I always thought paint was paint. But after comparing two differently priced paint products, I learned that sometimes it is worthwhile to spend the extra money. I was able to compare the Olympic Premium interior semi-gloss to Sherwin-Williams interior semi-gloss SuperPaint.
My goal was to paint an interior read-to-finish molded door semi-gloss white. I began with the Sherwin-Williams interior semi-gloss latex SuperPaint, for which I paid about $31 for the gallon. The Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint conveniently comes in a plastic container with a screw-on lid for easy and clean prep, clean-up, and storage. Another amenity is the built-in handle on the side of can that allows for shaking rather than stirring, which normally leaves a messy stick to deal with. I painted the front side of the door with the Sherwin-Williams paint. After my first coat with the Sherwin-Williams Superpaint dried, I felt that the paint still appeared somewhat streaky and a second coat needed to be added. After the second coat, the finish seemed flawless and smooth. The SuperPaint’s semi-gloss sheen left an even, soft shine. In each coat, the paint went on smooth and relatively thick. It was not difficult to apply the SuperPaint evenly with a paintbrush. I felt two coats was a reasonable amount of work for the job of painting a molded door.
After using the remainder of the Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint gallon on another project, I still had to paint the other side of the door. I decided that I would save some money and purchase the Olympic Premium interior semi-gloss latex paint. I paid about $20 for the gallon. I figured needing to stir the paint, and not have a screw-on lid was worth an $11 savings. But, I lquickly earned that the difference was more than the design of the can. I saw a difference in the quality of the Olympic Premium paint almost immediately upon opening the can. It appeared much thinner when stirring and applying. It was difficult to get a smooth even coat when using the same paintbrush that I had used with the Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint. The paint appeared streaky and thin after the first coat. I assumed that this might be similar to the SuperPaint, and that after the second coat it would be finished. I applied the second coat, though, only to find that it didn’t cover the first very well. The Olympic Paint continued to appear streaky even after the third and fourth coat. I was very disappointed that the job of painting the opposite side of the door became a time-consuming five coats, and still never looked as smooth and rich as the two coats of the Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint. The Olympic Premium semi-gloss definitely lacked in quality when compared to the Sherwin-Williams semi-gloss SuperPaint.
The price difference between the Sherwin-Williams interior latex semi-gloss Superpaint and the Olympic Premium interior latex semi-gloss paint is quite significant. But when it comes to a quality finish and time-saving, the Olympic Premium does not even nearly compare to the Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint. Having to apply so many coats of the less expensive paint also negates some of the price difference. Had I been doing a larger task than painting one side of a door, such as painting an entire room, I probably would have needed to purchase more gallons of the Olympic Premium paint than the Sherwin-Willaims SuperPaint. One gallon of SuperPaint would likely do what would require two gallons of the Olympic Premium paint, and would end up costing more with the less expensive option. I would highly recommend the Sherwin-Williams Superpaint, and would strongly discourage against purchasing the Olympic Premium paint. When it comes to these two paints, you definitely get what you pay for.
