Ashland City’s
Ace Hardware Store.

Read the data sheets side by side. Aura is the top line: proprietary 100% acrylic, Color Lock technology, 46 percent volume solids in eggshell, and about 2 mils of dry film per coat, the most of the three. Regal Select is the middle: 100% acrylic, 45 percent solids in eggshell, 1.6 to 1.8 mils per coat, with a stain-release finish that wipes with soap and water. ben is the third line: acrylic blended latex, 39 percent solids in eggshell, 1.4 to 1.6 mils per coat, zero VOC, with extended open time and easy touch-up. Benjamin Moore recommends two coats on all three. All three take the full Benjamin Moore color library through Gennex colorant. The lessons below read the sheets line by line.

Paint sheen is how reflective the dried finish is. Flat (matte) hides surface imperfections but is hardest to clean: used for ceilings and low-traffic walls. Eggshell has a slight sheen and washes better: the residential interior wall standard. Satin is more reflective, scrubs well: kitchens, bathrooms, kids' rooms, hallways. Semi-gloss is highly reflective: trim, doors, cabinets, high-moisture areas. Gloss is mirror-like: accent details and metal. Higher sheen shows wall imperfections more; lower sheen forgives texture. The Midway counter helps match sheen to the application.

A gallon of interior wall paint typically covers 350 to 400 square feet at one coat. Average rooms (12×12 with 8-foot ceilings) have about 384 square feet of wall surface: one gallon for a one-coat refresh, two gallons for a full two-coat repaint. Add about 100 square feet for trim per room. Dark colors and primer-needing surfaces typically require two coats minimum. The Midway paint counter calculates square footage and recommends the right gallons per project.

Prime when the substrate is bare wood, drywall (first time), patched repairs (over spackle or joint compound), stained or smoke-damaged surfaces, or when going from dark to very light color. Modern paint-and-primer-in-one products can skip a separate primer for repaint over similar colors on previously painted surfaces. For Tennessee humidity and stain-bleed-prone substrates, dedicated primers (Kilz, BIN, oil-based) outperform paint-and-primer products. The Midway counter recommends the right primer for the substrate.

Paint is a pigmented coating that sits on the surface, fully obscuring the substrate. Stain is a pigmented liquid that penetrates into the substrate, coloring it while letting the grain or texture show through. Paint is used on walls, trim, doors, and cabinets where smooth color is the goal. Stain is used on wood that should read as wood: decks, fences, exposed framing, hardwood trim. Solid stain is in between: opaque like paint but penetrates like stain. Midway carries Benjamin Moore paint, Cabot stains, and a full stain library at the Ashland City counter.

Latex (water-based) paint dries to the touch in 30 to 60 minutes and is recoatable in 2 to 4 hours under typical conditions. Oil-based paint dries to touch in 6 to 8 hours and is recoatable in 16 to 24 hours. High humidity and low temperatures extend dry times. The product label has the manufacturer's recoat window. Recoating before the window can lift the first coat; recoating long after may produce poor adhesion. Midway-stocked paints have current dry-time specs on the can.