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Paint chemistry

"You don't always know what's really making it heavier," Carl Minchew says. Sometimes, the weight can be attributed to the amount of tint, so if you're trying the weight test, do it before the tint is added.

Picking paint can be daunting. There are so many choices. It's not just what color to select (paint maker Benjamin Moore has more than 3,000 different colors), it's also what brand, what grade, what finish, and what base (oil or water) to choose.

None of the options are cut and dried. For example, at first blush, the differences between oil-based and water-based paint might make it seem that the latter, latex, is the clear choice. It dries faster, smells better, is environmentally friendlier, and is easier to apply and clean up. So, what's to decide? Well, for starters, oil-based paint is more durable. That's why people tend to use water-based paint for walls and oil-based paint for woodwork, such as door jambs and baseboards, which gets more wear and tear.

Paint is a mixture of ingredients: pigment, binder, dilutent or thinner, and additives. It's the proportion of these elements that ultimately makes the difference in how well a paint covers a surface and how long it lasts. The consensus among paint users and makers is that the more expensive paints cover best and last longest. As a result, it's considered more economical to buy more expensive paint. However, that doesn't necessarily mean buying the highest-priced brands; it means buying the highest grade available within a particular paint brand. So, if you only have around $20 to spend on a gallon of paint, consider buying the premium grade of one paint rather than a lower, or contractor's, grade of another paint, if they are comparably priced.

"Cheaper paints have more filler materials and less of the more crucial ingredients," says Ed Silveira, assistant manager at City Paint and Supply Company in Cambridge. "In an enamel paint, the higher the quality, the more resin there is, which makes for a harder, more durable surface."

John Moynihan, sales associate at Johnson Paint Company in Boston, agrees: "In latex paints, the higher amount of resins, the better the color retention. And higher quality paints have a higher level of titanium oxide, which makes them able to cover more."

But how much of the good stuff is in the paint you buy?

There really is no way of determining that, according to Carl Minchew, director of technical services for Benjamin Moore & Co. in Montvale, New Jersey. He says that it doesn't help to read the label on the can. Unlike food labels, there are no uniform laws governing paint labels. "And even if there was universal labeling, it wouldn't be easy to interpret," Minchew says. "You almost have to be a chemist to compare paint labels."

Pete Watson, product services spokesperson at Duron Paints & Wallcoverings in Beltsville, Maryland, recommends that consumers who want to know what's in the paint - or who want to compare different brands of paints - request the technical data directly from the manufacturers or look for the information on manufacturers' Web sites. "But," he cautions, "if you're comparison shopping, you have to make sure that you're comparing the same kinds of paint: premium quality to premium quality; semigloss to semigloss; water base to water base."

The important information to look for are the vehicle type, i.e., the type of resin; the percent of gloss; and the percent of solids by volume.

Still, Benjamin Moore's Minchew says, even technical data can be deceiving. "A manufacturer might say that his paint has 15 percent titanium dioxide" - an inorganic compound that provides whiteness, body, and coverage - "which, on the face of it, makes it seem like a good paint," says Minchew. "But the question is, 15 percent of what? The entire gallon of paint or the pigment?"

It's a lot easier to compare grades of paint. A top-of-the-line flat Benjamin Moore paint contains 23.7 percent titanium dioxide; the contractor's grade contains 20.2 percent. In the world of paint, that's a big difference.

Some people claim you can compare paint by the weight of the cans. Higher quality paint will be heavier, because it contains more pigment and less water, they say. Wilson says that a can of Duron's top-of-the-line flat paint may be as much as a pound heavier than its bottom-of-the-line grade.

However, Minchew isn't a fan of the weight test. "You don't always know what's really making it heavier," he says. Sometimes, the weight of the paint can be attributed to the amount of tint, so if you're trying the weight test, do it before the tint is added.

Salespeople at Kmart know that they will be standing over the color mixer for at least twice as long when someone buys Martha Stewart paint versus a can of Dutch Boy. (Both brands are made by Sherwin Williams.) The colors in the Dutch Boy palette generally require less than an ounce of tint, while Martha Stewart paint, which is sold exclusively at Kmart and Sears stores, calls for much more.

Martha Stewart's Sunflower requires more than 10 ounces of tint; Purple Fig takes four tints that add up to almost 13 ounces, about the most that even higher-priced manufacturers, like Benjamin Moore, include in their custom colors. Martha Stewart paints generally sell for $13.99 to $16.99 per gallon, depending on the finish; on sale, it can be as low as $10.99. Benjamin Moore and similar brands like Pratt & Lambert and Duron premium paint in custom colors generally retail for more than $30 a gallon.

Manufacturers of the more expensive paints say the prices reflect the quality of the content and the proportions of the paint ingredients.

Donald Kaufman of Donald Kaufman Color in New York, a paint guru and master colorist and consultant to such internationally renowned architects and designers as Philip Johnson, I. M. Pei, and Philippe Starck, has created his own line of paints in The Donald Kaufman Color Collection. He uses transparent pigments rather than the opaque variety most other manufacturers use because, he says, they reflect rather than absorb and give the paint more depth and luster. His colors require a minimum of seven such pigments and can use as many as 14.

Kaufman, a former artist, uses all of the pigments in the spectrum in his paints. He believes that even if the pigments are in infinitesimal amounts, the paint will be capable of reflecting all of the colors that are in daylight and, therefore, will appear richer and more luminous. And because black isn't in the color spectrum, you won't find it in his pigments. "It makes the paint too muddy," he says. He uses blue instead.

Kaufman's paint is manufactured by Pratt & Lambert, but he does the mixing at The Color Factory, his exclusive blending facility in Englewood, New Jersey, where the pigments are put into the paint, which is then checked for accuracy and shipped to the consumer.

Depending on their complexity, his 50 colors of paint sell for $40 to $70 per gallon, plus shipping, and they must be ordered by phone (201-568-2226). For people who don't want to pay the high cost to ship gallons of paint, Kaufman ships color concentrates in 2- to 8-ounce reusable plastic containers. Prices for these range from $19.95 to $29.95 Consumers can then buy their own paint base and mix in the color themselves.

Today, paint dealers say they can replicate any color from any manufacturer's palette. With few exceptions, formulas are readily available, or dealers can use a spectrometer, an electronic device that reads the color of the sample and spits out the formula. Spectrometers can match almost any paint chip, including a sample from your wall or woodwork.

Some purists, Kaufman among them, say that it's impossible to get a perfect match this way. Paul Andrews, owner of Andrews Decorating Center in Newton, acknowledges that the spectrometer doesn't work all the time, but he says it works often enough and well enough to make most customers happy. It just takes time, patience, a good eye, and a good computer, he says, but he can replicate a Martha Stewart color in a Benjamin Moore paint, and the guy at Kmart can do just the opposite.

Still, knowing what makes a strong color doesn't necessarily help you decide which color you want or, more important, which color you'll like once it's on your wall - especially when you're looking at a paint chip.

Most chips are just slightly larger than a postage stamp, much too small to determine the true color of the paint and how it will look on the wall. According to Lidia Scher of L.A.S. Associates Interiors and Design in Arlington Heights and Woburn, "When you look at a chip, you're looking at about three or four coats. Plus, wsContinued on Page 64 Continued from Page 62 you could be looking at a finish that's different from the finish you're planning on using. So always ask the paint dealer which finish it is."

In addition, the color will look different - usually lighter - on a chip than it will on your wall, where it will reflect and absorb the colors and light on other walls of the room.

So, how can you be sure you've picked the right color?

"You really never can," says Kaufman. At least not until you've painted a 5-foot-wide section, preferably across from a window, from floor to ceiling. Then, wait till it dries, and apply a second coat if necessary. (It almost always is.) Then wait till that coat dries, put the furniture in front of it, and put the window treatments up. Now, step back and see how the color looks - and how you feel about it. If it's not everything you dreamed it would be, start the process over. Remember, color has a tremendous impact on the way people feel. It can actually affect one's mood and sense of well-being, so you want to get it right.

If you cannot be persuaded to paint a 5-foot sample, there are other ways to maximize the probability that your color choice will be the right one. For example, pick the color you think you want, then buy it one shade lighter. You may even want to go two shades lighter. Remember, if you decide that it's too light, you can go back to the paint store and have your paint made darker. It doesn't work the other way around.

"It's a great idea to bring a sample of the fabric you're going to be covering your sofa in, if there's a color in that fabric you really like," Kaufman says. "Or look at art books, and find a color in a painting that you like." Or find something in nature. Or in your refrigerator. Or bring the dress you bought because you loved the color.

Paul Wise of Braintree confesses to buying a cruller from Dunkin' Donuts and bringing it to a paint store. "They matched it," he says, "then I ate it."

Turning someone's "oops" into a plus for you

Someone else's mistake can be your good fortune.

Let's say the salesperson gets distracted and squirts in 3/16 of raw umber instead of 5/16, or the customer asks for Benjamin Moore 205, but the salesman mixes 206 by mistake. Instead of throwing these mismixed paints away (disposing of paint isn't that easy), many stores label it as "oops" paint and sell it at bargain prices.

At Smith Hardware and Lumber in Rockport, oops paint sells for $10 a gallon or $5 a quart. That's about 50 percent off the retail price. At Hancock Paint in Boston, oops paint that would have sold for $18 to $30 a gallon if it had been mixed to specifications sells for $5 a gallon. You can get Benjamin Moore oops paint for $10 a gallon at Fresh Paint and Wallcovering Company in Winchester, Supreme Paint and Wallpaper in Somerville, and Purple Door Paint Store in Reading.

Of course, no one likes to make mistakes, so quantities are limited, and there's usually just one can of a particular color. If you're really lucky, it's a 5-gallon can.

At the Drive-In Paint Mart in Dorchester, you'll usually find about 20 cans of Benjamin Moore and Pittsburgh paints in the oops pile. Five-gallon pails are priced as low as $40, a savings of almost 75 percent. And, the more oops paint you buy at this store, the less you pay: It's $8 for 1 gallon but $6 a gallon if you buy four or more.

At the Home Depot chain of stores, the return policy is liberal: They'll take back any paint (including custom-mixed colors) for a full refund, no questions asked. That makes for a lot of paint in the oops corner, where it is resold for $5 a gallon.

Oops.