Are there any cheap wall paints?

Question

I am allowed to paint my room but need to buy all of the supplies myself but dont have a job. I know paint is usually anywhere from 70 to 100 dollars but i need it to be cheaper. Thanks

Answer 1

$70 to $100 worth of paint is a LOT of paint! Do you really need that much? I'm guessing you just want to paint a normal sized bedroom, right? A gallon or two will do. Now, don't buy paint from Big Lots. I've used it and it sux! I haven't tried paint from WalMart but I'd bet it's okay and it's cheap too. But like other answerers suggested, you might want to get what they call "Oops" paint, paint that has had color mixed into it and for whatever reason, the customer didn't buy it. These sell for around $5 a gallon. Both Home Depot and Lowe's always have Oops paint. But make sure you're getting the right kind of paint as well as the right color. For example, you wouldn't want floor paint for walls nor would you want concrete paint! They'll all be in the same Oops paint area, so be careful. You also want to make sure you get the right finish. You wouldn't want gloss or semi-gloss paint for a bedroom! Now, if none of those ideas work for you, you can always buy new paint, just don't get the most expensive. For example, I recently bought the least expensive Olympic brand paint at Lowe's. It was somewhere around $12 a gallon and it worked fine. The guy at the paint counter will help you figure out how much you need....just give him your room dimensions. Oh, yeah, just in case you've never bought paint before, at most stores what you do is buy a gallon of white base paint and your color of choice is added at the paint counter. There's no extra charge for adding color. Well, hope that helped! Good luck.

Answer 2

When you say "paint is usually 70 to 100 dollars" , I assume that you mean a 5 gallon bucket. If you are looking for cheap paint, here are some suggestions.

1) Ask around at paint supply stores as to what they do with custom paint mistakes. At Home Depot, for instance, when they mix the wrong color, they put it aside and offer a discount. Check your local home improvement and hardware stores for bargains. A word on this : I rarely see more than a couple of gallons of the same color together. Sometimes, though, a five gallon bucket will be sitting out. And, obviously, you can't be too picky on color. But, you can always buy a gallon of paint to mix in and make your own color. For instance, if you see a dark blue, but you wanted light blue, go ahead and buy the dark blue. Mix in a gallon or so of white paint to lighten it up.

2) Charity stores. In my area , Habitat for Humanity (a non-profit organization that builds houses in run-down parts of town) has a re-sale store called "The Re-Store". Contractors donate unused material to the store for a tax break, and Habitat for Humanity sells the material to help finance it's operations. Check it out.

3) Ask around. Call some painters and ask if they have extra interior paint for a job that fell through. You may be surprized what you find.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a gallon of latex paint, a roller kit, small brush and painter's drop cloth. Paint is only around $15-25 a gallon, and that is more than enough to do a room. Don't get the really cheap paint since that will require numerous coats, won't roll easily nor last long.

Answer 4

Yep, check out the Big Lots. I've never used the paints they sell, but I can tell you it is about the cheapest paint I've ever seen and I buy a lot of paint. There isn't a whole lot of color selection, but you can buy tint in a few colors at the home improvement store to make your own. The gallon size in our store is around $7. Also, check out the returned paint at the home improvement store. There is a wide color choice because they are usually ones that were mixed for a customer who didn't like it or it didn't match. I returned 2 gallons to Lowes that are now sitting on the return cart for $5 each when they were $25 a gallon.

Answer 5

cheap paints give cheap results. Been there, done that.
I would suggest going to Lowe's and talk to the person in the paint department. They can point you in the right direction. If you are covering a dark color with a lighter color, you'll also need an undercoating. Paint and undercoating will cost about $20- $25. a gallon. Which should be enough to paint a bedroom. Have Fun.

Answer 6

A gallon of decent paint only runs around $15-20 brushes and rollers another $10. Wal-Mart. Stay away from the $3-5 gallons of paint that you find at the dollar store you will be disappointed they do not cover and are like water.

Answer 7

Try to remember that a cheaper paint will need more coats. It really isn't cheap if you need more coats. I generally use Behr if I want a good paint at a reasonable price. It is the better for that and doing a good job.

Answer 8

Yes there is, you can even find recycled paint for a good price. But like everything, you get what you pay for.

If you have to paint over a darker color, cheap paint will take twice as much and will end up costing you more.

Cheap paint is harder to apply and will take you longer.

Cheap paint will fade faster.

You may want to ask your landlord to pay for the paint if you do the work. He may want to pick the color so he won't have to repaint when you leave.

Answer 9

Most paint shops will have a "home brand" that is cheaper than the premium one.
From time to time you can pick up a tin of paint that is tinted the wrong colour.
I can't advise prices as I do not know what country you are in.

Answer 10

You can make cheap paint stretch a lot further and stick to the walls better if you coat them with some BondCrete first but this only works with water based paints

http://www.bondall.com/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=5362