Has Valspar cracked the code for red paint with one-coat coverage?

It's one of the paradoxes of interior paint that deep, dark colors often provide thin coverage, even when you apply them over lighter walls. That's because these richer hues may not contain titanium oxide or other white pigments that deliver optimal hiding. And so, that fire engine red you picked for the powder room could require a second or third coat.

Valspar claims it solved this issue with its Signature Colors with Hi-Def Advanced Color System line of interior paints. "Our highest quality formula is enhanced with super saturated pigments and superior ingredients that deliver precise color and maximum coverage," the manufacturer says. It also promises "one coat coverage." In print and online ads (right), Valspar premium paint is shown besting a competitor.

Consumer Reports put Valspar's claims to the test in our paint lab. We took charts we use in our paint tests, with stripes from light gray to pitch black, and rolled a coat of four different red paints over them—the Valspar Signature Colors, $32 per gallon; Behr Premium Plus Ultra, $33 per gallon; and two cheaper choices: Valspar Ultra Premium and Behr Premium Plus Enamel, both about $23 per gallon. Then we covered the bottom half of each chart with a second coat of the paints.

The result? You'll need two coats to cover dark colors. Valspar Signature Colors hid about the same as Behr Premium Plus Ultra, and each took two swipes to cover all the stripes in our chart. That said, they covered better than two coats of the cheaper paints plus a coat of primer.

As important as hiding is to paint, there are other features you should weigh when choosing a product, such as fading, smoothness, and mildew resistance. Check our latest Ratings (available to subscribers) to see which models deliver the best all-around performance.

—Daniel DiClerico