Can anyone tell me what the difference is between trade emulsion and emulsion for sale in the sheds? I can buy both Trade and standard emulsion at my local Brewers but I don't know what the difference is!!
Cheers
Angela
I remember when, several years ago on "Changing Rooms", one of the couples proudly returned from a trip to B&Q with a large plastic tub of Trade Paint ...
and Handy Andy said "I see you've bought some Three-Coat Emulsion".
;-)
Moral of the story; treat the sheds' own-brand "trade" emulsion with the greatest caution.
Of course, if you go to a trade supplier and buy a *branded* trade paint, you will find it is of very good quality, and often needs to be thinned before use.
Have you noticed there is a bit of help from Dulux to answer this question about Dulux products, on the Dulux web page under Frequently Asked Questions? I am not much wiser after reading it though; different consistency because professionals like to thin their paint, both are "made to the same ... specification" but have a "different formulation".
Don't buy any own brand paint - trade or DIY. The price looks cheap but per m^2 of finished job it inevitably works out more expensive.
But if you mean Dulux Trade it does have a different consistancy. I think this may be because professional painters thin the paint to get it on faster so it needs more pigment.
standard
cheap but
I usually buy Dulux or Crown, I have experienced how rubbish shed brand paints are so avoid them. Somebody told me Albany paints are pretty good but I have no experience of them so I am wary of using them. there is a colour I like in National Trust paint, but as I am doing the hall and stairs of a 3 story house I would have to sell my soul to the devil to be able to afford to buy enough. Albany have (what looks like) the same colour, but am very wary as I have never used it before.
So.......this may be another daft question but if I use trade paint and don't thin it down is it likely that I may get away with just one coat (the colours are very similar anyway)?
Angela
I doubt it.
I've just painted the downstairs receptions using Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion, and even painting on an even base of fresh brilliant white matt there was no way that I could achieve an even coating using just one coat. This is pretty good paint, but even this required a second coat.
I used to use Dulux Trade pretty much exclusively when decorating, but after lengthy conversations with the decorator in the family switched to Leyland or Johnstones, and I don't notice the difference - in application or finish (and I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to decorating). The difference that I do notice is in the price - not far off half the price of the Dulux.
Albany falls somewhere in the middle of the price IIRC. There's a Brewers near us, and though I've used it once I don't really like it as a store because they only sell Dulux and their own brand - Albany - in the trade paints. They're not particularly cheap, either.
If I were you I'd go with two coats, and not thin the paint (I never have, and to my knowledge the decorator doesn't, either).
-- Richard Sampson
email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk
It's called trade paint beause it is used in the trade on newly finished houses to give, on fresh finished therefore one coloured walls, two coats of paint that will allow the plaster to breathe. In 6 months time it will need coating with acrylic.
Possibly the formulation that the Dulux site is talking about means that the same colour will be obtained from both types. Hence no bad patches with bits you miss.
On the changing room type programmes they tend to use a lot of MDF which will take good quality paint straight off. A cheap white undercoat and the top coat in a colour of your choice will do on that stuff. Or two coats of the colour.
Trade emulsion is very low quality breathable paint, more like distempter than vinyl emulsion. I think many people are fooled into thinking its a good safe buy because its called 'trade.'
Leyland do some good quality paints, and at sensible prices. See screwfix.com. Dulux I've had very mixed results with, and their prices can be a bit stupid.
No chance. If not thinned, no chance, unless youre unfussy about the finish. FWIW I'd avoid the so called trade paints except when going onto fresh plaster. Theyre simply carp.
Regards, NT
Dulux or Crown are fine for woodwork, e.g. satin wood, or gloss. But I would *never* pay the extortionate price they demand for ordinary emulsion for walls. I used the Homebase brand extensively (matt white emulsion), which is roughly half the price of Dulux. After painting a whole house with it, I know that it is just as good as the Dulux brand in covering and whiteness, as I have used Dulux emulsion before. Also, it doesn't smell so bad (the Dulux stuff seems to smell of rotten eggs while it's drying).
As for all the "posh" paints, like Farrow & Ball or National Trust, well, to my mind people just have more money than sense! It's only paint, for heck's sake!
The secret is in the preparation, anyway. That's where the effort goes, or should. Get a good surface to start with and you can get excellent results with Woolworths own brand!
MM
snip
There is the slight matter of colour availability
>
But the Dulux mix at the shop gives almost every possible permutation.
F&B paints are of much better quality than Dulux IME, although the main issue is the colour selection. Even with the Dulux mix and match or whatever they call it, I often have difficulty finding the one I want. Usually F&B does have something suitable, and I much prefer using it as well as the texture of the result.
That's always true.
That is stretching it.....
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
Having recently had the whole of the living area of our house re-plastered including ceilings, I can vouch for Wickes' Trade white emulsion. Applied by roller it covered all walls and fresh plaster in a single coat applied by roller.
That's 2 x 6x4m rooms with ceilings.
Trade is generally a higher specification in terms of opacity. I've been using a lot of Dulux trade magnolia and white recently (vinyl silk/matt respectively). You can't get much better, you can easily get much inferior. The white needs a good stir before application. Some Crown (cheaper) I got for an extra ceiling was IMO crap, thin and runny needing three coats! Get vinyl emulsion if you can, it lasts better and is easier to clean. It should have "vinyl" written on the tub, avoid very low VOC paints! IMO these are not so good. Brewers do an "Albany" range which is good too, I like it nearly as much as the Dulux trade range.
The "trade" term also tends to mean that the paints respond well to good application techniques - "DIY" paints tend to have non- drip formulation etc, which I find a positive barrier to obtaining decent results.
J.B.
But the current price of Dulux White emulsion in B&Q and Tesco of all places is cheaper than Wicke's own brand. So unless the Wickes one goes further ...
If you have the time, send them a sample and they usually match it well. There used to be a scanner system in some places to get an exact match but these seem to be rarer. I did try to decode their pigment codes for the mixer machine but there appears to be some sort of scrambling applied to stop you asking for the exact CMY you require.
I have tried that, but not with good success.
The only system of this type that I have found to be reasonable is the Jotun one for their exterior paints.
Defined colours do appear to be registered and perhaps copyrighted - e.g. Pantone. Certainly F&B protect theirs.
I've found that the colour is only part of the equation, there are other effects which I can only assume are to do with the formulation. For example, I've used F&B's Lime White Estate Emulsion in a couple of applications and have not been able to duplicate it in colour or appearance with anything else.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
The story goes that F&B still use traditional edge grinding to disperse their pigments, which results in a coarser mix.
I'll bet any proficient painter will get a better finish using poor paint on a good surface than the other way round.
MM
You clearly have never used B&Q "Value" emulsion.
Christian.
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