A reader wants to know why Lowes advertises and sells gallons of house paint that aren’t full gallons. Their website says the cans are “1-Gallon.” Their receipts describe them as 1 gallon cans of paint. Even the stickers they print out and place on the lids say “One Gallon.” But Brian notes that when he brought the paint home and really looked at the cans, “One of the labels read ’116 Fluid Ounces; 3.43 liters’, the second label read ’126 Fluid Ounces; 3.725 Liters.’”
Brian points out in his letter to the company:
One of two things is happening Mr. Niblock; either the people responsible for manufacturing your labels are making mistakes, or your company is falsely advertising the quantity of some of their buckets of paint.
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@kable2: Oh, OK. Sorry… I have often had to explain this to hair-trigger Texans who think I’m personally cheating them.
@wgrune: +1.
That, or if it’s a two-part system, or if there are any other additives/fillers/thinners/etc. the volume of the parts will add up to 1 gallon. (trust me, this is my trade)
@Snowblind
Tint can change the viscosity, but that gets a little tricky as different colorants have different viscosities. Different finishes, as well. That’s more into the realm of where it starts to make my head hurt a little bit
My girlfriend works in the paint department at Lowe’s. I showed her this article, and she offered this explanation:
The posters who have commented that the missing ounces in the “gallon” of paint are in fact replaced by pigment are correct. The bottom row of numbers in the second picture at the head of the article shows that approximately 12 ounces of pigment have been added to Eggshell base 4 (which contains 116 ounces of base to start with): 2 shots of black, 3 ounces 20 shots of blue, 6 ounces 40 shots of white, and 1 ounce 16 shots of another color (there are 48 shots in an ounce). This adds up to just shy of 12 ounces, so in the end the customer is getting 128 ounces of paint.
Also, the different bases are designed to be used for either darker or lighter colors. Base 4 is meant to be used for darker colors (requiring more pigment), so there is less base than, say, Base 1, which is meant to be used for lighter colors (requiring less pigment).
So, in the end, the customer isn’t getting shafted. And if the customer happened to want just the base color, the paint technician would simply top off the can of paint to 128 ounces!
Also, my girlfriend recommends staying away from this particular line of paint (Valspar Signature), and instead purchasing Valspar Ultra Premium. It’s easier to work with than Signature, but much nicer than the cheaper stuff that Lowe’s sells!
I wish they would change it to “MAKES one gallon.” Otherwise, meh.
@daveforamerica:
Having worked as a Paint Department Manager for Lowe’s, this explanation is dead on.
Different bases have different amounts of paint and levels of white, to accommodate the tint depending on how light or dark a color is. The formula takes that into account and dispenses enough colorant to bring the level of paint up to a gallon.
Standard operating procedure at any paint store.
Here’s the response I received from Valspar:
We received your email and are happy to hear of your interest in
Valspar products. If you are buying a can of paint that says
“Ready-Mixed White” or other pre-mixed factory colors, you will find
that these paint cans are filled to the correct volume (32 ounces for a
quart, 128 ounces for a gallon, etc). To be able to mix the variety of
colors available, certain paint cans leave the factory short-filled to
allow room for the pigment which is added at the store. This is why any
paint can labeled Base 1, Base 2, or Base 4 specifically states on the
can “Must be tinted.” These different bases are used to make different
colors. Base 1′s (also called pastel bases) are filled to 126 ounces
allowing 2 ounces of colorant to be added for off-white colors. Base
2′s (also called tint bases) are filled to 124 ounces allowing 4 ounces
of colorant to be added for medium colors. Base 4′s (also called clear
bases) are filled to 116 ounces allowing 12 ounces of colorant to be
added for deep or dark colors. The formula for any given color (or the
recipe) would include at least enough colorant to bring the can up to
the correct volume (32 oz for a qt, 128 oz for a gallon, etc). If you
have any further questions, feel free to contact us at 1-888-313-5569.
Sincerely,
Tom Fester
Technical Specialist
Valspar Corporation
I used to be a paint salesman. The different “sizes” of the gallons are the amount of paint in the can BEFORE pigment is added. Different colors require a different “base” paint. The darker the color, the more pigment, meaning that the can of paint before adding it will contain less paint. A gallon that says “116 ounces” means that that particular can is used for dark colors and will have 12 ounces of pigment added to it. If you buy pre-mixed standard white paint, the can WILL say 128 ounces on it. I can honestly say, in the 10 years I sold paint, I NEVER had a customer that was that ignorant.