I was in our local Home Depot and needed paint for a room that no one ever enters. Therefore, I figured it wouldn’t matter what paint I was getting, as it was the same color, just a basic touch up. I purchased Speed Wall paint by Glidden, as it was only about $10 for a gallon of paint which was a huge different between the cost of the other paints such as Behr. I was paying anywhere from $25 to $30 per gallon of paint by Behr. This would be my first time using Glidden since being an adult.
I brought the paint home from Home Depot, and begun painting the room that day. I figured it had been freshly mixed, so why not. A small room that always seemed to have an open window in the summer, I figured it wouldn’t take long. I was done in about 2 hours, moving things about took more time then the actual paint job. I noticed while the Speed Wall paint was drying, it was drying rather choppy, but shortly after a second coat and leaving the room to totally dry, everything looked perfect. I was very pleased. It was a flat light blue paint. Several weeks later I entered the room to discover it looked like someone had thrown the paint on the walls. I was stunned; I mean it didn’t look anything like that a week ago. I quickly painted another coat, and played the waiting game. The next day the room looked the same, just like someone threw the paint on the walls again! I applied two more coats, thus making it a grand total of six coats. I noticed after I painted, how paint was on the light switch cover, so I took a wash cloth, and was able to clean off DRIED paint with nothing more then water! I figured maybe that was the problem, though it wasn’t humid, maybe it was getting humid after a while.
I decided to call Glidden and complain. My first call was past onto the Glidden rep of our area and I never got a call back. I called three days later, and got a call back. After I had went to the Home Depot, and purchased Behr paint and painted the room in ONE coat. To this day, 4 months later, it’s perfect with Behr, the first time!
Upon finally speaking with the Glidden rep, I expressed how very upset I was, near tears that I had to paint a room six times, and even then it still didn’t look anywhere near as good as it did BEFORE I painted it. The rep for Glidden paint offered his advice and even free paint. He told me that Speed Wall Paint by Glidden is paint that is used for nothing more then rental properties. You throw it up don’t care what it looks like as you paid for what you got. I being a previous renter couldn’t understand why anyone would use cheap ass paint on a rental property. You need the paint to stand up to a lot.
So, all I can say about Glidden Speed Wall Paint is, run for the hills! Ask for a refund if you accidentally purchased it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I rate this paint, -5. Yes, negative 5. This paint is only good for sponging. If you are a sponger, then this cheap paint would work for you, but be aware that the Glidden rep told me that no paint dries for a period of 30 days. That it can still be wiped off with water during that time period. I’ve never heard of nor experienced such a thing, and I’ve painted many rooms, and houses in my time.
I also find it interesting nowhere on glidden.com is the Speed Wall paint mentioned.
