Aura Paint Review (Matte Finish)

DeanV

I tried Benjamin Moore Aura paint for the first time this week. Here is a quick review:

Color: Aura was matched to Sw 6314 luxurious red, a deep red with a little purple to it.

Substrate: Existing wall color was approximately BM Linen White. There was substantial patching with Ready patch.

Application: 1/2" Wooster Supper-DooZ roller cover, Corona Excalibur cut-in brush. Walls were cut-in and allowed to dry before walls were rolled.

Priming: Ready patch was not primed prior to painting with Aura.

Coats: To look perfectly covered, it needed three coats of paint. With 2 coats, it was approximately 95% covered.

Recoat Time: about 1 hour (house temperature was in the mid-60's)

Final Appearance: Very even sheen. There sheen was completely even, even when looking down a wall towards a window. There was no hatbanding or uneven sheen even when the cut-in was allowed to dry completely. There was no flashing of Ready patch.

Touch-up: I have not needed to touch-up yet, so we will see, but given how it looked with allowing the cut-in to dry completely and then roll, I would guess that touch-up should be good.

Working with it: I was worried that the paint might dry too fast in the cut bucket or in the tray causing problems with the tray ramp peeling or chunks in the paint. There was no problem at all, I purposely had less paint in the cut bucket than normal and left the brush in it all day to see if it would cause problems and it did not. I did have ideal painting temperatures in the mid to upper 60's though, so in hot summer weather that may change.

Clean-up: Cleaned up fast and easy with regular water.

Comments: I was quite impressed with the paint. It was very low spatter when rolling, as low as any paint I have ever used. It makes getting good results with colors too easy. No need to wait for the final coat to get an even finish (I usually like to wait over night to do the final coat on deep-red walls with regular paint (Graham or other Benjamin Moore paints). I was hoping for complete coverage in two coats, but they do say that a few colors will take 3 coats or need their foundation color primer. I was surprised to see calcium carbonate as an ingredient on the can and some propylene glycol, since I thought of the carbonate as a lower quality filler and since the tints do not have glycol and it is being marketed as a "green" paint, I thought all glycols would be gone.

slickshift

Thanks for the great review
This is really helpful

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Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

painterofeveryt

dean in your opinion,how does it compare to grahams ceramic flat ?

MakDeco

My question then is as since you needed still three coats is it worth the extra money???

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DeanV

Jeff, compared to graham ceramic flat, it spatter less and it had a much more uniform sheen in the deep red color. You know that slight uneven look the reds have as you look towards a window? I have not had time to due scrub tests or adhesion tests. I will be interested to see if it sticks as well has Graham's (that stuff has excellent adhesion).

MakDeco, with other paints, I could have done it also in three coats (one of red base primer, 2 coats finish) but I would not have done two finish coats of a deep red in 4 hours. I think the dry time allowing for quick recoats of the deep colors is a definite plus that makes it good for these colors at the price (46.99 contractor/gal).

I want to try it in some regular colors and see if I get one coat coverage with typical color changes. If it does that, it would be worth it assuming contractors charge the same for painting painting a room that they would have for painting two coats of regular paint. If it takes two coats and you have to let the cut-in dry before you roll, then it might not be worth it, especially on small repaint jobs where you would end up waiting for paint to dry. Note: My standard painting procedure is cut one wall, roll one wall (sometime with deep colors, cut 4-6', roll 4-6').

PlainPainter

I've recoated regular regal in as little as 30 minutes. To date I have heard nothing extraordinary about this paint - that would want me to pay more than twice as much what I am use to. If I was going to pay a ton of money - and paint a deep red - I would buy some of that Fine paints of europe paint - I have seen that done in a single coat. Heck ACE Royal touch paints has a special deep red base - and I have done perfect jobs in one coat, let alone two. So far not impressed with any of the feedback.

THINKPAINTING

Do a search on Aura, and you will see a whole lot of reviews and pics.

Da Vinci

We just finished a home for a long time client. The decorator convinced him to upgrade to Aura with rooms that had deep colors. Here is our result:

1)Though marketed as such, the Matte Aura and Matte Regal Definitely have different sheens. I think it would take eggshell Aura to match Regal Sheen- they didn't like that.

2) It took 2 to 3 coats of Aura, even when going over a midtone color. I wasn't impressed here either.

3) A couple of rooms were deep maroon. This family has four kids and they would bump against the walls etc. Dust and hand prints showed up - trying to clean didn't make them go away very well. Why is this product more expensive?

4) Lastly, home owner decided that he would pay us extra to REPAINT the large kitchen/ breakfast area in Regal MAtte because A- better surface for maintenance and B-the color did NOT look the same as the chip. Aura product came out a shade lighter than Regal Matte- though rep insisted you could mix any BM color in Aura.

Bottom line, probably will NOT be trying to upsell this product. Already love the Regal line, why pay the money in an extremely competitive market?

Bay Area Painting Company

PlainPainter

...exactly!

George Z

Because Benjamin Moore markets this way:

The consumer is sold, wants it, can't do without it, will pay premium for it.

Contractor says:

Guess what?
Benjamin Moore marketing wins, you loose customer with the money to spend.

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PlainPainter

No offense George, Benny Moore hasn't done that great of marketing - I still had one client that wanted a repaint in a living room and have me use Aura, and still didn't want to pay a penny more than $500. I figure in order to live as a contractor I have to bill out $8,000 per month in sales off my back alone - or $2,000 in sales per week. Someone that will take half my week up, I need a minium of $1,000 to bill the customer for a residential repaint of a good sized living room - Aura just adds costs - what if I need 2 gallons? plus a gallon of ceiling paint and a gallon of trim - that will end up costing me $165 in paint alone - which leaves me $835 for 2-1/2 days of labor - or $41.75/hr. Which if I made every single theoretical billable hour of year - I'd be doing ok - but with all my business costs - that still wouldn't translate into an 80k salary - which is fair for a master interior doing residential repaints who owns and operates a company. Nah - people just aren't paying enough premium.

George Z

Maybe not in your market, but I am not sure.
We are doing ok.
There is a whole market here that will use nothing but Farrow & Ball.
$80.00 to $110 per gallon
I like that market.
Benjamin Moore here is the most popular paint consumers associate to quality

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johnthepainter

good input,,,thanks to all who contributed to this thread

my expectations are much lower now,,,,,

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sjm

If I am not mistaking roller nap size was non negotiable with Aura must use their recommended roller 3/8 or forget any warrnty,I get Aura for 45 per gal.

I have tried it and it's not worth the 45,I will continue to use MasterScrub when in need of a top of the line scrubable paint,only cost 28.

DeanV

I talked with the BM rep and he did not say anything about my nap selection being wrong. If anything, using a 1/2" should have put more on than a shorter nap. I was impressed with the washability of the red matte Aura. I would definitely try it again for deep colors.

painterofeveryt

dean,when you put on grahams,do you use a 3/8ths cover ? I have switched to that length some time ago,,cut down on spatter,sheen is much more uniform.all in all a great choice I think.let me know if you try it....

DeanV

I really have not used 3/8 covers much at all, the painter I learned from used 3/4". I will pick up a box of 3/8th next and see if they are any better for me. Thanks

gideond

On most smooth surfaces like drywall I'd never use above a 3/8. Sometimes I'll use a 3/16. P&L Accolade specifies 3/8 right on the can and it does seem to work best with that length.

regal

aura is self priming on plaster and drywall..........im sold.........make a semigloss that brush covers in one coat over preprimed interior trim and I would be golden.

regal

all set