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Paints that perform.(Interior Paints)(includes related article on color-matching and contrasting hues)(Buyers Guide)
A new coat of paint is the easiest, cheapest way to transform the look of a room. Easy, that is, if the paint goes on smoothly, covers well, and lets you wipe away fingerprints and stains. The cost is a weekend of your time or a contractor's fee, and a few gallons of paint.
While it's usually a good idea to buy a manufacturer's top-of-the-line paint, you don't have to buy the most expensive brand. In fact, if you live near a Lowe's home center, you'd do well to use its Valspar American Tradition, which topped the Ratings in our tests of 59 paints. (Ratings begin on page 38.) At $17 to $21 a gallon, we judged American Tradition A CR Best Buy in flat, low-luster, and semigloss.
No Lowe's nearby? You can choose among other very good and widely available brands, including Sears and True Value low-luster. Of the celebrity brands, we found little to fault with Ralph Lauren Martha Stewart did not fare as well because it was less durable than others and prone to fading.
The Ratings guide you to the brands that did well overall; they can also show you which brands are good choices in particular color ranges. We tested three varieties of each brand: white, the pastel base used as a foundation for lighter colors, and a medium base used for bolder tones. Many important aspects of a paint's performance depend on the base, not the colorants. That means you can have confidence that a brand whose pastel base we've rated highly will do well whether you choose the paint in pink, pale yellow, baby blue, or seafoam green.
TOUGHNESS: THE KEY FACTOR
How tough a paint proves to be--that is, how well it holds up to everyday wear and tear--determines how often you have to paint. The toughest paints don't let stains set quickly and allow you to remove dirt without much scrubbing. When you must scrub, you can get rid of a stain without damaging the paint itself.
The glossier the paint, the more stain-resistant it should be. Flat paints are the most likely to absorb and hold a stain. As a rule, it's best to use a flat paint in low-traffic areas or in rooms with irregular walls. A low-luster paint (eggshell, velvet, or satin) generally works well in high-traffic areas and kids' rooms. Reserve semigloss and high-gloss paints for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry areas, and trim.
- Lowe's has expanded its American Tradition Signature Colors paint program with...
- Newspaper article from: DSN Retailing Today August 4, 2003 700+ words
Lowe's has expanded its American Tradition Signature Colors paint program with Nickelodeon and...appliques. The Eddie Bauer paint collections are called Lakeside...shoppers can use a virtual paint computer program to see how...
- Lowe's Introduces American Tradition(R) Signature Colors(TM); Novel Alliance...
- Press release article from: PR Newswire March 26, 2003 700+ words
...dreams. The Paint American Tradition Signature Colors...creamy, low-odor paint ensures thick one...technology behind American Tradition Signature Colors...to offer these paints to do-it-yourselfers...in this premium paint-or as the design...
- Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition.(Book Review)
- Magazine article from: Folklore Powell, J.V. April 1, 2005 700+ words
...Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition. Edited by Simon J. Bronner. American...introductory essay on the origin of the American tradition and seventeen articles documenting...psycho-economic history of how the American tradition developed during the late nineteenth...
- Institutional Economics, Instrumentalist Political Theory, and the American...
- Magazine article from: Journal of Economic Issues Tilman, Rick March 1, 2001 700+ words
...the lens of what he called the "American tradition of empirical collectivism." [3...Why, then, is it claimed that the American tradition of empirical collectivism is without...Essentially, this means to place it in the American tradition of empirical collectivism. As outlined...
- The American Tribute Foundation to Help Launch a New American Tradition This...
- Press release article from: PR Newswire June 25, 2002 700+ words
...Spirit. For this reason, a new American tradition will be born this Independence Day...champion the idea into the form of a new American tradition. The Tribute tradition has been...around the country in launching a new American tradition, a unique symbol of the indomitable...
- ALKA-SELTZER CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY; AN AMERICAN TRADITION LIVES ON
- Press release article from: PR Newswire December 4, 1991 700+ words
...CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY; AN AMERICAN TRADITION LIVES ON ELKHART, Ind., Dec...Alka-Seltzer(R) is as much an American tradition as the product itself. It all began...Yates. But nothing is more of an American tradition than the times Alka-Seltzer is...
- Patronage: An American Tradition.
- Magazine article from: Public Administration Review Balfour, Danny L. September 1, 1997 700+ words
...Quest for Reform, and Anne Freedman's Patronage: An American Tradition. Each of these extends and deepens our understanding...eliminate it, patronage remains an integral part of the American tradition of governance. Rich in direct quotations and fresh insights...
- "Wood: An American Tradition" Promotes the Myriad Benefits of Wood.
- Magazine article from: Wood & Wood Products October 1, 2000 700+ words
...comprehensive 7,000-foot exhibit entitled "Wood: An American Tradition." The exhibit, which will run through April 22, 2001...and artifacts complement the structures. "Wood: An American Tradition," also considers the material's cultural significance...
- The Myth of Open Borders: The American Tradition of Immigration Control.
- Magazine article from: National Review Williamson, Chilton, Jr. November 25, 1988 700+ words
...contrary as unAmerican. In The Myth of Open Borders.- The American Tradition of Immigration Control (The American Immigration Control...every land, all sight was lost of what, in fact, is the American 'tradition' regarding immigration. Far from being a thing of the...
- All God's Children: The Bosket Family and the American Tradition of Violence.
- Magazine article from: Commonweal Elshtain, Jean Bethke April 19, 1996 700+ words
...much less well with what he tendentiously calls the "American tradition of violence." Moving from the particulars of the Boskets...Butterfield gets to the real meat of his story, the "American tradition" is pretty much left behind and the reader is drawn ever...
