Paint is the one part of a painting job where the customer can be sold short without noticing for two years. The labour to put a ₹120 per litre paint on the wall is the same ₹16 per sq ft as for a ₹500 per litre paint, so the difference goes into the painter's pocket if nobody checks the tin. This guide is what each grade is, what to read on the label, and how much to buy.
The four grades of wall paint
Distemper. The cheapest. Acrylic distemper is a chalk-and-binder paint that gives a flat, matte finish and does not stand up to wiping. It costs ₹60 to ₹100 per litre in bulk drums, covers well, and chalks on the hand within two or three years. It is right for a rental between tenants, a servant's room, a store, a ceiling in a room nobody looks up in. Labour to apply it is ₹8 per sq ft. Oil-bound distemper, the older kind, still turns up in small towns; it is harder to paint over later, so avoid it.
Standard emulsion. The ordinary interior wall paint, water-based, smooth, slightly sheened. ₹150 to ₹250 per litre. It can be wiped with a damp cloth, hides minor marks, and lasts five to seven years inside. This is the right grade for most bedrooms and halls.
Premium and luxury emulsion. ₹300 to ₹600 per litre. Higher acrylic content, more pigment, a finish that is genuinely washable with soap, better stain resistance and often an anti-fungal additive for monsoon cities. The gain is real on a wall that a child draws on or a hall that gets scuffed. The gain is nothing on a ceiling. Luxury grades add sheen levels, from matte to silk; silk shows every wave in a wall that was not puttied flat, so it belongs on a full-putty wall only.
Enamel. Oil-based, hard, glossy, for wood and metal: doors, grills, gates, railings. ₹250 to ₹450 per litre. It needs its own primer, a day to dry between coats and ventilation while it cures. Do not put enamel on walls; it cracks as the wall breathes.
Exterior paint is a different product
Exterior emulsion is formulated for sun, rain and the alkalinity of cement. It has more binder, UV stabilisers and usually an algae and fungus inhibitor. ₹200 to ₹450 per litre. Interior emulsion on an outside wall fades and peels in two monsoons. Waterproof exterior coatings, which are thicker and elastic enough to bridge hairline cracks, are ₹350 to ₹600 per litre and go on at ₹22 per sq ft of labour; they are the right product for a wall that already shows damp, not a routine choice for a sound one.
Putty: the layer that decides how the paint looks
Wall putty is a white cement or acrylic compound that fills pores and small holes and gives the paint a flat, uniform surface. Without it, emulsion on bare plaster looks patchy and uses a third more paint. Two kinds:
- White cement putty, the standard, ₹35 to ₹50 per kg in 20 and 40 kg bags. Hard, sandable, fine for every interior wall. Mix only what will be used in an hour; it sets.
- Acrylic putty, ready-mixed in buckets, ₹60 to ₹90 per kg. Smoother, more flexible, better over old paint and for touch-ups, and it does not need curing.
A 20 kg bag covers roughly 200 to 250 sq ft at two coats on bare plaster. A full-putty job on a 2 BHK takes 60 to 80 kg, which is why full putty is ₹24 per sq ft in labour: it is two coats, each sanded flat, before any paint goes on.
Primer: the layer that decides how long it lasts
Primer seals the putty, evens out absorption, and gives the top coat something to grip. Water-based acrylic primer for walls is ₹80 to ₹150 per litre and covers about 120 to 150 sq ft per litre. Three cases where it is non-negotiable: bare plaster or fresh putty, painting over distemper, and going from a dark colour to a light one. For metal, the primer is red-oxide or zinc-chromate, ₹150 to ₹250 per litre; for wood, a wood primer or a thinned coat of enamel. A gate painted without primer rusts under the new coat within a year, and the ₹2,500 you paid for the labour goes with it.
Coverage: how to buy the right quantity
Every emulsion tin states coverage in square feet per litre per coat. Typical figures: standard emulsion 120 to 140 sq ft per litre per coat on a primed wall, premium 140 to 180, distemper 100 to 120. The calculation for a room:
- Measure the wall perimeter and multiply by the height, add the ceiling. A 10 by 12 room with a 10 ft ceiling is about 440 sq ft of wall plus 120 of ceiling, 560 in all.
- Deduct the door and windows, roughly 40 to 60 sq ft.
- Divide by coverage, multiply by two coats. 500 sq ft at 130 sq ft per litre, two coats, is about 8 litres.
Buy 10 percent extra from the same batch number; a top-up tin bought later can be a shade off. Keep one litre sealed for touch-ups.
What to read on the tin
- Grade name and finish. "Distemper", "emulsion", "premium emulsion", "silk". If the painter's quote says "paint" without a grade, it is distemper.
- Coverage per litre. Lower coverage with a higher price is a bad sign.
- Batch number. All tins for one wall from one batch.
- Washability or scrub rating. Premium tins state it; standard tins usually do not.
- Manufacturing date. Emulsion keeps two to three years sealed. A drum with a faded label from the back of the shop may have separated.
- Seal. The lid must be factory sealed. Painters who bring open tins may have decanted a cheaper paint.
Tinting and shade cards
Most emulsion is now tinted in the shop from a white base, which means any shade is available in any grade and the shop can print the exact formula on the tin. Choose from the brand's shade card, note the code, and keep the code with the leftover tin for the next touch-up. Two things to know: a shade on a 2 inch card looks about one step darker on a whole wall, and a colour mixed in the shop cannot be returned.
Tools, and why they matter
A good painter brings a 9 inch roller with a medium nap for walls, a 4 inch roller for edges, a 2 inch sash brush for cutting in, 80 and 120 grit sandpaper, a putty blade, masking tape and dust sheets. If the team turns up with one worn brush and a rag, the finish will show it. Rollers are ₹150 to ₹300; a painter who reuses one stiff with old paint leaves lint in your wall.
Rough prices, 2026, typical city shop
| Item | Pack | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic distemper | 20 litre drum | ₹1,200–₹2,000 |
| Standard interior emulsion | 20 litre | ₹3,500–₹6,000 |
| Premium interior emulsion | 20 litre | ₹7,000–₹12,000 |
| Exterior emulsion | 20 litre | ₹4,500–₹9,000 |
| Enamel | 4 litre | ₹1,000–₹1,800 |
| White cement putty | 20 kg | ₹700–₹1,000 |
| Acrylic primer | 20 litre | ₹2,000–₹3,500 |
| Metal primer, red oxide | 4 litre | ₹600–₹1,000 |
Shop prices move with the acrylic and titanium dioxide prices, and large shops discount 10 to 15 percent on a full-flat order if you ask.
Who should buy
If you have the time, buy it yourself from a dealer and have it delivered; you get the grade you paid for and the bill. If the painter buys, agree the brand, grade and quantity in writing, insist on sealed tins and the shop bill, and count the empty tins at the end. Painters on TheHire quote labour-only or with material, and either way the estimate lists the material line separately so you can compare it with the table above.