Selecting paint grades is as much an art as a science. A major goal of painting is to achieve an even paint color all over. This is simple when the new color is the same or very similar to the underlying color and gets tricky when it is not. Guide to understanding wall paint grades:

• Standard - Typically retails under $15 a gallon. Can be a good value for same color over color, but often the savings on materials are lost on the extra time it takes for the painter to apply it to achieve optimal results.
  • Representative brands include: Glidden Color Spec, Generic products
• Standard plus - Typically retails for $15 to $30 a gallon. Good potential for "one coat" coverage over similar colors. Optimizes painters time.
• Representaive brands include: Sherwin Williams A200, Benjamin Moore Contractor Spec, Behr
• Premium paints - Typically retails for over $25 a gallon. Often have special color effects or properties, may not have any better color coverage than standard plus. Often marketed with a "designer" cache. Usually do not have better coverage that standard plus.
Representive brands inclde: Benjamin Moore Royal, Sherwin Williams
• Specialty paints - Typically are designed for a limted purpose. Textured paints, basement "water proof"