Is expensive paint actually worth the money?

There are three price tiers on the shelf and they are not the same axis. Trade versus retail is a distribution question. Cheap versus premium within a range is a formulation question. Designer brands add a colour and marketing premium on top of a formulation that may or may not be better than a good trade product. Knowing which you are paying for stops you overpaying and stops you buying a tin that costs you two extra coats.

Step by step

1. Understand where the cost sits in the tin.Roughly: pigment, especially titanium dioxide which does the hiding; the binder resin, which does adhesion, film strength and wash resistance; and the additives that control flow, open time and mould resistance. Cheap paint is cheap mainly because it contains less of the first two and more water and extender.
2. Convert price per litre into price per coat.A paint that hides in two coats at a decent spreading rate can easily cost less for the finished wall than one that needs four coats, even at half the price per litre. Compare the claimed spreading rate on the tins as well as the price.
3. Spend the money where the film has to work.Trim paint takes knocks, cleaning and sunlight, so a good one lasts years longer. Hall, stair and kitchen walls get touched constantly. Bathrooms need a moisture-tolerant film. These are where a premium tin repays you.
4. Do not spend it where the film does nothing.Ceilings in bedrooms, lofts, garages, the inside of cupboards, and any coat that will be covered by another coat. Contract matt is the correct product there and paying more buys nothing.
5. Treat trade ranges as the value option.Trade versions of the major brands are usually the same or better formulation than the retail line, sold in bigger tins with less packaging and fewer colours. A decorators' merchant will sell to anyone. This is the single easiest way to buy better paint for less.
6. Test rather than trust for colour-critical work.Where a brand's premium is largely about colour depth and the way pigments behave in low light, the only honest test is a large sample on the actual wall, seen at several times of day. That is a real difference on some deep colours and pure marketing on others.
7. Read the durability claim, not the adjective.Look for a stated scrub or wash rating, a stated spreading rate, and what the tin says it resists. 'Premium' and 'luxury' mean nothing. A scrub class and a coverage figure mean something.

Tips

• Durable or scrubbable matt is the genuinely useful modern development: a flat finish that survives being cleaned. In a hallway it is worth every penny.
• One-litre retail tins are the most expensive way to buy paint per litre. If you need more than three, price the 5-litre trade tin.
• Cheap paint plus your labour is almost always worse value than good paint plus your labour, because the labour is the expensive part.

Common mistakes

• Buying the cheapest tin for a deep colour — Saturated colours already hide poorly. A cheap tin in a strong red or yellow can take five coats and still look patchy.
• Paying premium prices for a mist coat — The mist coat is a sealer that will be completely covered. Thinned contract matt is the correct product and costs a fraction.

Alternatives

• Trade range from a decorators' merchant: Usually the best value per finished square metre. Larger tins, better formulations than the equivalent retail line, and staff who will tell you what actually goes over what.
• Retail mid-range with a stated scrub rating: Fine for most walls and widely available in small quantities. Check the spreading rate rather than the shelf position.
• Designer brand: Worth it if the colour is the point and you have tested it on the wall. Not automatically a better-performing film than a good trade paint.

Questions people ask