Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

September, 2002

Paint Ratings

Q. Is there any reputable rating of different brands of paint? I live in Portland, Oregon and especially wonder about the local brands, which usually say something about having been formulated for "local conditions?"

A. I have not seen or heard of any organization that rates paints, other than Consumer Reports, and that organization compares paints on a more general basis. CR does not, to the best of my knowledge, perform comparisons based on local conditions.

What you might do, is list your local conditions and then look at the Consumer Reports to see how the comparisons relate to them. For instance, if you live in an area where it rains frequently, you might pick a paint in the Consumer Reports that performs well under wet conditions. Even if that paint doesn't score the highest points in the overall tests, you might decide to overlook some of its weaknesses in favor for its resistance to rain.