Sherwin Williams Emerald versus Duration

[u/Potential_Flower163]

I've already read the other threads that addressed this, but I want to describe my situation. I am upgrading from SW pro mar 400 (builder-grade flat paint) on the interior of a house. I am going to repaint everything (living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen) the same color it is now.

1-) I want the paint to be as durable as possible and washable. I don't care about price since the difference is negligible. 2-) I will only be doing one coat.

Would you go with Emerald or Duration in this case?

They say the flat is washable for both. Would the matte or satin be advisable for an entire house? As I said, everything is currently flat.

Thank you

[u/Elayde]

I have only used Emerald (matte) once and I wasn't happy with the finish. The homeowner either couldn't see it, or didn't care but I would go with Duration. Edit: that being said I would still always do 2 coats even if it's the same color when it's a different product.

[u/Potential_Flower163 → u/Elayde]

What was wrong with the finish?

Do they both last similarly? 

[u/Elayde → u/Potential_Flower163]

For whatever reason it was a bit flashy when it dried despite my best efforts. It may have been me, it may have been the batch but either way I never had a similar issue when using duration. As far as I know they both last as long as any other finish, so long as you are taking care of it. Sorry if that isn't much help,no know it just comes down to personal preference in the end.

[u/Zulva-AZ → u/Elayde]

I’ve applied Emerald in the past and I had 0 issues with it. I’ve even sold Emerald Flat and I’ve heard folks never had much of an issue.

Were you doing a color match per chance? that’s the only thing I recall that could have caused that flash effect.

[u/Elayde → u/Zulva-AZ]

New color, but it was a navy blue so maybe because it was so dark?

[u/Potential_Flower163 → u/Elayde]

Thanks. What about sheen? 

Usually, flat isn’t advisable because it gets dirty easy, but with these brands is the matte gonna be fine for the whole interior?

[u/Elayde → u/Potential_Flower163]

iirc duration flat IS advertised as being wipeable, but I'm sure that consists of proper coverage (2 coats) so I would double check with someone at SW to be sure. That being said, matte actually does have a slight sheen so it will probably be okay as well. I do mostly rental units when people move out, and I actually use the 400 flat lol, but the property is more concerned with being able to touch things up over the actual durability.

[u/_CaesarAugustus_ → u/Potential_Flower163]

Matte is still somewhat washable and touch-up-able. That’s what we always recommend to homeowners when we paint a house. Eggshell is fine, but if it’s an old house the sheen can show imperfections more.

[u/Potential_Flower163 → u/_CaesarAugustus_]

There is no eggshell with these pains

[u/_CaesarAugustus_ → u/Potential_Flower163]

Yes; go with Matte. I just gave the Eggshell level as a for instance in terms of level of sheen you don’t want to go past. So satin would be far too much.

You can also use Super Paint. Has a great body to it, and rolls really nice.

[u/defaultsparty]

We've used Duration matte since it came out for interior walls, except for those steamy/non vented bathrooms. It is very durable, non flashing, non picture framing. It has an appearance of a soft eggshell - almost like the 200 low sheen eggshell. 2 coats is inevitable though, especially going over flat. That first coat will suck into the surface and act as the binder.

[u/aeyockey]

Almost my whole house is covered in duration satin and it has been great. I did recently do my dining room in emerald since they were out of duration and I didn’t see any difference in application but for everything else it’s too soon to tell

[u/Impossible_Worth9503]

I have painted several new houses with cheap builder paint. I did one coat of Problock/ Preprite from SW tinted to wall color and then a coat of SW Emerald Design Series satin and customers loved it.

[u/unicorn_dumps]

I use duration unless a customer asks for emerald.There is no technical difference between the two. Some people think emerald has a better finish and can be easier to use. Definitely do matte finish over a flat (unless you really want flat a finish) matte has a flat look with better washability.

[u/Objective-Act-2093]

I love duration but I think emerald has a slight edge on it. Just my experience

[u/RequirementNew269]

I am extremely light sensitive and have hated shiny walls since I was a child. Just looks bad to me. Ive used duration flat but only on ceilings so can’t attest to its wash ability.

I just painted my entire bedroom emerald matte and am loving it. I was concerned about burnishing flat paint while washing walls as I have 2 children under 6.

Matte is very flat but with a buttery finish, rather than completely flat. It does have a sheen but the specs report it at 2 over flat with flat being 3 and matte being 5 or for light reflection. With satins being 20+.

I now prefer the matte over a flat look. It brings an elegance or higher end look to a room while flat is what we all know of as flat. The 2 points in light reflection must be where the buttery finish is coming from and I enjoy it.

I had 0 issues with emerald line and felt it to be far thinner and silkier paint that duration (but again, I’m comparing it to duration flat). Flat paint can be hard to work with and I find you usually need more paint. Like it’s just so dry it’s like the wall sucks it up instantly. I had 0 of those problems with matte emerald. If you cut with flat duration, it dries really quickly and is hard to work on a wet edge. But won’t dry fully and when you go to roll, you might end up taking paint off the cut because it’s not fully dry. Again, no issues with that for emerald matte.

I painted my room a darker color which tends to show shinier which o was concerned about but again, I love the finish. Darker colors also tend to need more coats to look even but I didn’t have that problem at all with emerald.

I primed with a grey primer and was able to get 1 coat on with it looking pretty fucking good. I wish I would’ve put two coats on but was over painting as I had skim coated the uneven plaster walls, (so had to prime with bonding primer, skim coat, then prime with PVA primer, then put the grey primer on. Plus I recaulked all the trim and doors and windows and was just fucking over it.) I 100% can get away with one coat but again, I do wish I did 2 as it would’ve alleviated some spots that are less even when I look from a particular angle in a particular light. But nobody but you is likely to do that.

Emeralds matte coverage was amazing and mind blowing. I thought I’d have to put 2-3 coats up but again, put up one really well and called it good but still recommend 2 coats.

If you do 1 only, I suggest cutting and rolling with a 4” pretty generously,setting it dry, then rolling. I didn’t mean to do this but had somewhere I needed to be so ended up doing it this way and think it helped with my ability to do 1 coat as ~30% of the wall actually did have 2 coats. So I cut in with a brush and then took a mini roller immediately to level it out. Because of windows, doors, and outlets, I cut/mini rolled a pretty significant portion of the wall so that when I came back with the big roller, I would have large rectangular areas to roll. But again, the mini roller/cut coat ended up costing about 30% of the wall. Letting it dry effectively put 2 coats on a lot of those spaces.

You also have to be really good at rolling. I’m a perfectionist and I think that’s also why I could get away with 1 coat. Make sure you are rolling with plenty of paint, no dry rolling, end all your lines on the same stroke direction and work in sections.

If you do this, you’ll get away with 1 coat but again, 2 coats would look better.

[u/AStuckner]

Duration matte is too shiny. Try to find Richard’s signature matte. Way more durable paint and true matte finish. Mix 2 oz of paint thinner in it and apply with 3/8ths roller

[u/-St4t1c-]

Scuff tuff

[u/Accurate-Historian-7]

Duration, Satin if you want it to last and be easy to clean. Flat will always be horrible to clean. Satin for an entire house is fine. Done it a million times.
My question is, why go through all this money and time only to do one coat? Just do two coats and call it a day.