Benjamin Moore Aura vs. Regal Select

When starting on a new exciting paint project in your home, you want the highest quality select finish for your walls, accents or surfaces. Luckily, you won't have to look any further than Benjamin Moore's exterior and interior paint selection. Both options can help bring your favorite colors to life around the home for guests and neighbors to admire.

Before choosing between Benjamin Moore's high-quality and highly recommended paint lines, Aura and Regal Select, it's essential to look into each option's differences and benefits. Keep reading for the key features of both paints to see which one is perfect for your project that will make your final product shine.

Benjamin Moore Aura vs. Regal Select — Key Takeaways

With two paint lines from the same manufacturer, you may wonder how different each paint could be from the other. They have several similarities that help homeowners slim their options to find the best selection for their DIY home projects. Both paint lines can give a beautiful finish to the interior and exterior of your home with mildew resistance and zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) in each can. There are also a few noticeable differences between the two paint lines, including price, coverage and colors.

When you choose Benjamin Moore Aura or Regal Select for your home project, you can see gorgeous finishes from several high-quality interior and exterior paints to make your vision come to life.

Interior Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select paints include:

• AURA® INTERIOR PAINT: Available in matte, eggshell, satin and semi-gloss.
• AURA® BATH & SPA: Comes in a matte finish.
• REGAL® SELECT INTERIOR PAINT: Available in eggshell, flat, matte, pearl and semi-gloss finishes.

Exterior Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select options include:

• AURA® EXTERIOR PAINT: You can choose from flat, low-luster, satin and semi-gloss finishes.
• REGAL® SELECT EXTERIOR PAINT - HI-BUILD: You can find these paints in a soft gloss, flat and low-luster finish.

Although they may not seem too different based on their available finishes and interior and exterior qualities, there are a few characteristics to consider when choosing one for your specific project.

Paint Properties

Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select are impressive paint choices for any home project, thanks to their unique properties in each can. You can benefit from the effortlessly beautiful colors available with these paint types while also keeping an eye out for the finishes.

One of the greatest benefits of using Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select paints is the water-based properties in each can. Some interior paints are oil-based, while some homeowners prefer water-based. Most paints today are water-based due to homeowners' appreciation for their versatility and easy maintenance.

Interior and exterior oil-based paints look the same as water-based gallons from the outside but have a longer dry time and a harder, glossier natural finish. Water-based paints — including acrylic and latex solutions — ensure easy maintenance for keeping colors bright and long-lasting. These paints offer a delicate finish to interior rooms and exterior siding, brick and wood.

Benjamin Moore Aura paint is latex, making it a water-based paint. Benjamin Moore Regal Select paint is also acrylic latex, providing several benefits in each brush stroke. Acrylic resin and water adhere to interior and exterior surfaces for years despite the weather, everyday messes and expanding building materials. You can use acrylic latex paint on surfaces like:

• Wood: Over time, wood exterior and interior panels can expand and bend from weather and heat. With the elasticity of acrylic latex paint, you will not have to worry about painting over these surfaces. The paint covers cracks and chips easily to ensure the same coverage for years.
• Vinyl siding: Your client's vinyl exterior can come in unique textures with subtle grooves. Some paint can glide right over the surface without sticking correctly. Acrylic latex paint is excellent for adhering to any texture and withstanding different temperatures without chipping.
• Drywall: Acrylic latex paint works great on drywall to make any room shine with color. You will only need one or two coats to create rich hues and benefit from the paint's natural ability to prevent cracking, peeling and fading.
• Brick: Exposed brick walls have rough textures from deep grooves and clay particles. While many paint types would show through the natural orange and brown colors from the bricks even after several coats, acrylic latex paint can cover hard-to-reach places to create beautiful interior or exterior hues around the home.

Color Options

Your vision — no matter how big or small — will come to life with the help of Benjamin Moore's wide selection of colors. You can choose vibrant shades, pastel hues, classic neutrals or any other color you can imagine for your project.

All five Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select paints start at factory base white before you select one of the hundreds of color tints to create the perfect shade to make your dream a reality. With so many to choose from, you can enhance your aesthetic or create a beautiful project that follows the year's trending colors for all to admire.

One of the greatest benefits of choosing Benjamin Aura over Regal Select is the 240 extra colors you have to choose from in each can of paint. The Aura Color Stories Collection gives you more creative freedom to help your project come to life in a range of color types, including warms tones, cool tones, true neutrals and a large selection of full-spectrum shades.

If having a wider range of color selections is your top priority for your next home project, Benjamin Moore Aura is your go-to choice for variety.

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Dry Time

The dry time of your chosen paint can depend on the thickness, application process and finish. With high-quality Benjamin Moore paint, you can view your rich color choice in one to two coats with relatively short dry times. If you plan to paint only the exterior or interior for your home project, expect different dry times for both types of paint lines from the varying thicknesses and finishes.

Check out the dry times for Benjamin Moore exterior paints:

• Benjamin Moore Regal Select dry time: You can expect to wait about one hour for the first coat to dry. The second coat of paint will take about four hours to dry to the touch.
• Benjamin Moore Aura dry time: Aura and Regal select have similar exterior paint properties, so you will wait about one hour of dry time for the first coat and another four hours after a second coat.

Benjamin Moore interior paints have a shorter dry time since they do not require the same weather and sun protection as exterior paints. You can finish your indoor painting projects in only a few hours with these average dry times:

• Benjamin Moore Aura dry time: For indoor paint projects, you only have to wait one hour for each coat you apply to ceilings, walls and other surfaces.
• Benjamin Moore Regal Select dry time: With the same fast-drying and high-coverage material, you can also expect about one hour of dry time per coat.

With either option you choose, you get a short wait time for a complete look with a premium shine.

Primer Needed

Before buying a new can of paint to work with throughout your project, it's essential to consider how much primer you may also need. Primer is almost always a necessary aspect of any painting job to lift any previous colors from walls, ceilings and other surfaces around the home. You can save yourself an extra trip to the paint store and a little cash by choosing Benjamin Moore paints for your home projects.

Contractors, painters and avid DIYers love the features built into each can of Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select for a great reason — you do not need to buy primer separately! Benjamin Moore Aura and Benjamin Moore Regal don't need primer, so you can start your project with only a few paint cans instead of filling your shopping cart with more brushes, rollers and excess canisters.

Interior and exterior Regal Select paint have primer mixed into the hues to provide rich colors in only one to two coats, while Benjamin Moore Aura has a built-in primer. This feature in every can of Benjamin Moore Regal and Aura makes your project times shorter, more convenient and affordable so you can optimize your skills in half the expected timeline. No matter your final decision, you will enjoy these cost-effective and time-saving benefits.

Total Coverage

A paint's coverage can help determine how many cans you need before a project. Before shopping for the best paint, take a few minutes to evaluate your project details.

If you plan to paint an average 200-square-foot room, such as a living room, bedroom, kitchen or dining room, you will likely only need one to two cans to finish the job. You can multiply these cans by the number of rooms you need to cover if you or a client want multiple rooms painted.

For exterior projects, you should budget for enough gallons of paint to cover one to two coats for all siding, wood or brick surfaces. The average house size in 2021 is around 2,500 square feet, which would require a dozen or more gallons to complete, so measuring exactly how large your home's exterior is essential before selecting your paint.

After finding the exact dimensions of your project, you can choose between the average coverage from Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select. The type of finish you choose for your interior and exterior paints can determine their coverage area. The average coverage areas for each finish include:

• 250 to 350 square feet: Exterior paints typically cover smaller areas to provide thicker coverage for protection. Finishes with this coverage include Benjamin Moore Regal Select's soft gloss and Aura's low-luster, flat and satin.
• 350 to 400 square feet: You can find finishes providing 350 to 400 square feet of decent coverage to finish an average-sized room with Aura's matte and satin interior paints.
• 350 to 450 square feet: For as much coverage as possible, you can rely on Aura's impressive semi-gloss and matte finishes. Matte is available for indoor projects, while you can choose semi-gloss for exterior or interior jobs.

If your project requires larger spaces to paint, Benjamin Moore Aura coverage is the best choice in paints. You can use Benjamin Moore Regal Select coverage for smaller interior and exterior projects requiring thicker coats to make the room pop.

Stain and Scuff Resistance

Buying paint with stain and scuff resistance is excellent for homeowners with pets, children and large furniture. Everyday messes can change the color and quality of paint on walls over time. Luckily, Benjamin Moore offers stain and scuff-resistant finishes, so minor spills and scrapes can be gone with a single wipe.

Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select are stain-blocking paints prevent liquids from seeping into the wall. The surface helps eliminate leftover smudges from cleaning these stains, so your walls are always spot-free.

Benjamin Moore's Aura line is also scuff resistant. Aura offers easy clean-up processes and color-rub-off resistance from scuffs that occur when moving furniture, brushing something sharp against the wall or putting heavy objects against the finished paint.

Benjamin Moore Aura vs. Regal Select — the Final Verdict

Your choice of Aura vs. Regal Select depends on your priorities for the painting job — so which choice is right for your project? Consider these common priorities:

• Covering a large surface area: If your priority is painting the larger surface areas of your interior or exterior walls to fit every corner, Aura is the best choice. Bigger projects require more time, dedication and money to paint spaces. You can make these projects go faster by picking up a few cans of Benjamin Moore's Aura that offer more extensive coverage inside and out.
• Craving color options: If you want more color options right from the start, Aura offers 240 more hues than Regal Select. While you may be able to find the perfect color from Benjamin Moore's 500 shared colors between Aura and Regal Select, more choices can lead to more creative freedom!
• Need to finish as soon as possible: Benjamin Moore Regal Select is your go-to choice when you have a strict deadline but still desire the same shine and beautiful finish for your walls, ceilings and other surfaces. You can choose from over 500 shared hues with Aura while benefiting from the quicker application time of its counterpart. Regal Select is slightly thinner than Aura, meaning you can finish a project quicker without risking the quality and durability of your finished product.

Aboff's Is Your Long Island Benjamin Moore Retailer

Now that you have seen the different benefits of Aura vs. Regal Select paint, you can find the perfect paint type and finish for your future home projects on Long Island. Aboff's is your go-to for all things Benjamin Moore. By selecting Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select from our online catalog, you can see the same benefits listed above in your home projects.

We offer the five Aura and Regal Select paint options with individual finishes to make your vision come to life. Our team of paint professionals can help make your decision easier with a quick phone call to 631-427-2008.

ORDER ONLINE from Aboff’s for in-store pickup, or contact us with any questions today!