Painting with Benjamin Moore Advance vs Regal Select

I asked the folks at the local paint store what paint would give me the smoothest, most durable finish on closet cabinetry and trim and one of the guys suggested Benjamin Moore Advance. I had been painting with their Regal Select line (acrylic latex). Advance is a Waterborne Interior Alkyd that results in a so-called furniture grade hard finish. One big downside to this paint is it requires 16 hours between coats. I decided to give it a try and here are my observations

tldr; slow dry time and requires more than two coats but produces a smooth, durable finish

The closet shelving is getting Advance while the closet door jamb and trim is painted with Regal. The reason behind choosing Advance was to have a more durable paint on surfaces that will experience more wear (boxes etc). In other rooms where I used latex, storage bins had scraped off some of the latex paint.

New closet shelving

Brush marks are still visible but much more muted than what latex produces. The paint should level more on horizontal surfaces (this photo is a vertical surface)

Advance Finish

It's a much thinner paint than Regal and this is the major problem I have identified with this paint because after two coats, the color still looked somewhat transparent, like after the first coat of latex, so I needed at least three coats. On the plus side, it brushes very nicely; less friction than oil and does not dry immediately like latex.

Because it dries slow (very slow), you can paint slower and does not snag like latex if you brush after too many seconds delay. While the brush strokes are still visible, they are less pronounced than latex due this paint being thinner.

Sheens do not match the Regal line. The paint store recommended Satin. I had been using Pearl in Regal. The Satin has more sheen. In hindsight I would have chosen Matte. I don't need to match it exactly but the closet door trim is Regal Select and while it does not touch the shelving (in visible places), it is close in proximity.

Forms drips very easily on vertical surfaces, and not like latex where the drips form quickly. These drips form very slowly and you won't notice until after it's too late. To avoid this I found that you have to work really hard to spread the paint out (much more so than acrylic latex), and not leave any areas with excess. As I mentioned, it won't drip immediately but maybe 5-10 minutes later. This is very subtle and the major disadvantage of this paint IMO. The only positive to this behavior is that the drips are less pronounced than drips in latex and sand down easier. But you need to wait a while (days) before sanding because this paint takes so long to harden.

Requires 16 hours between coats. I knew this before I purchased and thought I’d just paint one coat each day but because this paint is so thin, I think that three coats are needed and unfortunately my weekends are not three days.

Has some odor, but nothing awful like oil

Tens to splatter much more than Regal, similar to an oil paint

Brushes seems to clean up much easier

I was able to lightly sand after a week. It was too soft after just 24 hours and I could easily mark an indention in the drip areas with a fingernail.

In conclusion, if you have the time and patience to deal with the dry time and, IMO, at least 3 coats, this paint produces great results. If you are doing a lot of painting on vertical surfaces or you don't need the durability than acrylic latex is fast and produces very similar results. My guess is this paint is optimized for spraying instead of brushing due to its viscosity.