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Premium paint is a maker's top line, usually with more solids in every can. Each coat dries thicker, hides better and stands up to scrubbing. Contractor-grade lines cost less and suit ceilings, closets and new builds, but may need a third coat. One maker's flats show the gap: 40% volume solids against 27%.
What makes premium paint different from contractor-grade paint?
The difference is in the recipe. Premium lines usually carry more binder and pigment, so more paint stays on the wall once the water evaporates. That thicker film hides better, washes better and resists shiny spots. Contractor-grade lines trade some of that for a lower price per can.
Neither name is an industry standard. Each maker sells several lines at different prices, and the labels on the cans are the maker's own.
Contractor-grade paint:
a paint maker's lower-cost line, sold for volume work such as new construction, rental turnovers and ceilings.
| Premium lines | Contractor-grade lines | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Lived-in rooms that get touched, washed and touched up | Volume work: new builds, rentals and ceilings |
| Solids in the can | Higher | Lower |
| Dry film per coat | Thicker | Thinner |
| Hide | Covers the old colour better per coat | More likely to need primer or a third coat |
| Washing | Made to resist scrubbing and burnishing | More prone to shiny spots when scrubbed |
| Price per can | Higher | Lower |
How can you tell a paint's grade from its data sheet?
Look up the product's technical data sheet, which paint makers publish on their websites. A few lines on it tell you more than the word "premium" on the label. Read them in this order:
- Volume solids. The higher the number, the more paint is left on the wall from each coat.
- Dry film per coat. Compare products at the same wet thickness, usually 4 mils.
- MPI number. The Master Painters Institute category the paint is listed in.
- Resin. Listed as the vehicle. For exteriors, look for 100% acrylic.
- VOC. The volatile compounds it gives off as it dries, in grams per litre. Low-VOC versions now exist at every grade.
Volume solids:
the share of a can of paint, by volume, that stays on the wall as dry film once the water and other liquids have evaporated.
Mil:
a thousandth of an inch, the unit data sheets use for the thickness of a coat.
One major maker's data sheets show the gap. Its professional-line flat lists 27% volume solids, and its top-line flat lists 40%. Both go on at 4 mils wet and cover 350 to 400 square feet a gallon. The professional flat dries to 1.1 mils per coat, and the top line to 1.6. That's about 45% more paint on the wall for the same work. These figures come from the maker's US data sheets. They change when products are reformulated, and Canadian versions can differ, so check the current sheet for the product your painter names.
The MPI number adds an independent check. The Master Painters Institute tests paints and lists them by category. Its high-performance interior latex categories are MPI #138 to #141. MPI says they are designed for "a significantly higher level of performance than conventional latex paints". That covers scrub resistance, burnish resistance and ease of stain removal. Standard categories, such as MPI #52 for eggshell-level sheens, cover conventional paint.
Is premium paint worth the extra cost?
For walls you live with, usually yes. Upgrading changes the cost of the paint, not the hours of prep, cutting in and rolling. Labour, not paint, is usually the larger part of a painting price.
Take a 12-by-12-foot bedroom with 8-foot ceilings. Two coats on its walls take about 2 gallons of paint. Moving up a grade changes the price of those 2 gallons, while the crew's time stays the same. With Great North, a bedroom's walls start
from $450 before HST, in two coats of the paint named in your quote.
The saving on cheaper paint can vanish quickly. If it needs a third coat to cover, that coat costs a crew's time. If it burnishes or won't wash clean, the room needs repainting sooner.
Premium paint earns its keep in:
- Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms, where walls get wiped
- Front halls, mudrooms and stairwells, which take hands, bags and winter boots
- Kids' rooms and playrooms
- Deep or bright colours, which need all the hide they can get
- Walls lit from the side, where a thin or uneven film shows
Does premium paint mean fewer coats?
Sometimes, over a colour change. But most walls still need two coats, whatever the grade. A thicker film hides more per coat, so a premium paint is less likely to need a third. It rarely makes one coat enough.
The makers say so themselves. Benjamin Moore's data sheet for Regal Select says one coat sometimes covers, but it recommends two for full colour and performance. Deep colours may still need a tinted primer, whatever the grade. Our guide to how many coats of paint walls need explains what "one-coat" means on a label.
When is contractor-grade paint good enough?
Where walls are rarely touched, rarely washed or repainted often. Ceilings are the classic case. They seldom get touched or scrubbed, and a flat ceiling paint hides seams and roller marks.
Other good fits:
- Closets, storage rooms and unfinished basements
- A new build waiting for its owners to choose colours
- Rental units repainted at every turnover, though a busy rental hallway may still need better
A quote can mix grades, as long as each surface names its product. One sensible pairing is a premium line on walls and trim, with a lower-cost flat on the ceilings.
A stained ceiling is the exception. A water or smoke stain needs a stain-blocking primer first, whatever goes on top. Our guide on whether you need primer before painting covers the stains that need it.
Does paint grade matter more outside?
Yes. Exterior paint faces sun, rain and a winter of freeze-thaw. A failed coat means ladders, scraping and repainting, so weak paint costs more outside than in.
What to check on an exterior data sheet:
- Resin. 100% acrylic is the trade's usual choice for siding and trim. It resists sun damage and stays flexible as siding and trim move with the seasons.
- Temperature range. Some exterior paints can go on at about 2°C, while others need 10°C. That decides how late in the fall the job can run. Our guide to how cold is too cold to paint outside explains why.
- Rain-ready time. How soon rain can fall without harming the fresh coat.
South- and west-facing walls take the most sun, so fading and chalking show there first. Those are the walls to judge any exterior paint by.
Why should a painting quote name the paint by brand and line?
Because "premium" on a quote can mean anything. Every major brand sells several lines at very different prices. With the brand and line in writing, you can check the data sheet and compare quotes fairly. You can also buy the same paint for touch-ups later.
Ask for the brand, line, sheen and colour code for each surface. Keep a labelled can of each. Some data sheets advise touching up with paint from the same batch, applied the same way as the original. Our checklist of what a painting quote should include covers the other line items.
Great North's quotes name premium paint by brand and line, and every price includes two coats of the paint named. For interior painting, a whole 3-bedroom home runs
$4,800–$9,500 before HST. For exterior painting, a bungalow runs $4,000–$8,000 and a two-storey home $7,000–$18,000. Your written quote arrives within 24 hours of seeing the job. The interior and exterior cost guides show what moves a price. For a range on your own home, start with Get My Estimate.