Paint Again?

One last little bit of info about paint.  Did you know that light colors of paint actually are more opaque than dark colors?  On one of my trips to the local Sherwin Williams store, I was whining about having to paint two coats of the cranberry wine color I had chosen.  The helpful clerk smiled that knowing smile and explained why dark colors have to be two coated to cover well.  Light colored paints have a more opaque base as they do not require a lot of added pigment to create the chosen color.  When one chooses a dark color like chocolate or cranberry wine, the base that the pigments are added to is almost translucent.  A great amount of the "color" that goes on the walls comes from those "little dab 'il do ya" pigment adding machines!  As a result the dark colors need two coats.  When you think about it, it makes sense.

(c) Bonnie Erickson 2006