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DO NOT USE Behr paints!

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behr paints
56K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  Mr772 
#1 ·
As of the time of this posting we must recommend that people NOT USE Behr paints as a screen paint or as part of making a screen mix. The problem is that the Behr #1850 flat enamel paint recommended in many threads on this forum has apparently been reformulated and now has a gloss level high enough to cause hot spotting even in a so-called "flat" finish.

Addendum:
It seems the hot spotting issue may be due to a members projector rather than the Behr paint, but there is still a question of how much Behr has changed their paints so we still must recommend they not be used if other paints are available. One big consideration now is how well their #1850 paint covers. Lately there have been a number of VERY dissatisfied users on Home Depot's site.
 
#3 ·
i used the behr premium plus self priming interior flat base 1050 silver screen 770e-2 mixed 9/20/12 and this stuff is as flat as can be. i have noticed zero hot spotting. i have no experience on what a good screen can look like other then in a movie theatre, but after watching TV for decades this looks pretty good to my eyes. admittedly i wanted a quick and easy soloution but now my wife looks at me funny when i talk about buying a real sccreen and says why?
 
#6 ·
it was new drywall with one coat of behr sealer drywall primer and two coats of the sliver screen...it was base 1050 i could not see 1850 listed any where. i just got up close and personal with the screen looking at it and i can see where a third coat may be necessary in one or two small spots. i cant tell if i missed a spot or since we are now finishing the rest of the drywall we brushed against the flat and scuffed it. we used about 1 quart for 12' x 8' wall. I have watched a lot of movies on this and it has to be really close to a good quality screen.
 
#7 ·
Behr #1050 is their flat latex paint and #1850 is their flat latex ENAMEL paint. The enamel should only have the tiniest bit of additional gloss.

I see that Behr is now saying their Premium Plus paints are "self priming" to match their Premium Plus ULTRA paints being " paint & primer in one". It is also now "low VOC". These changes could have changed how the paints work. Although it seems the #1050 you used is covering as well as Behr paint had done in the past. A 12' x 8' fall is 96 square feet. I would have used at least a quart and a half to paint that as a screen, and probably closer to 3 quarts; but that is just me and it is a long way from a hard and fast rule.

A good DIY screen takes a back-seat to NO commercial screen unless you are talking about the ultra high dollar specialty screens like the DNP Supernove, and these are niche screens to be sure. :T
 
#8 ·
i didnt use a third coat at the time since i had the rest of the drywall to finish and i wanted the final coat on the screen to be the last coat of any paint that i painted. as for the low VOC i can attest to that fact this was not a smelly paint. we are going to use this product for the rest of the walls and cieling. the darkest i can get the boss to go for the cieling is the same gray as the screen, she has agreed to darker walls probalby some shade of red. i guess we will give it a try and see how it works with the screen.
 
#9 ·
Interesting... very interesting... I say this as after I redid my screen with this new Behr, I noticed the hot spot. At first I thought I was going nuts and it was merely a new subsurface (MDF versus drywall), new paint, and, a new bulb in the projector. And, I simply had to get used to it. But, after reading this it makes me absolutely certain that there is in fact a difference in this paint compared to the "old" Behr. The roller marks are also more apparant from oblique angles on mixed color/moving shots and definatly apparant head-on. Whereas before, yeah, they were there but only at freak look-angles.

This may also be the reason why adding a levelling compound lead to misfortune and frustration.

That being said, I did send Mechman of my latest samples with the new Behr paint, one with and without the levelling compound. I'll send him a PM!
 
#10 ·
I just got through doing a gloss test of the old and new Behr #1850 paint.

Old #1850
60° reading = 6.8 GU (gloss units)
85° reading = 3.2 GU

New #1850
60° reading = 7.7 GU
85° reading = 4.7 GU


Visually there is no discernable difference between them in a small sample and I doubt the slightly higher gloss readings of the new #1850 would result in hot spotting. Gloss Units are tricky things, the glossier something is the more difference in readings it takes to be visible to the human eye.

What I am wondering is if Behr quality control has gone to pot and one can (or lot number) could have more or less gloss than another? And then there remains the problem of not covering well. :huh:

As things currently stand I think we will maintain the moratorium against the use of Behr paints unless someone absolutely has to.
 
#12 ·
Yeah I've seen Valspar at Fleet Farm as well. I've never tested them though. They are a different variety than the Valspar sold at Lowe's. I've tested PPG from Menards as well which should be close to you. But only for BW™.
 
#14 ·
well heres my 1 year update.....we originally used the Behr silver screen as a quick and easy method to get up and running in the theatre room and really liked it, the boss vetoed black ceilings and a black border around the screen so we decided on a grey and dark red paint scheme. I used the Behr 1050 silver screen paint and the similar product in the red i believe they were both self priming. I really like it and have no plans to change the screen paint. so if you are thinking of a similar paint scheme I can say this combination has worked well for me. I might have painted the screen wall one additional time since my last post as the very last wall we painted.




 
#15 ·
well heres my 1 year update.....we originally used the Behr silver screen as a quick and easy method to get up and running in the theatre room and really liked it, the boss vetoed black ceilings and a black border around the screen so we decided on a grey and dark red paint scheme. I used the Behr 1050 silver screen paint and the similar product in the red i believe they were both self priming. I really like it and have no plans to change the screen paint. so if you are thinking of a similar paint scheme I can say this combination has worked well for me. I might have painted the screen wall one additional time since my last post as the very last wall we painted.
Glad the Behr paint worked out for you!
 
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