You have opened up a can of worms......you are going to get advice from all of us now. This question is like asking which is better? Chevy or Ford?

If you choose a red color - my advice would be to use Ralph Lauren Satin Latex. It is a top quality product. I have used it many times - and its dark colors are beautiful, and work very well........

HOWEVER - YOU MUST USE THE RL DEEPTONE PRIMER UNDER IT - OR YOU WILL BE DOING 4-5 COATS!!!!!! WITH DEEPTONE PRIMER YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO COVER IN TWO FINISH COATS.

If you choose to go with another company's product - buy the best they have - and use whatever primer they recommend to help that color hide. Do not use a red tinted paint over a white or pink primer - it won't work.

Best of luck!

Mr. Paint

The Duron Paint company has a deep base primer called T-2 acrylic primer and has a satin red base that covers great.
But no matter who you use be sure and ask if they have a deep base primer and a red base from which the color you want can be made. The red base cost more than the neutral base that most companies make these colors out of but it is better than putting on 6 coats of paint to get it to cover.
Your room will look great.

You don't need a deep base primer. Use a top quality primer and have it tinted a medium gray.

For the paint, avoid discount houses and big box stores.

Buy top quality brushes and roller sleeves.

Finally - keep a wet edge and do not over brush nor over roll. Its best if there are two of you. One to cut in around the woodwork and ceiling and the other to do the rolling right behind the cutting in.

Bob F.......I have to disagree.

A grey primer only works if it is the correct shade of grey. The light wavelength reflected back from the grey has to be very similar to the wavelength of the topcoat color.
Remember that accent tint bases are clear - the idea with the grey primer is that it tricks your eye.

If you don't believe me, try it. I have done this many times - and can easily prove that unless you use the correct color grey - it isn't much better than white.

For RL and Glidden products anyway - the RL Deeptone Primer is the way to go for these colors.

As for the big box slam........you all on this site need to get over that one........there is room for everyone in the paint business - and believe me, I have seen many horrendous "specialty" paint stores!

Mr. Paint

Hmm, a paint can of worms, like that. Just finish my room with deep burgandy eggshell behr paint. Took 4 coats since I used untinted kilz on everything, ooops, wont do that again. I did not like the coverage of the eggshell, so I tried flat, the flat went on great. Of the Behr brand of paints, all but the eggshell had good coverage and cleanability, much better than glidden. So as for box store paints, I like the home depot brand.

Both Ford and Chevy stink. :-D

Sherwin Williams is the best I have used. Benjamin Moore has a very good reputation, too, and has even been described to me as "smooth as butter," but the selection at my local BM outlets in Austin is poor, so I stick with Sherwin Williams.

Behr and Glidden are discount paints and give you discount results. You also will usually need two coats to adequately cover the old paint if you are changing colors, so the discount goes away. Most people who are satisfied with them are satisfied because a new coat of paint simply will always look better than an old, dirty, faded, discolored coat of paint. They are better than nothing, but not the best.

I have also used Ralph Lauren with great results and great coverage. Rumor has it that Glidden now manufactures it: perhaps the Cadillac or Buick to Glidden's Chevy line, but still an American car. :-D

You know Lawrence......ICI (Glidden) didn't get to be the third largest paint company (yes larger than SW) in the world making mediocre products.

Glidden makes a huge range of products - from Speed-Cote to RL (no rumor there - Glidden has been making RL better than SW ever did since Jan 2001!)

SW makes a huge range of products too. Some of them are very very good - Super Paint and Duration - that I am familiar with. Some are horrible - Try Pro-Mar 700 sometime.

Making blanket statement that all Glidden is discount paint - isn't fair - but most importantly - it isn't correct!

Mr. Paint

Hey Lawrence, PHHHTTTT :-P Ford Rules, dodge and chevy drool!!

Tha said, the Behr I have used so far, egshell excluded has been pretty good, one coat coverage of a dark semi gloss over kilz primed walls that came out great. One coat coverage on the ceiling with a slightly darker than white flat paint. The only one I had problems with was the eggshell with a deep base, dummy me didnt tint the primer first and it took 5 coats, grrr. The last two were flat and covered much better than 3 coats of the eggshell, never again will I use eggshell, it didnt even come out like I expected.

With all due respect, the original post called for "the best paint brand," not the most affordable or the most popular. That said, Glidden is not awful paint, and I apologize to MrGlidden if I made that implication. It just is not nearly as good as SW or BM.

Glidden got to be so popular through good marketing and by pricing their product at a price-point that most people want to pay. (Or does McDonald's serve the best, healthiest food because its the most popular? :-) SW is more expensive, and you get what you pay for. Also, SW can often cover in one coat, so, again, the added expense ends up being worth it.

There are alot of good paints out there and they are made by alot of different companies.
Also all the companies mentioned here have good paints and they all have some that are junk. In defence of promar 700, it is apartment paint for goodness sakes and can't be compared to high end paint ,and i am sure ICI has one MR. Paint.
I still say you are going to get the best advise from a store that sells just paint than you are in a big box. I work for a company (Duron) that makes it paint and for the most part sells it in it's own stores. I live in Richmond, Va and we sell way more than ICI, so they are not that big everywhere.

5slb6.....You are right - everyone has inexpensive stuff - ICI makes Speedwall in this category. My point was that by throwing out generic statements like Glidden is bargain basement and SW is great - people who don't know any better might not try some good products that are available to them - each company has many different grades for many different customers.

By the way - I know Duron is huge in Mid-Atlantic and parts south.

Duron is the 29th largest paint company in the world. (Source - Coatingsworld.com - July 2003)

Mr. Paint

thanks everybody, i think we have deceided to go with Ralph Lauren paint and deep base primer.

You will love it!

Mr. Paint :>)

You will love it!

Mr. Paint :>)

Glidden sucks compared to sw. Get over it.