Buy Exquisite if you want a true matte on a wall that gets abused: a hallway, a kitchen, a kids' room, a stairwell. Crayon, ketchup, and greasy fingerprints came off a month-old matte panel with a damp cloth and mild soap, with no shiny burnished patch at the rub mark — the failure that kills normal flat paint. Do not buy it just because it is the deluxe tier. Everest costs about $10 less, self-primes, and is genuinely zero-VOC.
Spec Sheet
- COVERAGE
- 350–425 sq ft / gal (one to two coats, depending on the color jump)
- SHEENS
- Matte, Eggshell, Semi-Gloss
- TOUCH DRY
- About 1 hr
- RECOAT
- About 2 hr
- FULL CURE
- 14–30 days
- VOLUME SOLIDS
- About 45% (matte) — high for an interior wall paint
- VOC
- About 50 g/L; EG-free and TAC/HAP-free; CARB and CALGreen compliant
- PRIMER
- Not self-priming; pair with Dunn-Edwards Vinylastic or Ultra-Grip
- SURFACES
- Interior drywall, plaster, primed wood, trim, doors, ceilings
- SIZES
- Quart, gallon, 5-gallon
- PRICE
- $78–85 / gal at Dunn-Edwards stores
Dry, Recoat, and When the Matte Is Ready to Clean
Touch dry in about an hour, recoat at two, so two coats fit comfortably in a day. Full cure runs 14 to 30 days, and that matters more here than on a normal wall paint, because cleaning is the whole reason you bought it. The wipe testing this line's reputation rests on was done at month two, on a film that had fully hardened. I would give a fresh matte the full month before taking a rag to it, and reach for the leftover quart instead if something lands on the wall in week one. Touch-ups are the easy part: matte forgives spot repairs better than any glossier sheen, and they blend at conversational distance well past month one.
When It Goes Wrong — and How to Fix It
The wall drank the first coat on new drywall, or a stain came through
Why it happens: Exquisite is sold as a paint, not a paint-and-primer, which is a genuine surprise at the deluxe tier. Raw drywall, glossy trim, water stains, and a big light-to-dark jump are all outside what the topcoat can handle alone.
The fix: Prime first with Dunn-Edwards Vinylastic or Ultra-Grip, matched to the substrate, and budget the extra can and the extra hour into the job. Over a sound, like-color repaint you can skip the primer and go straight to two coats.
You planned one coat and needed two
Why it happens: At about 45% volume solids the hide is strong, and on a like-for-like repaint one coat does cover. A real color jump does not — Exquisite is not the one-coat champ Everest is, and it carries no paint-and-primer claim to lean on.
The fix: Plan two coats any time the color moves more than a shade, and tint the primer toward the new color on a light-to-dark jump. Recoat is only two hours, so two coats is still a one-day wall.
The matte marks up in a bathroom splash zone
Why it happens: It is still a matte. The film is engineered for cleaning, not for daily abrasive scrubbing, and it is not a bathroom-splash-zone enamel no matter how well it wipes.
The fix: Keep the matte on walls, hallways, stairwells, and kids' rooms, and run the eggshell or semi-gloss where water and splashes are constant. Clean with a damp cloth and mild soap, not a Magic Eraser every week.
The deep color reads thinner than you expected
Why it happens: At $78 to $85 you are paying Aura money, but Aura and Emerald both render deep colors with more depth. Exquisite earns its price on washability, not on saturation.
The fix: For a deep-navy library wall or any room where the color is the point, buy Aura instead. Save Exquisite for the walls where cleanability is the reason you are shopping.
Application Settings That Work
- BRUSH
- Rolls flat and smooth with decent open time and brushes well for cut-in. Leveling is good but not Aura-buttery on a long cut, so keep the cut-in passes short and reload often rather than stretching a pull the length of a wall.
- PRIMER
- Not self-priming. Dunn-Edwards Vinylastic or Ultra-Grip goes down first on raw drywall, glossy trim, water stains, or a big light-to-dark jump. Over a sound, like-color repaint you can skip it. Store staff will point you at the right one for your substrate — Exquisite needs it more often than its price suggests.
Exquisite vs Everest vs Benjamin Moore Aura
Exquisite gets cross-shopped with its own stablemate and with the premium gallon it is priced against. All three are good paints; they solve different problems, and the price order does not match the quality order.
| Exquisite | Everest | BM Aura | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per gallon | $78–85 | About $67 | $85–95 |
| VOC | About 50 g/L; EG-free and TAC/HAP-free, CARB and CALGreen compliant | Genuinely zero-VOC, around 2 g/L | Low-VOC, not zero |
| Self-priming | No. Plan on a separate can of Vinylastic or Ultra-Grip. | Yes on prepped surfaces, which is a real saving in time and money. | Carries a paint-and-primer claim. |
| Washable matte | The best low-sheen cleanability I have tested. Crayon, ketchup, and grease come off with no burnish. | Washes well, but gives up scrub and scuff resistance to Exquisite on the low sheens. | Aura's matte is washable too; Exquisite edges it on scuff and color rub-off at the wall. |
| Deep-color depth | Not where the money goes. Washability is what you are paying for. | Goes slightly flatter than Aura in a deep navy. | The depth king of the three. |
| Where it wins | High-traffic walls you actually clean — hallways, stairwells, kitchens, kids' rooms. | Whole-house low-odor repaints and one-coat coverage in mid-tones. | A forever-home room where color depth is the point, with national availability behind it. |
Name the job and the choice makes itself. Clean air, one-coat coverage, and a whole-house repaint go to Everest — $10 a gallon less, self-priming, genuinely zero-VOC. A matte wall that has to survive kids, dogs, and a weekly wipe-down goes to Exquisite, because a matte that scrubs is a rare thing and this is the best one. Deep saturated color as the point of the room goes to Aura. Do not buy the more expensive can assuming deluxe means better at everything — it is better at one thing, and that thing is cleaning.
What It's Good At
- +Washable matte for real — crayon, ketchup, and greasy fingerprints wipe off with no burnished halo
- +Hiding imperfect drywall: matte scatters light, so skim-coat seams and minor texture vanish under a raking window
- +Scuff, mar, and color-rub-off resistance in a stairwell, which is the difference between repainting at year two and year six
- +High body — about 45% volume solids means a thick film that does not run thin in the tray
- +Touch-ups that blend at conversational distance well past month one
- +Clean-air-adjacent chemistry: EG-free, TAC/HAP-free, around 50 g/L, CARB and CALGreen compliant
What It's Not Good At
- −Priming itself — raw drywall, glossy trim, stains, or a big color jump all need a separate can first
- −Justifying the price on anything but washability; at $78 to $85 you are paying Aura money
- −Deep saturated color, where Aura and Emerald both render more depth
- −Sheen range: three deep, with no flat for ceilings and no high gloss for trim or cabinet detail
- −Availability — company stores in the West and Southwest, no big-box path, thin Amazon listings
- −Holding deep tones in hard south sun, where they still fade some
Honest Alternatives
Same brand, $10 less, and the better pick for most whole-house repaints. Genuinely zero-VOC, self-priming, and a one-coat hide champ in mid-tones. You give up some of Exquisite's matte washability and scuff resistance. The right choice when low odor and coverage matter more than scrubbing a hallway.
Deeper color rendering than Exquisite reaches, a paint-and-primer claim Exquisite does not carry, and a nationwide dealer network. Aura's matte is washable too, though Exquisite edges it on pure scuff and color-rub-off resistance at the wall. The right choice for a forever-home room where color depth is the point.
The big-box answer when you do not live near a Dunn-Edwards store. Honest one-coat hide on listed colors, a lifetime warranty, and tinting at any Home Depot in 15 minutes. It burnishes faster than Exquisite at year three and its matte is less scrub-tolerant, but the price and availability are hard to argue with.
Exquisite Questions, Answered
Can you really scrub a matte paint?
On Exquisite, yes, within reason. We wiped crayon, ketchup, and fingerprints off a matte test panel at month two with a damp cloth and mild soap, no burnishing and no flat spot left behind. That is the whole point of the line. It still is not a semi-gloss bathroom enamel, so do not take a Magic Eraser to it daily, but for a matte wall it cleans far past what a normal flat survives.
Is Exquisite worth the upgrade over Everest?
If your reason for upgrading is washability on a matte finish, yes. Exquisite scrubs harder and resists scuff and color rub-off better in a hallway. If your reason is a low-odor whole-house repaint, no. Everest is genuinely zero-VOC where Exquisite runs around 50 g/L, it self-primes, and it costs $10 a gallon less. Pick by the job, not the tier name.
Does Dunn-Edwards Exquisite need a primer?
More often than the marketing implies. Exquisite is not sold as a paint-and-primer, so on raw drywall, glossy trim, water stains, or a big color jump you want a separate primer first. Dunn-Edwards Vinylastic or Ultra-Grip pairs cleanly. Over a sound, like-color repaint it covers in two coats without one. Budget for primer on anything new or stained.
How much does Exquisite cost?
$78 to $85 a gallon at Dunn-Edwards stores, in quart, gallon, and 5-gallon sizes. The 5-gallon pail saves a few dollars a gallon on a whole-house job. Add the cost of a primer, since Exquisite is not a paint-and-primer, and that extra can is a real part of the budget at this tier.
Does Exquisite come in a flat for ceilings?
No. The lineup is three sheens — matte, eggshell, and semi-gloss — with the matte doing the heavy lifting. There is no true flat for ceilings and no high gloss for trim or cabinet detail. If you want one line to handle the whole house, you are buying a second can from somewhere in the Dunn-Edwards range.
Is Exquisite low-VOC?
Around 50 g/L, EG-free and TAC/HAP-free, CARB and CALGreen compliant. That is low enough for most indoor specs and a defensible pick for an occupied home. It is not zero-VOC. If a nursery or an asthma-sensitive room is the reason you are shopping, Everest runs genuinely zero in the base and costs less.
Will Exquisite hide imperfect drywall?
The matte helps a lot. It scatters light, so skim-coat seams, lap marks, and minor wall texture disappear where an eggshell or satin would catch a raking window and announce every flaw. You get the forgiving look of a flat with durability a flat never has. It is not a substitute for patching real damage.
Exquisite or Behr Marquee?
If there is a Dunn-Edwards store nearby and the wall gets cleaned, Exquisite — its matte takes a wet rag far better and it holds up longer against scuff and color rub-off. If there is not, Marquee at $48 to $58 is the realistic route: honest one-coat hide on listed colors, a lifetime warranty, and tinting at any Home Depot in 15 minutes.
Where can I buy Dunn-Edwards Exquisite?
Dunn-Edwards company stores and authorized dealers, concentrated across the Southwest and West Coast. There is no Home Depot or Lowe's path and Amazon listings are thin. If you live east of Texas, the nearest store may be a real drive, and that limited footprint is the single biggest reason to look at another brand.
Ask a Question
Mid-project with Exquisite? Stuck between two cans?
Ask Maya below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day. Put Exquisite matte on a hallway, a stairwell, or a kids' room? Tell us what you have cleaned off it and whether the rub mark stayed matte.