Anti-drying agent 4 Benjamin Moore Aura
jimbat2239
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hello to all –
I am on the final stretch of my lower level renovation and have chosen Benjamin Moore Aura as the paint of choice. I have BM paints in the past and have been very happy but this is the fastest drying paint I have ever used. Before I can feather out the edges, the paint drys to the point of leaving ridges that I cannot smooth out.
Does anyone know of an anti-drying agent that can be added to the paint before applying.
Replies
Floetrol for latex, Penetrol for oil. Both from the Flood company, typically available at big boxes and paint stores.
Thank You - I will out to the Benjamin Moore store first thing in the am.
yup. Love me some Floetrol. Use as recommended on bottle.
Thank You!
Go to BM if you want to, but FYI, if it's a shorter trip, all paint stores carry it and so do any hardware stores with a paint dept.
ps- you're welcome! and- what color/colors are you using? I'm trying to choose colors for an old house i just bought and am having a hard time deciding. Too many choices.
Edited 10/2/2008 12:42 am ET by msm-s
I haven't used that series of BM paint, but I love their other interior paints because of the slow drying qualities.
I also don't like to have to add something to paint to make it flow. A good paint should do that without you having to screw around with it.
You are never quite sure what the addition of something like Floetrol will actually do to a particular paint.
I would be looking at another BM product if I had a lot of painting to do. Most cheap paints need Floetrol. At the price of BM paints, you shouldn't have to be buying additives to make it work right!
I would be looking at another BM product if I had a lot of painting to do... ...At the price of BM paints, you shouldn't have to be buying additives to make it work right!
I agree, but the fast drying nature of the Aura line is a "feature", not a flaw. It's actually their top-of-the-line paint. It goes for about $55/gal around here. I have used it and have not found that it dries too fast. Fast, yes. Too fast, no.
I suspect that the OP may be painting a porous surface that sucks the moisture out of the paint. A good primer would solve this if that is what's happening.
DCD:
I hate the stuff. I tried it once and I'll never use it again. When cutting in on trim like crown and casings, you need enough time to do the cutting and then brush over to clean it up. The Aura dried too fast for this. On the walls and ceilings the stuff was drying faster than I could move my ladder or scaffolding to get to the next section. I couldn't keep a wet edge. The only upside is the low VOC, but I'll stick with the old formulation and $12 less a can, thank you.
John
Good points. I haven't had a similar experience for 2 good reasons: 1) I paint trim first and then cut in against it and 2) even more importantly, I haven't used Aura to paint trim. So, anyone reading this who is planning on painting trim should listen to you, not me.
The reason I haven't painted trim with Aura is because Aura's primary advantage is coverage with fewer coats (usually 2) when using dark colors. I haven't had occasion (yet) to paint dark trim.
DCD:
I was told that BM will be going to Aura as its primary line of paint and that the old formula will be phased out. That would not make me a happy camper.
I was also told about the one coat coverage, but I ended up needing two coats anyway. Since there was a newborn baby in the client's house, the low VOC was the selling point, but I really hated that job and the trim was not up to my usual standards.
J.
I was told that BM will be going to Aura as its primary line of paint and that the old formula will be phased out.
That would really surprise me since Aura is so much more expensive than "regular" paint. It would be a great way to price themselves out of the market. Also, they recently went to 100% acrylic in the Regal line which now has lower VOC's.
I agree, but the fast drying nature of the Aura line is a "feature", not a flaw. It's actually their top-of-the-line paint
HHhhmmm....maybe it's a flawed feature?? I hate fast drying paint. That's why I always use BM Regal on interior work. If they screw that up, I'm going to be bummed out!! In my opinion, no paint goes on as nice as that stuff.
I just completed an $80,000 kitchen/family room addition. There were numerous beautiful things to look at. The cabinet supplier brought some customers over to look at the job and they stared & stared as I tried to figure out what was impressing them so much.
Finally one of them turns to me and says "what kind of paint is that"?? I've never seen such a beautiful paint job. I told the owner I always use BM and she didn't want to pay the price until she saw the results. She was laughing when she heard the question.
BM sells their own for Aura.
Think it's much different from Floetrol?
Don't know how different it is. But if you have issues with the paint it's always better to have used BM additive. It's tough enough to get them to do the right thing when there are problems.
Is it %100 acrylic? I've found that %100 dries to fast. Like you I like something that you can play with a bit.
I read that the higher the acrylic content the better the paint but It just did handle as well as when it was mixed with latex.
"I read that the higher the acrylic content the better the paint but It just did handle as well as when it was mixed with latex."There is no "latex" in latex.One of the meaning of latex is an emulsion. In fact what we call latex paints the British call emulsion paint.The main thing that makes it a paint is the resins.Acrylic is considered the best resin. Vinyl is also used. Maybe others..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Sooo what are you say'n? When I go buy paint it is called latex or acrylic latex.
What i read was that the higher the content of acrylic the better.
But I don't like the way the %100 acrylic handles primarily because it dries to fast.
I'm talking about the way it goes on and the I like one more than the other.
Even the 100% acrylic paints are latex acrylic paints..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
i like the 50/50, oil/acrylic formula best ;-)
Really, cuze I like the 60-40. ;-) not sure what's in there but I like it.
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i like the 50/50, oil/acrylic formula best ;-)"There are such things. Or at least oil/latex. Some of the deck finishes claim to be oil finishes with water cleanup. Not really sure what the chemistry is.And then there was the time that I was paint basment stairwell and the oil based trim paint had been set next to the latex wall paint.They mixed will in the tray and the stairwell was dark enough that you could not see the difference in sheen between the parts that was all latex and that was 1/2. Did not even mix it. Just poured more paint into the tray..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Never heard of real oil/latex mix. all i know about is the third wheel, alkyds (alcohol/shellac).I've accidentally mixed oil and latex base on a few occasions, luckily usually on small objects and not walls, and have never been so lucky as you. The mixture was permanently wet; never ever dried properly, so i'd finally give up (months sometimes) and removed the paint then repainted properly.
I was in to my Benjamin Moore store last week. I was buying Regal and he suggested trying Aura. He said his contractors have been using it and have had good experience in application and final appearance.It also promises to be self-priming and one coat coverage.
I asked about the drying time. He said it is a different way of painting. You can cut in a room leave for the night and roll the next day and have no hat banding. He also told me you can't roll backroll.
You message shows me I should stick with my old style paint and painting style.
Jon
Russian saying
I went to the BM store early Thursday morning and talked with the manager, told him of my concerns, and asked if they had an anti-drying agent for the Aura paints. There were 4 professional painters in the store waiting for their orders to be fulfilled and all joined in the discussion. Although BM markets the Aura line as not needing a primer, two said it did if the existing paint was old (the last time this room was painted was in 1982). The dry paper on the wallboard will suck the moisture out of the Aura line hastening the drying period. I guess the primer adds a bit of moisture. Another said he had success using 1/2 inch nap rollers. Anything less didn't put enough paint on the wall. The manager said that BM has an anti-drying agent called BM Extender that could be used with Aura without harm and gave me a bottle free of charge. All 4 of the pros agreed there was a learning curve involved in using this product-the biggest of which was understanding if there was low humidity in the house you had to work very fast.
So this is what I did: I turned off the A/C and opened all of the windows in the house to let in some humid outside air. I bought and used 1/2 inch nap rollers and did not use the BM Extender. The addition of the humid outside air and 1/2 inch nap roller seemed to do the trick. I was able to put two coats on the ceiling, cut-in the wall paint and one coat on the walls.
The big question: Will I use it again? Nope - Regal is fine for me and easier to apply.
The colors used:
Ceiling: November Rain at 50 percent (flat).
Walls: Light Yellow (eggshell)
Accent Wall: Clay (eggshell)
Trim: Easter Lily (semi-gloss)
Bathroom walls: Lily White (satin)
Bathroom ceiling: November Rain 50 percent (flat)
Shower ceiling: Super White (semi-gloss)
A primer or base coat doesn't add moisture so much as it creates a non-porous barrier between the paint and the dry porous substrate that sucks the moisture out so fast