Kunz and Camper both said if your painting crew is pushing for a particular brand and type of paint, it's because they know how to get the best results with it.  "What we find is like certain crews will get very used to using one of the types of paints, and they'll lean towards it because they know just without even thinking about it," said Kunz. "They know the coverage rate. They know the right nap roller to use — everything that they need for that specific type of paint." Camper likes using certain products over and over for the same reason. "I become familiar with its characteristics, the way it flows, what the dry time is, whether it's more apt to run," he said. Almost everyone we spoke with also suggested using higher-quality, more expensive paint. With a cheaper paint, "if you hire a professional painter, and you want a good job done, they're going to end up, generally, using more product to cover with, so it's going to cost them more in labor," Camper said. Materials, including paint, make up about 10% of the total cost, so it makes more sense to save on labor if you can, he said.