apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We bought a quart to paint our front door- after we had trouble with coverage with the regular BM paint.

The Aura was GREAT. One coat worked well and there was no noticeable odor. We have only one more room to paint in our apt, but we're definitely going to get Aura for it. it's so worth not having to do more than one coat!!

Wow, Eliza, one coat! Does that mean that BM's going to put themselves out of business with this new paint? If everyone only paints one coat, that's a lot less paint in the world.

And BTW how much does it cost?

the quart was $20, a little less than twice a regular quart. (So you do pay for that double coat!)

A gallon is about $50, I believe.

The biggest problem is finding it. Our neighborhood Brooklyn hardware store doesn't have it so we have to go to Janovic in Manhattan.

Hey guys - Devine Paint is very low VOC and is soon going to be VOC free - this month, in fact.

http://www.devinecolor.com/devine_green.html

Their motto is "it goes on like yogurt" and they're not kidding, the stuff is really, really thick. You can totally saturate a roller cover with it and have no drips or runs. You can get awesome one coat coverage from it. I love working with it. I'm disappointed now that my condo is all painted and I don't get to mplay with the stuff anymore. Their pallette is mostly muted earthy tones. Even the standard low VOC has no smell while drying that I could tell. Devine paint is $36 a gallon.

By the way I did use some Benjamin Moore paint on my kitchen cabinets and was constantly cleaning up drips...granted I didn't use the Aura though.

I'm thinking about re-painting my already painted floors and tempted to try a low VOC paint, but also wary of what will hold up.

Has anyone tinkered with low-VOC paints on the floor?

I just tried Aura for the first time this weekend. I got it to match an existing color (a light beige) that has been pain in the ass to keep up. The previous paint - Benjamin Moore regular flat - has gotten scuffed and marked and looking terrible in no time. The store reccomended Aura because not only is it environmentally safe, it's also scrubable. Also, it's supposed to dry to a harder and more durable finish than "normal" paint.

I tried Aura in the flat finish and the results are gorgeous. The color is richer than the previous paint and it looks great. I'll report back if it ends up scuffing and scratching.

Dare I hope that one coat will cover thirsty plaster walls?

I recently completed two paint jobs using Aura paint.
I like Benjamin Moore's paint (pre-Aura era) so I have used there paint alot. I think their new Aura line is probably the best paint I've ever used. Here are a few thoughts I have on Aura:
*One of the jobs I did I was covering a painted black surface with a light beige. It covered well, but if going from a dark color (like black) to a light color, do yourself a favor and use a white primer for an undercoat. It's less expensive. Aura covers well, but it cant cover black to white in one coat. Gong from less drastic change in color, yes it covers in one coat.
*It has almost no smell, but after working with it for a few hours I could tell I had gotten a bit dizzy from the fumes that I couldn't smell, so please use ventilation.
*one of the coolest things about Aura is that it naturally wants to create a smooth seamless surface. So it is actually hard to do anything other then a near perfect flat coat. I was really impressed by this fact ( if you are not a professional painter you will end up with a much better paint job due the the paints tendency to go on smoothly).
*it doesn't splatter at all. Benjamin Moore doesn't splatter much, but Aura, not one little splatter.
*drying time is much quicker then other paints I've used so, it's better to cut the lines with a brush and let it dry (maybe 20 minutes) and then come back to roll. It's a seamless match between the brushed areas, and rolled areas so it doesn't matter (with other paint, you would want to roll the areas that you cut before they dried so that there's not a little ridge between the brushed area and rolled areas).
*any touch-ups are completely 100%invisible.
*cleaning brushes are easier. I dont know what they did... but the paint comes out of the brushes easier, once the painting is over.

-I have some photos of one of the jobs on my blog (metro-home.blogspot.com) The photos turned out well, but the differences between BM regal line (for example) and their Aura line really only are noticeable in person.

Hot, hot, hot! I used it this past weekend, and it's absolutely gorgeous. The Blue Echo covered the previous owner's poison green in one coat--and I mean really covered. I did a wall in the bedroom in a red, the name of which is escaping me now, but got true complete coverage in two coats, going over white. Try that with any other red. And the colors are so rich and vibrant. I've never used any of the other fancy full-spectrum paints, so I can't make a comparison, but it's hard to imagine that they are nicer than this.

It does have an odor, but I was able to sleep at home the night after painting, which is a switch for me. You can recoat in one hour. And I agree with blubunny that for some reason the brushes clean up more easily. Two thumbs up, people!

But I should also mention that I used Mascarpone to cover a pretty light beige in the living room, and I had to do two coats. They do say that it's one coat coverage for "most colors," which I guess doesn't include the whites. Whatever, it's still worth it.

palousian -

I got great one coat coverage of red (actually "Sangria", more of a wine color) over white using Devine...with no smells.

On a normal day I check AT b4 purchasing home items.
Today, I had know time for the internet due to the amount of errands I had 2 run. Last stop was the paint store! The salesperson pushed the Aura paint but it was not until a mom with 3 annoying kids walked in. She demand the colors she had purchased that morining because the painters were sitting around waiting for more paint 4 the rest of the house. I was sold.

One gallon of black to go!

2mrw I will give the finishing details.

The stuff is certainly pricier than most other paint on the market. While I'd love to say that the finish is as nice as regular paint, it came out somewhat uneven. (I'm happy to take credit for the imperfect paint job, but I've painted lots of walls before and never had this outcome.)

All that said, I'd probably buy it again since it is so much more eco-friendly than anything else out there. In the end, the color is really nice (much nicer than the five others I tested beforehand), and a little unevenness is a small price to pay for better air quality and less impact on the environment.

I've used Aura paint twice now and have been incredibly impressed by both the coverage and how little it smells. The first time was painting a white wall deep chocolate brown a flat finish and it required two coats. But the same color would have taken *at least* three before. The second time was painting a medium value color and it only took one coat.

I recommend it!

I used Aura to paint my bedroom. It covered well -- 2 coats for a deep coral ("Morrocan Spice") but, contrary to the others who have posted here, I noticed a distinct paint odor for about 6 weeks after painting.

I painted in the middle of the winter in the bay area, so it was cool and damp, not optimal weather for curing. I'm not sure I'd use the paint again given the smell, but I love the color.

I suspect the high level of plasticizers in the formula -- the ones that make it so easy to work with, not splatter, not show dry edges, touch up, etc. -- contribute to the odor. But that's just a guess.

Also, I'd like more PROOF of the supposed environmental merits of the paint; we're basically supposed to take BM's word for it. Zero VOC is great but there's a lot of other nasty stuff in paint...

Jonathan

I agree with everything blubunny said except that I
didn't get dizzy.

I just finished painting a 3-step wall treatment that
was basically making a wall look like a wallpaper, and
I spent most weeknight evenings for the last month in
this couple's bedroom working on this, and some nights
I literally didn't leave until like 10:40 or so, and
they didn't complain not one second about the smell
when they went to bed just minutes later.

It's really like a primer and paint in one, much like
that Kilz brand of paint that I was using on the
furniture of the bedroom of the fellow in New Jersey,
for any of you who've had a look at my ArtyCurtis sets
on Flickr.

That reminds me, now that I'm done with this bedroom
thing (except for this totally other sub-project in
there having to do with some crown moldings which will
be installed and painted to look like tarnished
silver), I ought to try to post those progress shots
pretty soon before I go on vacation.

I will probably RARELY use anything other than Aura
again.

It really went on beautifully, and it covered like
magic. I'm really glad, because the paint treatment
that I did really was complicated, so I'm glad that my
client probably won't need to have it repainted within
her lifetime.

By the way, I used the Aura flat finish paint, which
the Janovic guy said is the only flat paint that BM
actually recommends for kitchens and bathrooms.

http://www.ecovertex.blogspot.com/

My friend Celia reviewed several low-VOC paints on her blog a few weeks ago.

Would Aura be a good candidate to use on steam heat pipes? Mine were painted with a regular Benjamin Moore and it's flaking off about 3 years later.

I recently used aura paint for a small bathroom and I can agree that compared to other paints it has barely any smell, does not splatter, and covers amazingly in one coat. It is the only paint I will use in the future. The local True Value hardware store had it in stock and the man who worked there spoke so highly of it. All of the finishes are mildew resistant, meaning you can use a matte or a flat finish in a bathroom! No more ugly eggshell. Also, there are certain "rules" to follow when using it. The salesman described them all in great detail before I left. For best results:
1. use a roller with a small nap. 2. wet the roller than spin it a few times to release the excess water. 3. game plan your painting, because you do not want to go over the same spot more than once. it dries very quickly and you will end up pulling off what you just painted. Keep in mind the fact that when drying (dries almost instantly) the colors will be different, it does not mean that you need to go over what you already painted.

beamish -

I really don't think that any regular paints are made to go on steam pipes. People do it, and it lasts a while, but it's not a great idea.

What I always do is get some black radiator paint (which is, for some reason a matte finish) and some aluminum radiator paint and I mix them together (they're both oil-based, so they're compatible with each other) in such a way that they look like a fairly dark gun-metal color that I like, instead of the relentlessly shiny aluminum color, and I paint the pipes like that.

I've also used that kind of color on other things that didn't need to be heat-resistant, like the picture moldings in my living room.

Re: painted radiator pipes (not the radiator). I have several exposed heating pipes running thru my apartment and painted them with the same flat white (can't remember the brand) as the rest of the walls. They do get quite hot but I've never had any flaking or other problems. Well, expect for the rust stains from water leaking from a pipe joint upstairs.

Oh, the rust stains! Yes, I have those too.

Thanks for the advice. I am hoping to go with something closer to white but if there is specific radiator paint it seems like I really should stick to that, since not having to listen to the constant "click! click!" of falling paint chips throughout the winter is as important to me as what it looks like. But, funnily enough, most of my picture frames are a silver-over-black color, so maybe it would actually look like it made sense.

Thanks again.

I passed by Schames today on the LES on Essex. They had the Aura paint with sample jars for each color. --For those who want another source besides Janovic. The guys are really nice there. They close at 5pm on the dot but I think they open crazy early.

For those who've used the paint, do you think the colors are so vibrant, it would not work for me if I wanted, say, a very soft dove gray?

I have to say - I've used Valspar's line of paint (at Lowe's) for three rooms in my house - and it's fabulous. It goes on very thick (but not messy - and it doesn't pull paint off if you go over it when dry). And I hardly noticed an odor. In fact - I slept in my bedroom the same night I painted.

The colors are beautiful - and at $20 a gallon...you can't beat that.

I heard about this AURA paint and wanted to try it. I needed to paint my dining room in a dark red so I wanted to see if this paint would do what they say. OH MY GOSH!!! 1 coat no primer and just a bit of touch up. Miracle paint!! My biggest problem was finding it. It is not in my area and when I went on google and typed in aura paint I saw a company www.painterdepot.com that shipped anywhere in the U.S. I bought a fan deck, picked the color the ordered the paint, within a couple days I had the paint. This stuff problably ended up saving me 1/2 of what I normally would of spent becasue less paint and no primer. anyway, best of luck to all of you

I just used Aura in Super White satin finish to paint my ash wood computer cabinet. First i should mention that i this is the first time i have ever painted any piece of furniture. Ever. So my painting skills are not the best to say the least. I read everyone's comments before painting. And let me tell you it was still not easy. I find the fact that you cannot go over the paint more twice problematic bc i dont often get a perfect stroke the first time around---you only have one shot. That said, the color is lovely and it does dry very flat.

I really love Benajmin Moore:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-Paint-Myperfectcolor-com-s/3356.htm

My favorite product in there line is th enew Aura paint
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-Aura-Paint-Myperfectcolor-com-s/3342.htm

I have also found the valspar.com site usefull

this stuff is amazing.

i go to a paint shop that carries Farrow & Bell and Devine and the guy said Aura is much better.

you do need 2 coats if you're painting light over *really* dark but one coat does most.

Check out this demonstration video of the Benjamin Moore Aura covering over black magic marker in one coat with a deep red. This paint is amazing! Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the video.

Benjamin Moore
Aura Paint
scroll down to bottom see video
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/

Check out this video demonstrating Aura Covering over marker in one coat then washing it off. This paint is awsome!


Benjamin Moore
http://www.youtube.com/custom_player

I just did a review on my website comparing Aura and the No VOC freshaire paint that might be helpful here.
http://diyspirit.com/?p=7

I have used Aura almost since it was first introduced. We are int he midst of a 6,000 square foot repaint, and have used Aura almost exclusively. While I like the low VOC, I am most impressed with the coverage, and speed to apply. The paint goes on silky smooth, but takes a little getting used to. The consistency is more watery than other paints, but the results speak for themselves. At the end of the day, you get more pigment on the wall, and I would presume a greater life for work invested.

You can see the results of our work using Aura and the Affinity colors at our blog.

http://www.scotttribe.com

I found a site that will allow you to buy not only any Benajmin Moore Paint color but Donald Kaufman, Pratt & Lambert and farrow-Ball in 20x20 inch samples. you order them they ship them to you on with adhesive squares so you can stick them on the wall. On the back they have the Color Name and Formula listed so you can go to the paint store and get the same color. Check them out!

http://www.aurasample.com