Watching paint dry epitomizes inactivity and boredom, but the paint industry itself doesn't sit still.

Paint is a multibillion-dollar product in the United States, where, according to the Census Bureau, shipments of "architectural coatings" (paints, primers, stains, clear finishes, and deck sealers) in 2005 totaled 858 million gallons, up 6 percent from 2004. That huge volume has manufacturers and retailers battling over the $10 billion spent on paint alone each year, and those efforts that can generate shifts in the marketplace.

Martha Stewart, for instance, has stopped selling her paints at Kmart. Starting in early 2007, big-box retailer Lowe's will sell the domestic diva's new 350-paint Martha Stewart Colors palette on an exclusive basis (the paints are being manufactured by Valspar). "Painting the home is the No. 1 do-it-yourself project among our customers, and we want to make sure we're providing the very best selection of paint colors to meet their needs," Bill Dodd, Lowe's vice president of merchandising for paint, said in a statement at the time of the Stewart deal's announcement in September.

And in a move intended to make Ace Hardware more competitive with Lowe's and Home Depot and enhance paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore's retail visibility, Ace is selling Moore's Regal (interior) and MoorGlo and MoorGard (exterior) paints at its stores nationwide. (As of early October, more than 600 stores were selling the paints, a number that's expected to grow substantially in the coming year, according to Eileen McComb, director of communications for the Montvale, N.J.-based Benjamin Moore.) Traditionally, the company's products have been available only at around 3,500 locations, mainly small paint and decorating stores.

Such activity makes our paint-buying chart (below) that much more essential. As we noted in our September 2006 report on interior paints, most brands of paint are available nationwide, but some are regional products.

Your first step is to determine which interior or exterior paint you want to use. (Ratings of interior and exterior paints and exterior stains are available to subscribers). Then, to find a place to shop, refer to our chart. It provides a listing of where most major brands of interior and exterior paints, stains, and deck treatments are sold in the U.S. (we've also included some Canada-only paints).

Your final move is to actually do the painting, a job that's definitely more strenuous than reading about paint or watching it dry.

Manufacturer	Brand/Line	Retail Outlets						Website
Ace	Ace RoyalTouch				•	•	•	ace.adzmar.com
Behr	BehrPremium Plus	•						www.behr.com
Benjamin Moore	Benjamin Moore					•	•	www.benjaminmoore.com
California	California2010					•		www.californiapaints.com
Dunn-Edwards	Dunn-Edwards						•	www.dunnedwards.com
Sherwin-Williams	Dutch BoyHome				•			www.dutchboy.com
Behr	Expressions					•		www.behr.com
ICI	Glidden Evermore	•						www.glidden.com
ICI	Ralph Lauren Premium	•						rlhome.polo.com
Kelly-Moore	Kelly-Moore						•	www.kellymoore.com
Masterchem	Kilz Casual Colors				•			www.kilzcasualcolors.com
MA Bruder	MAB					•	•	www.mabpaints.com
PPG	Olympic Premium		•					www.ppg.com
Sherwin-Williams	Martha Stewart Everyday				•			www.marthastewart.com
Sherwin-Williams	Pratt & Lambert Accolade				•	•		www.prattandlambert.com/
Sherwin-Williams	Sears Best Easy Living Lifetime			•				www.sears.com
Sherwin-Williams	Sherwin-Williams						•	www.sherwin-williams.com
True Value	True Value E-Z Kare					•	•	www.truevaluepaint.com
Valspar	Valspar American Tradition		•					www.valspar.com