We get a lot of questions about painting cabinets with Sherwin William’s ProClassic Interior Waterbased Acrylic-Alkyd and Benjamin Moore’s Advance Interior Paint. We have used both in the past and here’s what we learned.
See the results in our Portfolio section
When I first started out as a cabinet painter, I used Sherwin Williams. Mostly because it was readily available. It was a good paint and was easy enough to work with. Back then I was using it because it was all I knew.
After a few months, the Benjamin Moore Advance paint became available and I decided to give it a try. It went on a little smoother than the Sherwin Williams ProClassic and most importantly it didn’t nick or chip as easy during the installation process. When spraying the paint, I thought it looked noticeably better.
After a year or two, 2 Cabinet Girls had grown enough that the local McCormick paint store took notice and asked if we would like to try their paint. I had never heard of McCormick but told them I would try it. They also offered some nice benefits, the best was free delivery. They came to the shop and spent an hour talking with me and finding out what I was doing. They suggested that I try their Interlock paint. To start off, I used my son’s bathroom vanity as the experiment and really liked it.
It rolled and brushed better than either Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin Williams ProClassic, and also sprayed much easier. The finish was a cut above both and just like the Benjamin Moore Advance was an improvement over Sherwin Williams when it came to less touch-ups after installation, McCormick Interlock was the best. It seemed to cure much faster than anything I had used in the past.
In 2018 my local McCormick Paint store closed and I was forced to reevaluate everything again. This time I had years of experience and knew what was important and what wasn’t. I was lucky to have made a lot of contacts in the industry and talked with 6 or 8 different suppliers. In the end, we went with a custom formulation that is only available to contractors.
Paint Colors
Many people don’t realize that any of the paint makers can match any of the paint colors. I have had people pick colors off a Sherwin Williams color wheel, Benjamin Moore color fan or even a paint chip from Home Depot or Lowes. All the color formulations are computer mixed now and there’s very little error in matching no matter where you’re getting the paint.
Pick the color you want, then have your paint supplier match the color – it doesn’t matter where you have the color swatch from.
Don’t limit your color choices. This beautifully colorful shop was one I visited in Rye, East Sussex, England. A good paint shop could match any of these colors for you.
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