Painting Deep Colors and getting good results!

Re: Any advice on painting a room a deep red?
Asked by rocket

Question:
I've heard horror stories of several coats and not being able to get a consistent color. Some people suggest multiple coats of a primer first. Some suggest a dark primer or a primer tinted with a red color. Others say that had no problems without a primer.

Any suggestion or stories would be appreciated.

My Advice:

 I work for a home improvement center and am the manager of the paint and wall coverings department.  When it comes to paint, especially deep and bright colors don't go cheap.  You need to buy good quality paint and applicators.  You will also need to consider what you are painting over.  For a new wall, start with a deep tint primer, tinted as close as you can get to the color you are painting the top coat.  You can also go a dark gray and be OK.  Keep in mind that you will never get a true color out of a primer, it's never designed to be your top coat.  Good quality primer is also key.  Many people simply don't want to spend the extra time or money with primer, skipping it is a huge mistake.  Once your wall is primed (two coats won't hurt but most of the time it’s not necessary), you will need at least two coats of your top coat to get the deep color you expect.  Reds will go on different shades of pink and will look really funky until they dry and cure completely (the curing process can take up to a WEEK, yes that's right!).  Preparation and application are important, you can't just slop on a paint and expect it to turn out like a professionally done wall.  READ the directions on the can of paint and ask questions of the sales people who sell it to you.  If they can't tell you how to properly apply it, you likely shouldn't be buying their paint

Just a note about paint quality.  Most consumer grade paint (in the $15 to $20 per gallon price range) is designed to accommodate about 10 to 12 ounces of tint at the most.  The more tint you add to a base, the more that tint will break down the binders that hold the paint together.  You get too much tint (which doesn’t have any binders) it's like adding water to milk.  You will get a watered down paste that doesn’t have much flavor.  You'll get a paint that will go on that color and never actually dry.  You'll have to do up to 7 or 8 coats of your top coat to come close to the color you are after.  A color like deep red, bright green, all bright yellows and some blues require a great deal of tint to be added to paint.  Consider a premium paint when you are going for those types of colors.  Spend the extra money on 2 gallons of premium paint rather than a small fortune on 8 gallons of a cheaper paint and multiple return visit to the home center to get more.  Companies like Dutch Boy, Pittsburgh Paints, Sherwin Williams and Behr offer premium line paints that are specifically designed to accommodate large volumes of tint.  There are other professional lines that are even better than those.  Something such as an RYB base (a thick goop that can handle up to 18 ounces of tint and still come out strong) or a factory tinted red or yellow base (to which more tint is added to get the proper color) are the types of paint you need to look for.

Talk with any professional that cares about the work they do and you'll find that they buy quality paints and apply it correctly.  If you are going to DIY, you've got to pretend you are a professional or you'll be at it far longer than you need to be.