Buy Infinity for high-traffic interior walls if Lowe's is your store. Around $46 a gallon buys Sherwin-Williams hide plus a film hard enough that a chair leg or a shoe heel wipes off instead of burnishing a shiny streak. The one-coat claim holds color-on-color and on a sensible mid-tone change. Push a drastic contrast, white over a saturated accent, and you are doing two coats. It is the premium rung of the HGTV Home interior line, not SW's top shelf.
Spec Sheet
- COVERAGE
- Up to 400 sq ft / gal
- SHEENS
- Flat, Eggshell, Satin, Semi-Gloss
- BINDER
- 100% acrylic, low-VOC
- TOUCH DRY
- About 1 hr
- RECOAT
- About 4 hr
- PRIMER
- Paint-and-primer-in-one; bonding primer still needed on glossy, raw, or stain-prone substrates
- SURFACES
- Interior drywall, plaster, properly primed wood and trim
- SIZES
- Quart, gallon, 5-gallon
- MADE BY
- Sherwin-Williams, in SW plants
- WHERE TO BUY
- Lowe's only, in store and online
- TIER
- Premium one-coat rung of the HGTV Home interior line
- PRICE
- Around $45.98 / gal at Lowe's
When It Goes Wrong — and How to Fix It
One coat did not cover, despite the label
Why it happens: One-coat hide is a zone, not a guarantee. Pigment can only bury so much contrast in a single film. A primed off-white wall going to a warm mid-tone greige pulls clean in one pass. White over a saturated accent, or a deep base over a light one, does not, and no competitor's one-coat can does it either.
The fix: Plan your coats by the contrast, not by the marketing. Color-on-color or a few steps off the existing shade, buy for one coat. Drastic flip, budget two coats and a primer pass on the worst of the wall. That is cheaper than buying a second gallon halfway through the room.
Grease around a switchplate is not fully releasing
Why it happens: Infinity's stain repellency is good for a wall paint, not a dedicated scrub-down formula. Crayon, a coffee splash, and greasy fingerprints came off with a damp rag and mild dish soap at the two-week mark, but this is not a Class 1 washable can and it does not have Showcase-level stain release.
The fix: For normal wipe-downs, damp rag and a drop of dish soap is the whole method. If the wall is a kitchen backsplash zone or a kids' bathroom that gets scrubbed weekly, buy Showcase for that room instead and keep Infinity for the traffic walls.
The color you want cannot be tinted into it
Why it happens: Infinity takes the HGSW deck. That palette is curated and coordinates well, but it is one retailer's palette. If the exact shade you fell for lives in another brand's fan deck, the Lowe's machine is not going to mix it into an Infinity base.
The fix: Pick the closest HGSW color at the Lowe's counter, or buy the other brand's paint in its own line. Note the direction of the workaround: a Sherwin-Williams store will match an HGSW color into an SW product, but SW stores will not sell you the HGTV-branded can.
Application Settings That Work
- PRIMER
- Paint-and-primer-in-one is honest on a sound, previously painted wall, and that covers most repaints. Bonding or stain-blocking primer still goes down first on glossy, raw, or stain-prone substrates. On a drastic contrast flip, a primer pass over the worst of the wall saves you a finish coat.
Infinity vs Behr Marquee vs HGTV Home Showcase
Two of these are the same fight from opposite big boxes, and the third is the rung below Infinity on its own shelf. The deciding factor is usually your store and your color deck, not the chemistry.
| HGTV Home Infinity | Behr Marquee | HGTV Home Showcase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per gallon | Around $45.98 | Roughly $48 to $58 | About $50 |
| One-coat claim | Not gated to a named color list, which is a quieter and more honest promise | Tied to a One-Coat Hide Collection; the warranty only honors those listed shades | No one-coat claim; plan two coats on any real color change |
| Scuff resistance | Strong; the hard film resists burnished streaks | Comparable; call it a wash | Good for the tier, but it trails Infinity |
| Greasy stain release | Good for a wall paint | Slight edge on greasy-kitchen stains | Advanced stain-and-scrub resistance in eggshell and satin |
| Color deck | HGTV-curated HGSW palette | Behr's full deck plus the Disney and historical collaborations | Same HGSW palette, matched across the line |
| Where you buy it | Lowe's only | Any Home Depot | Lowe's only |
| Best for | High-traffic interior walls on a sensible color change | The same job if Home Depot is your store or your color is in the Behr deck | Everyday rooms where you are not paying up for one-coat hide |
Infinity and Marquee are close enough that your store decides it. If Lowe's is the trip you already make and your color lives in the HGSW deck, Infinity is the buy at about $46, and its one-coat claim is not fenced off to a warranty color list the way Marquee's is. Take Marquee if Home Depot is your store, if you want the lifetime warranty backing, or if the color you want is a Behr shade. Step down to Showcase only when the room is a normal bedroom or living room and two coats were always the plan.
What It's Good At
- +Real one-coat hide on a sensible color change; a primed off-white wall to a warm mid-tone greige pulled clean in one satin pass, no flashing at the patch lines
- +Burying spackle spots and skim-coat repairs that lower-tier wall paint flashes at every time
- +Scuff resistance that earns the durability claim; a chair leg or shoe heel wipes off instead of polishing a shiny streak in
- +Everyday stain release on crayon, a coffee splash, and greasy switchplate prints with a damp rag and mild dish soap
- +SW chemistry, adhesion, and tint strength at a Lowe's counter rather than a Sherwin-Williams store
- +Cross-line color match, because SW mixes Infinity, Showcase, Ovation Plus, and the ceiling paint, so walls, trim, and ceiling read the same
What It's Not Good At
- −Drastic contrast changes; white over a saturated accent is two coats, one-coat label or not
- −Hard-scrubbed kitchen and bath walls, which is Showcase's stain-release job
- −Being available anywhere but Lowe's, and SW company stores will not sell the HGTV cans
- −Standing in for SW's top shelf; Emerald, Duration, and Cashmere are not in this family
- −Colors outside the HGSW deck, which cannot be tinted into this base
- −Low-use rooms on a tight budget, where Ovation Plus paints the same wall for about ten dollars less a gallon
Honest Alternatives
The stain-resistant line beside Infinity on the same Lowe's shelf. Pick it for a kitchen backsplash zone or a kids' bathroom that gets scrubbed weekly, where stain release matters more than one-coat hide.
The value tier of the same line. A guest room on a tight number does not need Infinity's film, and Ovation Plus paints that wall for about ten dollars less a gallon with the same SW-made chemistry underneath.
The same one-coat fight at Home Depot. Slight edge on greasy-kitchen stain release and it carries a lifetime warranty, but the one-coat guarantee only covers the shades in its One-Coat Hide Collection.
Infinity Interior Paint & Primer Questions, Answered
Is HGTV Home Infinity worth it?
On high-traffic interior walls, yes. At around $46 a gallon it buys SW-grade one-coat hide on a sensible color change plus a hard film that lets a scuff wipe off instead of burnishing a shiny streak, which is exactly what a hallway, a stairwell, or a kids' room needs. It is not worth it for a drastic color flip, since that is two coats no matter whose one-coat paint you buy, or if you live next to a Sherwin-Williams store and can buy Emerald or Duration direct.
Does HGTV Home Infinity really cover in one coat?
Over a similar base it does. A primed off-white wall going to a warm mid-tone greige pulled clean in one honest pass in satin, no flashing at the patch lines and no holidays in raking afternoon light. Going color-on-color, or staying near the existing shade, the claim holds. Push a drastic jump, white over a deep accent or a saturated red over beige, and you are doing two coats no matter what the can promises. That is true of every one-coat paint.
Is Infinity better than Showcase or Ovation Plus?
They are different jobs on the same ladder. Infinity is the premium one-coat and durability line at about $46 a gallon, built for scuff and stain resistance on walls that get touched. Showcase is the stain-resistant everyday line beside it. Ovation Plus is the entry tier at roughly $30 to $36. If the room takes traffic and you want hide plus washability, Infinity. If the wall gets scrubbed weekly, Showcase. If it is a low-use bedroom on a budget, Ovation Plus.
Is HGTV Home Infinity actually Sherwin-Williams paint?
Yes. Sherwin-Williams makes every can. HGTV lends the name and the curated color line; SW does the chemistry, the tinting, and the formula. It is SW-grade paint sold at Lowe's under the HGTV badge, not the same as the top SW lines you would buy at a company store. Emerald, Duration, and Cashmere are not in this family.
Where can I buy it?
Lowe's only, in store or online, nationwide. It is not at Home Depot, where that aisle is Behr, and Sherwin-Williams company stores will not sell the HGTV-branded cans, though they can match the color into one of their own products. The 5-gallon bucket is the move on a whole-house repaint, since the per-gallon number drops on the bigger size.
Does Infinity need a primer?
On a sound, previously painted wall, no, the paint-and-primer-in-one does that job. On glossy, raw, or stain-prone substrates you still want a bonding or stain-blocking primer underneath. And on a drastic contrast flip, a primer pass over the worst of the wall is what saves you from a third finish coat.
Which sheen should I buy?
It comes in flat, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss. Satin and eggshell are where the hide and the wipe-down both show up best, and they are the sheens that bury spackle spots and skim-coat repairs. Save flat for low-traffic rooms and reach for semi-gloss on trim in properly primed wood.
Infinity or Behr Marquee?
Coverage is close, scuff resistance is close, and Marquee has a slight edge on greasy-kitchen stain release. The real separator is your store and your color line. Marquee gets you Behr's full deck at any Home Depot with a lifetime warranty, though its one-coat guarantee only honors the shades in its One-Coat Hide Collection. Infinity gets you the HGSW palette at Lowe's for about $46.
Can a Sherwin-Williams store sell me Infinity?
No. SW company stores will not sell the HGTV-branded cans at all. They will color-match an HGSW shade into one of their own products, which is useful if you already picked the color, but the Infinity can itself is Lowe's-only. If an SW store is down the block and the Lowe's is a half-hour off, buy Emerald or Duration direct instead and get the actual top shelf.
Ask a Question
Mid-project with Infinity Interior Paint & Primer? Stuck between two cans?
Ask Maya below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day. Rolled Infinity lately? Tell us the old wall color, the new one, and whether one coat honestly covered it.