Dulux Trade versus Dulux retail paint

[Alan]

In message , nightjar wrote

And then it is delivered on an uncovered lorry in the pouring rain :)

[Weatherlawyer]

What is the difference between Dulux Trade paints and Dulux Retail paints?

The key difference is the consistency of the paint. Dulux Retail paints are ready for use straight from the can. Many professional decorators, however, like to thin their paint before use and so Dulux Trade paints have a slightly different formulation. However, both Dulux Trade and Retail paints are manufactured to the same high specification.

Obviously, you would hardly expect a pro to play with it if it was too wet. Some of this pro paint is like jelly. A decorator would be able to make the best use of this quality. For most applications he would thin it down.

He might even use the cheap trade paints used for new plaster, as is the case with this stuff:

These trade paints are specifically for use in new builds because the walls are soaking wet. Some 6 months later the house aught to be redecorated and this is usually the case with new occupants.

It takes about 6 months for a solicitor to hand ove the final contract. This might well be so that he can get all his interest out of the money everyone else is pouring through his hands. Or it may just be because the British housing market is totally forked over and has been for decades or longer.

Either way, by the time the new occupant moves in, the house is ready for a new coat of paint.

The main difference is that the more expensive "acrylics" have titanium oxides as their whitener. The cheaper "emulsions" use some other whiting.

I am not so clear on the other components that mark the differences between acrylics and emulsions. Emulsion means a mixture of oils and water. Acrylic denotes a chemical reaction is involved I imagine.

Might it be a sort of "twin pack" reaction similar in nature to the way tunge or linseed oils work?

[Stuart Noble]

Acrylics are emulsions based on acrylic resins, as opposed to what we call "emulsion paints", which are usually pva based. AFAIK titanium dioxide is the only white pigment used in paint nowadays.

[Christian McArdle]

Not Dulux Trade. Some outlets use "Trade" to mean "crappy economy". However, Dulux are not one of them. Dulux Trade paint is of excellent quality.

Christian.