Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams paint is what homeowners and painters reach for to repaint interior walls and trim, the outside of the house, or a piece of metal patio furniture. Sherwin-Williams owns Valspar and Krylon, and the three lines to know are Valspar Pro-Hide Gold exterior paint, the Best Look paint-and-primer line that Sherwin-Williams manufactures, and Krylon ColorMaxx spray paint. The reason to buy any of them is the same: a paint that goes on in fewer coats, holds its color through a Montana summer and winter, and comes from a company that has been making paint in Cleveland since 1866.

The Sherwin-Williams Company is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and was founded there in 1866 by Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams. It is the largest coatings company in the world by revenue, and it owns Valspar, Krylon, Minwax, Purdy, Dutch Boy and Thompson’s WaterSeal. Over its history it has named more than 35,000 paint colors.

Best Look 2-in-1 paint and primer

Best Look is a paint and primer in one, made by Sherwin-Williams and labeled that way on the can, in interior and exterior versions. It is the everyday wall paint for a whole house: a repaint over sound walls goes on as paint and primer in the same coat instead of two products, and every sheen a house needs comes in one line. Inside it comes in flat, eggshell, satin and semi-gloss; outside, in flat, satin and semi-gloss. That is the reason to buy it: one line does the ceilings, the walls, the trim and the siding, so the colors match from room to room and the leftover cans all work together for touch-up.

Paint and primer in one is made for clean, sound, already-painted walls in a similar color. It doesn’t replace a real primer over bare drywall, stains or a big color change. The base on the can decides how deep the color can go: Ultra White and Pastel bases are for whites and light colors, Neutral for mid-tones, and Deep for the darkest colors. Deep colors carry less hiding pigment, so plan on two coats when your color comes out of a Deep base.

Pro-Hide Gold for the outside of the house

Valspar Pro-Hide Gold is the exterior paint to buy in Montana, and the reason is the number on the can: 35°F. It is a self-priming, 100% acrylic professional-quality paint made to resist fading, with a mold- and mildew-resistant finish, and its low-temperature formula goes on at 35°F where many exterior paints need 50. The painting season here closes fast once September nights start dipping toward freezing, and a paint rated to 35°F buys back the cool October days when other cans have to sit on the shelf. Self-priming means one product does the job on sound, previously painted siding, and it covers 250 to 400 square feet per gallon.

Paint only when the paint, the surface and the air are between 35 and 90°F and will stay above 35°F for 48 hours, and not when heavy dew or rain is due within 2.5 hours. It’s dry to the touch in 1 to 2 hours and ready to recoat in 4 to 24. On a south or west wall at Montana elevation, where the sun works a finish harder than anywhere lower, the fade resistance is what keeps the body color from going chalky in five years.

Prep is most of an exterior job. Wash off dirt and chalk, rinse and let it dry, scrape anything peeling, and sand glossy trim dull so the new coat grips. On bare cedar or redwood, tannin can bleed through the first coat as a brown stain; a second coat usually covers it, and a stain-blocking primer handles the bad spots. Buy five-gallon pails for a full body color and box the cans together so every wall matches.

ColorMaxx spray paint

Krylon ColorMaxx is a paint and primer in one in a spray can, for indoor and outdoor projects, and it bonds to wood, metal, plastic, wicker, glass, ceramic and masonry, with added rust protection for metal. That rust protection is the selling point on anything that lives outside here: patio chairs, a mailbox post, a gate latch or a planter that goes through freeze and thaw with snow sitting on it gets a coat that seals the metal instead of just coloring it. The line comes in matte, satin, gloss and metallic finishes. The big button tip sprays at any angle, including upside down, which helps under a chair seat or inside a planter. Spray in light, even passes from about a foot away rather than one heavy coat, because a heavy coat runs. It’s dry to the touch in 20 minutes and dry to handle in an hour, so a set of chairs can go from faded to finished in an afternoon.

Sheen: what it hides and what it shows

Lower gloss and sheen hide wall flaws better. Higher gloss and sheen are easier to clean, and they also show every bump in the surface, so walls need proper prep before a higher-sheen coat. Flat and matte go on ceilings and on walls that need to hide patches; eggshell and satin suit most living rooms and bedrooms; semi-gloss goes on trim, doors, kitchens and baths, where you’ll wash it. The mudroom is the room to think about here: from November to April it takes wet boots, gravel and road grit off every coat that comes through the door, and a semi-gloss or satin Best Look on those walls wipes clean where a flat would scrub through. If your walls have patches you didn’t sand smooth, go one sheen lower.

Choosing a color

Whites pick up color from floors, snow outside the window and light bulbs, so a chip at the counter won’t match how the color looks in your room. A white that reads warm in July reads cold in January when the light is coming off a snowfield, so put samples on the actual wall and look at them in the morning and again at night before the whole house’s worth gets tinted. For two colors in one room, one main color with the second as an accent is the split that works, and a ceiling a shade lighter than the walls makes a low ranch-house ceiling look taller.

Prep and primer

For any real color change, plan on two coats and buy paint for both. Seal new drywall with a drywall primer instead of the finish paint, because drywall drinks the first coat. Marker, water stains from an ice dam and wood-stove smoke need a stain-blocking primer first, or they come back through the finish. Going light over dark, have the primer tinted toward the new color; it costs less than a third coat of paint. If you’re not sure whether old trim is oil or latex, rub a spot with acetone. If paint comes off on the rag, it’s latex, and latex goes right over it; if not, scuff-sand and prime before latex goes on.

Sherwin-Williams lines at a glance

Line	Made for	Sheens	The point
Best Look 2-in-1 Interior	Walls, ceilings, trim inside	Flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss	One line for the whole house, made by Sherwin-Williams
Best Look 2-in-1 Exterior	Siding and trim	Flat, satin, semi-gloss	Paint and primer in one coat over sound paint
Valspar Pro-Hide Gold Exterior	Siding, trim, doors	Eggshell and semi-gloss among them	Goes on at 35°F, self-priming, fade resistant
Krylon ColorMaxx	Metal, wood, plastic, wicker, masonry	Matte, satin, gloss, metallic	Paint and primer in a can, rust protection on metal

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sherwin-Williams good paint?

Yes. It is the largest coatings company in the world, it has been making paint in Cleveland since 1866, and the same company makes the Valspar, Krylon and Best Look cans on this page, so the everyday wall paint and the professional exterior paint come from one maker’s chemistry.

What is the best Sherwin-Williams exterior paint for Montana?

Valspar Pro-Hide Gold. It is 100% acrylic, self-priming and made to resist fading, and it goes on down to 35°F, which is the number that matters when the painting season here ends in October. Many exterior paints stop at 50°F.

Does Sherwin-Williams own Valspar?

Yes. Sherwin-Williams bought Valspar in 2017, the largest acquisition in its history, and Valspar’s Pro-Hide Gold is one of the lines on this page. It also owns Krylon, Minwax, Purdy, Dutch Boy and Thompson’s WaterSeal.

How much paint do I need?

Figure the square feet of wall, which is the length of every wall added together times the height, and divide by the coverage on the can. Pro-Hide Gold covers 250 to 400 square feet a gallon, so a gallon does one side of a small house and a five-gallon pail does most of a full body coat. Then buy for two coats on any real color change.

Who makes Best Look paint?

Sherwin-Williams. Best Look is the paint-and-primer line Sherwin-Williams manufactures for independent hardware and lumber dealers, and the can says “Manufactured by Sherwin-Williams” on the label.

How cold is too cold to paint outside?

It depends on the paint. Pro-Hide Gold can go on down to 35°F, as long as the surface and air stay above 35°F for the next 48 hours. Many exterior paints need 50°F, so read the can before a fall job. Start after the morning dew has burned off and stop early enough that the paint can set up before evening dew settles on it.

Do I need primer if the paint says paint and primer in one?

On clean, sound paint in a similar color, no. Over bare drywall, bare wood, water stains, glossy surfaces or a dark-to-light change, yes: a separate primer seals the surface and saves you a coat of the finish paint.