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On Oct. 9, 2010, I went to Sherwin Williams Paint Company at Redwood City, CA location to purchase interior paints for the house. I was advised that the “SuperPaint” in flat finish is the best to paint my existing ceiling, which was in off-white color, and that one gallon would cover approx. 250 sq ft of surface area, and that one coat would be sufficient to cover up any light-colored ceiling. I was also advised that, in order to paint my existing walls, doors and door trims, which were all in white or off-white color, I would need to use a primer before applying the paint coats. On that day, I purchased 5 gallons of Superpaint in flat finish to paint the ceiling, 13 gallons of primers along with 13 gallons of “Duration” paints to paint the walls, doors and door trims.
After applying three coats of the SuperPaint paints to the living room ceiling (approx. 450 sq ft), I can still see very clearly a patching that was done (which was professionally buffed by a licensed contractor multiple times to ensure there were no bumps and consistent/leveled with the ceiling) to cover a hole (approx. 6” in diameter) in the ceiling. The patching was primed correctly with a 1-2-3 primer, and the correct roller brush size was used, which both were agreed by the Sherwin Williams store manager to be effective when I subsequently visited the store to complain about this issue. I had to purchase another 5 gallons of Superpaint to adequately cover that section of the ceiling (the living room only) in order to avoid inconsistent color between the area that was patched and the rest of the living room ceiling. The quality of this paint was misrepresented (or the paint was defective) and I had to buy much more paint to perform the job. Using 10 gallons of paint to only cover the living room ceiling (approx. 450 sq ft) is not normal or acceptable.
Subsequently in discussion with professional painters and paint companies about performing the interior paint job, I was told that a primer is usually not required because the existing walls/doors were previously painted in a light color. The primer is required when the previously painted walls are in a much darker color than the new paint color, or that it is a new construction with walls that were not previously painted. But when I consulted the store on what paints I would need on Oct. 9, 2010, I was advised to buy primers for all areas when I specifically mentioned that the existing paint color on my walls, doors and door trims are in white or slightly off-white color.
The paint products' quality were not acceptable. Furthermore, the produts were definitely misrepresented to me, which had caused me to purchase primers that I did not need. I have already contacted Sherwin Williams but they simply denied any quality issues with their paints.
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I worked for SW for almost 20 years as a store manager and I had many complaints, like all businesss do. Sherwin Williams does pride themselves on quality, professional advice, and customer service. I was fired from the company about two years ago, standing up for my assistant managers job who had made a mistake and I claimed captain of the ship. Long story, but they had to fire someone. You should not have used Bullseye 123, for a primer, I bet that you bought it at a local hardware store, because it's cheap and has an excellent reputation, other contractor who patched the wall/ceilings did. The 123 has a shiny finish to it, and your ceiling is flat, almost like a chalkboard. So when you painted over it the flat Super Paint absorbed into the flat ceiling paint that was existing and laid on top of the 123, leaving a smooth slightly darker area, which is obvious to see on a ceiling. A flat primer should have been used, even the Super Paint, thinned down a little, would cover the patch and still have the same texture as long as you rolled the primer. If you brushed the 123 and then rolled over it, then that would look worse. If you use the 123, which is fine, then sand down the surface, until it is chalky. Your store manager should have given you a store credit for free 5 gallons of paint and a good 3/8" or 1/2" roller to roll with. Priming over light colored walls is not needed unless their shiny, and need a bonding primer, otherwise one or probably two coats would do it. It is almost impossible to get anything done in one coat, but other companies are advertising it, so SW decided to give in and replace the paint for free if a customer complained. Its in the store's budget to give out paint for complaints, and it does not come out of the stores pocket, it's budgeted into the corporate system. Many of the managers are new, I was approaching 48 and was replaced with a 24 year old. I made sure my customers left happy, getting more than they expected. The company is changing, and the executives think only of the stock price, which has doubled in the last year, with no economic gains to show except added profit. I am not sure if they changed or if the manager was not aware, but generally you can go over their head, and ask for their District Manager. You don't have to bad mouth the manager, because that looks personal, just stick to the facts, the amount of money you spent to do a ceiling and walls was not acceptable, and I did not have a pleasant experiece at that store. The manager should be aware of what it is like on the other side of the counter, with his money.