real surface area that we could practice on.

The good news is that the color (AF380 - Coastal Path) looks amazing and if the 2nd coat fills in the gaps then it's going to be absolutely beautiful. I'm reserving all judgement until after the 2nd coat tonight. I'll keep you posted!

Renee,

the extender doesn't mess with the binders and co-polymer resins; this paint is high in solids; what it does will extend your wetedge and yes the viscosity will be somewhat reduced. As long as you read the instructions you should be fine. Make sure you stir your paint before loading your tray each time.

Yes, that 2nd coat will do wonders and take care of all the little skippers on the first coat. Just don't overwork, long fluidly motions with the extension pole.

Being a professional painter , I can only try and give you the technical side and how I do things as opposed to someone who doesn't actually paint or paints everyday. I won't try and side line advise if I don't do something on a regular everyday basis. One needs to have hands on everyday or on a regular basis. Maybe your DH will take your sound advice and we can give him some cookies and milk for a great job when he is done. I totally understand you wanting everything done meticulous.