Paint finish No 10

[Davao]

Hi all. Does anyone know how they get the finish on the front door of 10 downing st?

Specialist paint?

Thanks.

Arthur

[Stephen Dawson]

Give Farrow & Ball a call they make this paint.

They should be able to help you.

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

My recollection was that they didn't of late....I thought it was Dulux that was used tbh.

Anyway - the finish is achieved entirely by preparation. You can get the same result on any door if you take the time to prime, sand, undercoat, sand, undercoat, sand, undercoat, sand, gloss, let it sit a couple of weeks, sand, gloss, let it sit again, sand, and finally two coats without a sand- but it's an arse load of work.

My folks had a dutch built house with balcony and huge ornate front door. I stripped that back to the bare wood and started again following this exact method (I could get away with it once all the paint had gone off the door but I still had to improve the draught sealing as the door was a tad smaller after 50 years of paint had been removed) and got an utternly stunning finish - but you can't skimp on prep or materials.

Personally I use Dulux stuff anyway and can achieve the same results irrespective - but none of this quick drying or one coat stuff will deliver the results.

It's a stunning door at No.10 - mind you - it gets polished daily - so it bloody well should look good!!

Cheers Dan.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Its called building it up process.

You put the undercoat on rub it down with wet&dry,put another undercoat on, wet&dry again,slap the first coat on,wet&dry again the final coat should look like a mirror. :-)

[Steve Firth]

Mostly by treating it like a car painting job, with the door being properly prepared, filled, and sanded to perfection and each coat flatted down before the next is applied.

I got a front door to look like that once, and found it easier to remove the door and spray it.

[The Medway Handyman]

Nah. It's baked on by all the hot air involved................

[John]

[HLAH]

"Dan delaMare-Lyon" wrote >> Give Farrow & Ball a call they make this paint.

Funnily enough I always used to admire the near mirror finish of the Number

10 door but in recent years I haven't thought it looks so good. So maybe different paint? Lead free now rather than before? Or just the polishing staff slacking? H

[Steve Firth]

Yes, I've had the best results with Dulux for this sort of thing. Although my experience is that if you want that high gloss finish you need to apply the final coat by spraying or using a foam brush. It also helps to have the door removed from the frame and horizontal on a trestle.

[Steve Firth]

Or the constant dripping slime from Phony and Cruella is impossible to polish off.

[Stuart Noble]

I think it looks bloody awful. Coat after coat of gloss, year on year produces that "gunked up" look. I bet it's soft underneath, like the occupants

[Frank Erskine]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2006 12:11:54 +0100, "Davao" had this to say:

I'd have thought it was ebonised rather than painted.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Could be shellac?

[Lobster]

I read somewhere that they have two doors, so that the spare is repainted somewhere else and swapped in for the existing one. I expect they spray paint it like a car - after all, presumably the thing is made of armour-plated steel or something?!

David

[Newshound]

Just beat me to it, I was going to say it is so glossy I had always assumed it was stove enamelled.

[Guy King]

The message from "HLAH" contains these words:

Just tarnished by association.

[Guy King]

The message from "The3rd Earl Of Derby" contains these words:

Wouldn't Teflon be more appropriate?

[The Medway Handyman]

Why do the media always have a reporter standing outside whenever there is an alledged 'crisis'? Wouldn't it be cheaper & easier to film the reporter in front of a large photo of No 10?

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Course it would,but they'd look a right bunch of rsoles if someone should set it alight. ;-)

[michaeld121]

I'd heard the same thing. It means that they can take as long as they need to get the painting absolutely perfect out of the public eye and in the more controlled environment of a workshop. IIRC they swop them over & re-paint them every 2 or 3 years.

Michael