Yes, PPG makes good paint. The confusion is the label, not the can. Top pick on the Home Depot shelf is UltraLast for washability, Timeless at $33 to $38 is the value rung most houses actually need, and Permanizer at $51.98 is the best-priced premium exterior in any big box. The catch is the split: PPG sold its US house-paint business in December 2024, and store-only lines like Manor Hall and Speedhide still need a paint store counter.
- +Permanizer holds deep exterior colors on a south wall at year three, and $51.98 a gallon at Home Depot undercuts every premium exterior it competes with
- +UltraLast has the only matte in the Home Depot aisle you can genuinely wipe, which is the whole reason to pay flagship money
- +Timeless at $33 to $38 is the cheapest honest paint-and-primer in that aisle, and it rolls easier than paint $20 more
- +Speedhide is the cheapest of the big three contractor paints and touches up cleaner than ProMar 200, which is why paint-store counters push it
- +Manor Hall at $55 to $70 is premium wall paint at a mid-premium price, with dealer color matching that lands close on Sherwin and Benjamin Moore chips
- +Two channels instead of one: roughly 750 company stores plus a full Home Depot shelf, so you are rarely more than one of the two away
- +Deep specialty bench for a homeowner brand: Break-Through for odd substrates, Copper Armor for antimicrobial, Pure Performance for nurseries and schools
- −The name is mid-divorce: the US architectural business was sold in December 2024 and is rebranding to Pittsburgh Paints, so cans, signs, and websites do not agree yet
- −Color formulas do not translate cleanly between PPG lines, so the same code in Timeless and in Manor Hall can land slightly apart
- −The three Home Depot premium rungs sit within about $20 of each other, and the names do not tell you which is which
- −Manor Hall, Speedhide, Pure Performance, and Copper Armor are store lines, and roughly 750 stores is a thin map against Sherwin's 5,000
- −Deep colors read flatter than Benjamin Moore Aura at three feet, and Houzz threads still carry three-coat coverage and roller-mark complaints from the value tiers
- −Zero-VOC on the base does not mean no smell, and deep tints climb, which surprises people who bought it specifically for a nursery
The Line Ladder: Which PPG Paint to Buy
This is the block most people came for. PPG sells through two doors at two prices, so each row lists the Home Depot shelf price and the paint-store counter price where they differ. Match the rung to the room, not to the name.
There Is No Sale Calendar — Buy the Right Door Instead
Do not wait for a PPG sale weekend the way you would for Sherwin-Williams. There is no four-to-six week promo cycle here. The Home Depot shelf price is essentially the price, moving only for the occasional seasonal paint event, and the paint-store counter runs on accounts rather than public discounts. Timing does almost nothing for you. Choosing your door does.
The clearest example is Permanizer. The same exterior gallon is $51.98 at Home Depot and $65 to $75 at a Pittsburgh Paints store or an independent dealer. On an eight-gallon house that gap is real money. What the counter sells you for it is custom tinting, the deep bases the big box does not stock, and job advice. If you already know your color and your sheen, the big-box door is hard to argue with. If you need a match to an existing wall, pay for the counter.
Two more levers. First, ask about a contractor account at a Pittsburgh Paints store even as a homeowner with a multi-gallon job; account pricing on Speedhide and Permanizer can land under the Home Depot number if the volume is there. Second, buy the 5-gallon pail on anything over three gallons. Permanizer at $252 for five works out to about $50.40 a gallon and saves you boxing four separate cans to keep the tint consistent.
The PPG Color Deck
The deck runs a little over 2,100 colors, and the naming is unusually plain for the category — Gypsum, Whiskers, Silver Dollar, not poetry. These eight are the ones that keep showing up in real houses.
The Cons Only Forums Talk About
The Brand Is Mid-Divorce
In December 2024, PPG sold its US and Canadian architectural coatings business to American Industrial Partners for $550 million, and it was renamed The Pittsburgh Paints Company. Glidden, Olympic, Liquid Nails, Flood, and the Pittsburgh Paints and Manor Hall lines all went with it. PPG the public company kept industrial, automotive, aerospace, and protective coatings. Formulations did not change, but signs, labels, and websites are still catching up, so the can on the shelf, the store sign, and the review you read may each say a different name for the same paint.
Color Formulas Do Not Cross Lines Cleanly
This is the complaint that comes up most on painttalk. A PPG color code does not translate one-to-one between product lines unless the store has a proper cross-fill formula, so the same code in Timeless, Manor Hall, and Speedhide can land slightly apart, and a different base or sheen adds its own shift. If you started a room in one line and want to finish it in another, or you are matching an existing wall, bring a physical chip or a cut sample to the counter and have them read it, and paint a test patch before you commit gallons.
The Home Depot Rungs Are Priced Too Close
UltraLast, Prominence, and Timeless sit in the same aisle within about $20 a gallon of each other, and the names give you no signal about which is which. Prominence takes the worst of it: at $50 to $55 it is only a few dollars under the flagship and well over Timeless, so it has to win on leveling alone. The simple rule is by room, not by tier. Timeless for ordinary walls, Prominence when you want a glass-smooth finish in a living space, UltraLast when the wall gets scrubbed.
Coverage Complaints Are Real at the Value End
Houzz and DIY forum threads have carried the same PPG story for years: three coats to cover where a premium competitor covered in one, and roller marks still visible after the third. It clusters on the cheaper lines and on color changes that should have had a tinted primer under them. The fix is unglamorous. Prime over any dark-to-light change or patched drywall, keep a wet edge, and if the color is a deep or accent base, budget the extra coat rather than trusting the one-coat asterisk on the can.
Zero-VOC Does Not Mean No Smell
Several PPG lines lead with a zero-VOC base, and buyers reasonably read that as odorless. Home Depot reviewers on UltraLast keep noting it smells stronger than other low-odor paints they have used. Two things are happening: the zero claim describes the untinted base, and deep colorant loads push VOCs back up, and low-VOC paints can still carry a distinct smell from other ingredients. If low odor is the actual reason you are buying, get a quart, paint a test patch, and stand in the room before you order the gallons.
The Questions Between Two Cans
UltraLast vs Prominence vs Timeless
Timeless at $33 to $38 is the right answer for ordinary bedrooms, living rooms, and rentals. Step up to UltraLast at $50 to $70 only where the wall gets wiped weekly, since its washable matte is the one thing it clearly buys you. Prominence at $50 to $55 is for a premium-smooth finish in a room where leveling matters more than scrub resistance.
PPG vs Behr at Home Depot
Same aisle, same counter, so this is the comparison that actually decides most purchases. Behr Marquee undercuts UltraLast on price and hides more aggressively in one coat across more colors. UltraLast edges both Marquee and Dynasty on stain shedding and on a matte you can wash. Buy Behr if price and one-coat hide lead, PPG if washability leads.
Permanizer vs Sherwin-Williams Duration
Close on performance, not close on price. Duration builds a thicker, more elastic film and hides hairline cracks better on siding that moves. Permanizer levels a touch nicer under a brush and holds deep colors on a sun wall. Duration runs $80 to $95 at a Sherwin store, Permanizer is $51.98 at Home Depot, and that gap decides it for most houses.
Manor Hall vs Benjamin Moore Aura
Manor Hall at $55 to $70 gets you most of the way to Aura for less money, and its eggshell washability genuinely earns the scrubbable claim. Aura wins where you go deep: hang a navy in both and Aura reads closer to ink while Manor Hall goes slightly flat and chalky. Both are dealer-only, so proximity may settle it before the paint does.
Speedhide vs ProMar 200
The two contractor benchmarks, and counters report far fewer complaints on Speedhide. ProMar 200 scores better on workability, Speedhide touches up noticeably cleaner and usually runs several dollars a gallon less. If someone else is rolling it, either is fine. If you are painting a rental you will patch again next year, Speedhide.
All PPG Reviews
10 products reviewed in this brand.
PPG Questions, Answered
Is PPG paint good?
Yes. Permanizer is a genuinely strong exterior at $51.98 a gallon, UltraLast has the best washability in the Home Depot aisle, and Manor Hall is premium wall paint at a mid-premium price. The weak spots are distribution and naming, not chemistry. The value lines draw real coverage complaints, so prime color changes and do not trust one-coat claims on deep bases.
Are PPG and Pittsburgh Paints the same thing?
Effectively yes, and that got official. Pittsburgh Paints was the original name, PPG used it as a product line for decades, and in December 2024 the US and Canadian house-paint business was sold and renamed The Pittsburgh Paints Company. Stores and labels are rebranding from PPG Paints to Pittsburgh Paints now. The formulations did not change with the name.
Does PPG own Glidden?
Not anymore. PPG bought Glidden as part of AkzoNobel's North American decorative business in 2013, then sold it in December 2024 along with the rest of its US and Canadian architectural coatings. Glidden, Olympic, Liquid Nails, Flood, Homax, and Manor Hall are now brands of The Pittsburgh Paints Company. Cans and marketing still say PPG in plenty of places.
Does PPG own Sherwin-Williams?
No. They are separate public competitors and always have been. PPG and Sherwin-Williams are two of the three largest coatings companies in the world, along with AkzoNobel, and they compete directly in architectural, industrial, and automotive coatings. Neither owns any part of the other, and the two companies' paint stores are entirely separate networks.
Where can I buy PPG paint?
Two doors. Home Depot carries the consumer lines: UltraLast, Prominence, Timeless, Seal Grip primer, and Permanizer for exteriors. Roughly 750 company-owned paint stores carry the full range, including Manor Hall, Speedhide, Pure Performance, and the deep bases the big box does not stock. Sibling brands from the same parent, like Olympic and Liquid Nails, sell across Lowe's, Menards, and Walmart too.
Which PPG paint is best?
For most rooms, Timeless at $33 to $38 a gallon. It rolls easily, hides honestly inside its listed colors, and costs far less than the rungs above it. Buy UltraLast instead when the wall gets scrubbed weekly, Prominence when you want the smoothest possible finish, and Manor Hall when you have a paint store nearby and want premium without Sherwin pricing.
What is the best PPG exterior paint?
Permanizer, and it is not close within the line. It is the 100% acrylic exterior flagship, it holds deep colors on a south-facing wall at year three where cheaper acrylics chalk out, and it adheres well over old chalky paint. Buy it at Home Depot for $51.98 rather than $65 to $75 at a counter unless you need a custom match or a deep base.
Is PPG paint made in America?
The house paint sold in the US is made in North America by The Pittsburgh Paints Company, an American company headquartered in Pittsburgh and owned by a US private equity firm since December 2024. PPG the public company, also headquartered in Pittsburgh, still makes industrial, automotive, aerospace, and protective coatings, with plants worldwide including many in the US.
Does PPG paint ever go on sale?
Not on a schedule you can plan around. There is no equivalent to the Sherwin-Williams 30 to 40 percent promo cycle. The Home Depot shelf price is the price outside of occasional seasonal paint events. The real discount is choosing the cheaper door, buying the 5-gallon pail, and asking a Pittsburgh Paints store about an account if you have a multi-gallon job.
Is PPG cheaper than Sherwin-Williams?
At everyday prices, yes, and by a lot on the exterior. Permanizer at $51.98 against Duration at $80 to $95 is the clearest example. Sherwin closes the gap on a 30 to 40 percent sale weekend, and its 5,000 stores make it easier to reach. If you cannot time a Sherwin sale, PPG is usually the better dollar.
Is Pittsburgh Paints good quality?
It is the same paint as PPG under a returning name, so the answer is the same: good at the top, uneven at the bottom. Manor Hall, UltraLast, and Permanizer hold up against much pricier competitors. The contractor and value tiers are honest for what they cost but draw coverage and roller-mark complaints when people skip primer on a color change.
Is PPG the same as Glidden?
Same parent company, different paint. Glidden is the mass-retail brand sold at Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowe's; the PPG and Pittsburgh Paints lines sit above it in price and formulation. Both now belong to The Pittsburgh Paints Company. If you bought a can labeled Glidden thinking it was the same formula as UltraLast or Manor Hall, it is not.
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Choosing between two PPG lines?
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