More to choosing paint than color

Published 1:27 pm Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Choosing paint should involve thought and investigation, but too many of us just run to the home center, pick a color and start slapping it on.

Even the familiar is not necessarily a good choice. In Consumer Reports’ tests of interior paints, Clark+Kensington, available only at Ace, was tops in satin and semigloss finishes. Check out the complete test results in the March issue.

Here are some tips for choosing paint:

1. Buy a sample, painting a patch and living with it for a day or two before buying more.

2. Go online. Manufacturer and retailer websites and Facebook pages offer a wealth of tips on choosing colors, photo galleries of finished rooms and calculators to figure out how much paint to buy.

3. Find the perfect color. Retailers can often match colors.

4. Match sheen to surface. The best low-luster satin and eggshell paints offer easy hiding and durability. Flat paints hide flaws better but are less resistant to stains and smudges, so use them in low-traffic areas. Semigloss works well for trim and other surfaces that don’t need to be wiped frequently,