Sherwin-Williams Paint Store — Local services in Derwood

In a universe full of mediocre service, this dude Rich at the Shady Grove Rd. Sherwin Williams is a superstar. I’m not going to bore you with the trail of tears and the six other Sherwin Williams stores (Frederick x 2, Germantown, Damascus, Hagerstown, Rockville, other Gaithersburg store). Those stores were supremely helpful, going out of their way to assist. They did not have the product I needed. Then, out of nowhere, Rich at Shady Grove Rd. had it in stock - several gallons of ProClassic waterborne acrylic enamel, satin sheen (deep base) tinted to color S-W 6223. The 6223 color is dark enough to require a deep base, as opposed to the more-common extra white base, which seems to be better stocked at local stores because that ProClassic variety is most typically used for doors and trim. Rich at the Shady Grove store (next to the cigar shop) was professional, knowledgeable, and efficient. He had two gallons mixed and ready for pickup before I could drive to the store. He knew exactly what I was asking for, and without hesitation accommodated my request to pickup the cans outside of the store due to ‘rona concerns in a high-risk household (36 weeks pregnant and a 18-month old toddler with laryngomalacia). He was like, “no problem” and even asked how I would prefer to carry the paint. Just a classy dude. Friendly. He wasn’t phased by my frantic energy to find the exact paint needed to finish a project. This baby could pop at any second. All the while, The Warden is stressed that I’m never going to complete the baby #2 room, and I’ve been dragging my feet for a month. Suddenly it’s a national security emergency to finish the room. I think Rich could sense the desperation in my call about this elusive ProClassic waterborne acrylic. He was level and steady. Give this guy a bonus. Regarding the ProClassic water based acrylic latex paint, it’s amazing and the color is the nicest thing in my house. The material was used to cover an art installation in a baby’s room. It’s an art installation because the level of (pre-painting) effort far exceeds that of an accent wall. The adjacent walls are SW color “lazy gray”. I’ll tell you how I applied it using a Home Depot brand (Husky) gravity feed high-volume low pressure spray gun powered by a 15 gallon, 5scfm @ 90 psi air compressor. Do not try this at home. First, I covered the art installation with two coatings of Zinsser’s BIN primer (solvent-based shellac), which had been strained through a 190micron funnel. It has the viscosity of 2% milk. Sprayed with 1.4 mm needle/nozzle @ 40 psi on the gun regulator, no problem. I did some minor patching and sanding (220-grit 3M “fine” sanding sponge and Festool granat 800-grit sanding sponge) after the first primer coat. Tack clothed the surfaces. Next, I applied two coats of the paint, which had been mixed, 16 oz. material with 4 and 5oz. distilled water for the first and second coats, respectively. Thinned paint was strained through medium-mesh strainer into the paint gun configured with a 2.2mm needle/nozzle, air compressor was somewhere between 65-80psi at the tank, and the regulator attached to the gun was set to 55 psi. Material was applied at about 78 degrees inside temperature. I didn’t check the humidity in the house or the dew point. The first two coats did just okay for a first time spray painter. There was a minor bit of orange peeling in the cured film after the second coat. I did some light, 800-grit sanding. For coats 3 and 4, I watered down the paint even further, adding about 5.5 to 6 oz. water to 16 oz. paint (~30-37%). I continued to refine my technique, but suffered some running and sagging on coats 3 and 4. That is the risk of thinning a paint. BTW, Sherwin Williams does not offer thinning information on this paint, and Husky cautions spraying latex through this gun. It should not be successful. Coats 5-8 went really well as I turned the fluid control down at the gun. It is AWESOME. Long story short, Rich at Shady Grove Rd. S-W saved my project! Try...

It's rare these days to find corporate stores that have employees that care about quality service. This location, the employees at this location, are fantastic. They care about making a sale, yes, however, their primary goal is to solve a problem.

Which paint do you recommend for this application? What is the best value paint line considering this is a rental? Why is this paint $10 more per gallon? These are all common questions that they answer so that the customer can make the best decision for their personal application.

Commercial painters know their business, but someone like me who needs to flip a house, prep rentals a handful of times a year, does not know the latest and greatest because the work I do varies. Dominique, from day 1, has always been pleasant, answers any question I have no matter how mundane, and ensure I get the appropriate product for my application. 5 stars all the way. This is a store where the employees should get kudos...

I'm writing this on a Friday night bc I felt so compelled mind you- shout out to Khalid especially ( hope I spelled it right). As someone who doesn't have a clue about paint whatsoever Khalid* really made me feel super comfortable and shared his knowledge about the different finishes of the paints and his overall expertise. He helped me load the paints to my car and I really commend his genuine, friendly, and professional demeanor. You don't meet people like that in service anymore and that is what really matters. The experience* is what will bring me back to this store specifically and who I will be recommending amongst the people I know. My interactions with manager rich and the other young gentleman were brief, but also positive. I would recommend checking out this...