Aura Grand EntranceBenjamin Moore paint review

Why it happens. The film is soft long after it feels dry. Full cure says 5–7 days; in real weather the enamel stays printable for weeks, and rubber gaskets press into it every time the door closes. Heat and humidity make the bond worse.

The fix. Prevention only: wax paper or painter's tape on the gasket contact line for the first month, and no hard slams. Once it has peeled, let the damage cure fully, feather the edge with 220 grit, and recoat the whole stile — a spot dab flashes.

Why it happens. The same long open time that levels the flats lets excess paint keep moving on sharp edges and corners. Flooding the raised panels puts more film there than 3.6 wet mils and gravity does the rest overnight.

The fix. Lay the coat at the recommended thickness and tip off every edge and corner with a nearly dry brush as you leave each panel. Paint the door flat on sawhorses if it is off the hinges — gravity stops being the enemy.

Why it happens. Recoating early. The surface skins in hours but keeps oxidizing underneath, and a solvent-of-water topcoat over a half-set oxidizing film lifts it — standard alkyd behavior, and the 24-hour recoat exists because of it.

The fix. Wait the full day, longer in cool or damp weather and under deep colors. If a section wrinkled, let it harden completely, sand flat, and recoat that face edge to edge.

Why it happens. Benjamin Moore discontinued Grand Entrance in the US on August 1, 2022. US dealer listings that remain are leftover inventory, and most say call for pricing because what is in the back is all there is.

The fix. Call independent BM dealers and ask for Satin 147 or High Gloss 148 by number, and have any old can opened and stirred before you pay — walk away from a skin. Near the border, Canadian dealers sell it as a current product. Otherwise buy the lane, not the label: Behr Urethane Alkyd Enamel today, or Aura Exterior for BM's own answer.

In the US, yes. Benjamin Moore's own product page says Aura Grand Entrance was discontinued as of August 1, 2022, and points buyers to Aura Exterior in satin or soft gloss for front doors. The enamel is still current in Canada and Europe — Canadian dealers list Satin K147 and High Gloss K148 at about C$58 a quart — and some US dealers hold leftover quarts. Check the batch date before money changes hands.

Officially, Aura Exterior in satin or soft gloss — same Color Lock chemistry, sold in gallons, but a straight exterior acrylic rather than a self-leveling door enamel. Practically, the closest current product to what Grand Entrance was — a urethane-modified waterborne alkyd rated inside and out — is Behr Urethane Alkyd Enamel at Home Depot, for a fraction of the price per square foot.

Longer than the label's dry time. Touch dry is 4–6 hours and recoat is 24, so a two-coat door is a two-day job before it goes back in the frame. Full cure is listed at 5–7 days, and pros report the film stays soft past 30. Protect the weatherstrip contact line with wax paper or tape for the first month, and no hard slams.

Not over sound, previously painted or primed surfaces — it bonds well direct, and painters used it over scuffed existing enamel all the time. Bare wood, rusty metal, or raw fiberglass wants the matching Fresh Start primer first.

Two: Satin (147), a genuine mid satin at 25–35 units at 60 degrees, and High Gloss (148), the closest thing Benjamin Moore made to a lacquered European door. Both quarts only, tinted from the full Gennex deck, so any Benjamin Moore color works.

100–125 square feet per coat, and the TDS requires two coats for full sheen and durability. A standard entry door runs about 20 square feet a side, so one quart does a front door, both faces, two coats, with enough left for the casing. That is exactly why it sold in quarts only.

Grand Entrance, if you can still get it — it is rated for exterior use and Advance is not. Advance is the interior sibling: same waterborne-alkyd feel, gallons, better price, best-in-class on cabinets and inside trim, and the wrong can for a door that takes weather. If Grand Entrance is gone from your area, Behr Urethane Alkyd is the exterior-rated answer.

Sometimes. Canadian and European Benjamin Moore dealers stock it as a current product. In the US it is leftover inventory at a handful of independent dealers, usually call-for-price. Have any 2022-era quart opened and stirred before buying, and walk away from a skin or a scarcity markup.