The Lemon Fool

Our daughter wants to change her room from blue to white. What's do others recommend as the best white emulsion to hide the existing blue as quickly/easily as possible?

I thought I saw a previous best paint thread here but can't locate it. The one I did see mentioned Dulux as the one to beat. (Although I do have a trade discount with Johnstons).

I buy trade paints from Brewers decorator centres, the extra cost is usually saved in coats, cover and finish. Dulux is usually good enough, Zinner is dearer but perhaps better for difficult jobs.

kempiejon wrote:I buy trade paints from Brewers decorator centres, the extra cost is usually saved in coats, cover and finish. Dulux is usually good enough, Zinner is dearer but perhaps better for difficult jobs.

Thanks @kempiejon. Have your 400th 'thank you'!

If near a Wickes, Crown basic Matt white is good. Otherwise from B&Q/Screwfix I use Leyland Pure Brilliant White (not the trade range, the one that looks remarkably similar to the Crown tub!)

One or other is usually a tenner for a 10L container, and both can be diluted for sealing fresh plaster. Screwfix and some Wickes are still only 'click and collect'.

Note that both go on almost clear, but whiten as they dry, so don't be tempted to go back over until it has dried.

Paul

I recently used Crown and Dulux and would say that Dulux is definitely better.

MM

whichever you choose you will get better result by doing 2 coats

so imo paying the extra for ''1 coat' isnt worth it............probably is if say 'white over white' but white over a colour is bound to be better with 2 coats

I would use two coats of Dulux brilliant white, matt. In my experience, Johnston's is also very good paint.

Dod

mutantpoodle wrote:whichever you choose you will get better result by doing 2 coats

so imo paying the extra for ''1 coat' isnt worth it............probably is if say 'white over white' but white over a colour is bound to be better with 2 coats

This is certainly my experience too, several time over. Any paint with "One coat" on the tin has no better opacity than paints that don't. If you think about it, the term "One Coat" actually tells you nothing at all whilst leading you to expect excellent opacity.

I won't get fooled again.

Thanks all. I wouldn't touch the one-coat. My main goal is to avoid any more than two coats.

I'm feeling energetic today so will crack on with the job this weekend.

I've always found the best way minimise the number of coats you apply is to pay someone else to do it.

I bought some cheap white Leyland paint from B&M a few years ago.

Now, bearing in mind I was refreshing an already white wall, after two coats, it was still nowhere near enough. So I stopped using that & went out to buy some better stuff. I've never had a problem with Crown, Dulux, Wilko own brand or the B&Q stuff.

I bought a 7.5 litre tub of Dulux trade white for £27 from my local Dulux Decorator Centre last week, special offer. Does not seem to be on their web site but they had plenty when I went in, so much that they used them to create a wall to make a one-way system. A big tub but it is always useful stuff to have around. I was using it to cover up some darker paint, obliteration was very good.

Note that Dulux Trade is not the same stuff as standard Dulux.

I always use Dulux Trade, I did try a cheaper brand but had to do four coats! Wasn't happy with that.

John

OP here, with a confession to make...

With all good intention of following the tips here, I went into the garage to assemble my decorating gear and noticed a half-full 10l tub of Johnson's trade brilliant white leftover from the last time we decorated three years ago. In the interests of the planet, expediency and finances I slapped that on my daughter's bedroom wall thinking that it would, if nothing else, serve as a base coat over the current light blue on the walls.

While waiting for that first coat to dry, and thrilled with the speed I'd done the first coat (after hours of preparing the gear to do the job), I made the rather rash decision to give our master bedroom a quick lick of paint too. After two hours spent moving furniture, dusting, cleaning and sugar soaping the walls, I managed to give it a first coat of '''brilliant white''' over the F&B Elephant's Breath that now looked like a grubby ashtray.

Returning to our daughter's room, it was apparent that the first coat was so bad that I might as well have painted water on the walls. With limited time and barely any progress on the two rooms, I panicked and went to the Screwfix site to order some Dulux Brilliant White that seemed to be rated, but not the trade one that is highly recommended.

The paint was Dulux Matt Emulsion Brilliant White 10l - https://www.screwfix.com/p/dulux-matt-e ... 0ltr/1013v that has 224 glowing reviews showing as 4.5 stars overall. Worth a shot I thought as it's only Brilliant White and the rooms may get done again when we do our extension build next year. Besides, those reviews were excellent... right?

No prizes for guessing that I ended up giving both bedrooms not one, not two, but three extra coats. Even with four in total, the result is still patchy and the paint itself is definitely not 'brilliant white' but more of a cream. So hours wasted and so much guilt after carefully doing the research, taking on-board all the comments here, then completely blowing it in a fit of panic.

Out of frustration, I was tempted to contact Dulux to complain, particularly given the great Screwfix reviews. Then I noticed the same paint on B&Q's site - https://www.diy.com/departments/dulux-p ... 813_BQ.prd - that had 113 reviews with 2 stars overall and 77 showing as 1 star, with comments such as:

"What a terrible product. I’ve never seen such thin paint, it’s like water. Can’t use roller with it, it’s dripping everywhere.
What a waste of money, that will be thrown out and I will have to buy a different brand." and "Brilliantly CREAM, not white
Bought this as I thought I could trust Dulux - WRONG!. Tried three coats on an already light wall, but looks patchy, and VERY CREAM when compared to the newly painted gloss. Wish I'd read the reviews before I purchased it." and many more in a similar vein.

I belatedly, and humbly, return here to say I messed up despite all good intensions and to let this servce a lesson for others. I accept my guilt and paid the price with hours of extra decorating. But what bugs me most is this: how come Screwfix have 224 glowing reviews and 4.5/5 star rating whereas B&Q have 113 negative reviews and barely a 2/5 star rating for the same product. Are Screwfix messing with the reviews?

neversay wrote:[...]the result is still patchy and the paint itself is definitely not 'brilliant white' but more of a cream.

OK, if anyone asks just say "This? It's 'Zombie Pallor' from the new Farrow and Ball Limited Edition 'Apocalypse' range. We're thinking of Pestilence for the bathroom, it tones nicely with the Quercus handwash and is almost a perfect match for the Listerine".

Paul

DrFfybes wrote:

neversay wrote:[...]the result is still patchy and the paint itself is definitely not 'brilliant white' but more of a cream.

OK, if anyone asks just say "This? It's 'Zombie Pallor' from the new Farrow and Ball Limited Edition 'Apocalypse' range. We're thinking of Pestilence for the bathroom, it tones nicely with the Quercus handwash and is almost a perfect match for the Listerine".

Paul

Quite right. I admit we Johnstone's paint-matched the Farrow and Ball colours in an F&B colou-scheme frenzy. That worked in our previous period home where you need the smokey parlour or dismal victorian afternoon look. Nowadays just give me brilliant white.

Just as an update, whilst refreshing the old place I accidentally bought Leyland Pure brilliant White Matt emulsion from B&Q. I was looking for Crown but ISTR the it is now stocked by Wickes and I picked this up by mistake as the tub looked remarkably similar.

Using it to refresh the ceiling where a light fitting had been changed I was really pleased that it was an almost perfect match for the old Crown, so much so that I didn't even need to go to the edges.

I've just used it again in the new place in understairs cupboard that was a fetching shade of silk finish Morris Marina Mustard Beige, and found to my surprise that once the first coat had dried it was a very good match to the previous colour

3 coats later and it is still a bit patchy but it is only a cupboard.

Paul

DrFfybes wrote:Just as an update, whilst refreshing the old place I accidentally bought Leyland Pure brilliant White Matt emulsion from B&Q. I was looking for Crown but ISTR the it is now stocked by Wickes and I picked this up by mistake as the tub looked remarkably similar.

Using it to refresh the ceiling where a light fitting had been changed I was really pleased that it was an almost perfect match for the old Crown, so much so that I didn't even need to go to the edges.

I've just used it again in the new place in understairs cupboard that was a fetching shade of silk finish Morris Marina Mustard Beige, and found to my surprise that once the first coat had dried it was a very good match to the previous colour

3 coats later and it is still a bit patchy but it is only a cupboard.

Paul

You redecorate the inside of an understairs cupboard?

Dod

My housekeeper was bored during lockdown as she could not do her normal job of cleaning ( for other people). I now have 4 redecorated bedroom cupboards and an understairs one. None of them had been touched since I brought the house 20 years ago. Dulux white satin finish to the rescue and dulux magnolia walls.
Only drawback was I had to lay new carpet in the bedrooms, lucky I had loads of offcuts that fitted.

Dod101 wrote:You redecorate the inside of an understairs cupboard?

Dod

Yes. Although we started off just putting a shelf in it [1].

It had coat hooks "fixed" to the wall with 4 inch screws disappearing into large holes in the stone wall. The other side was a "floating" wall in that the stud wall was only fixed top, bottom, and at one end, which meant the bit next to the light switch moved 10-15mm if pressed, and the corners had quite large gaps and cracks.
And the vinyl emulsion that was painted onto the bare plaster was peeling in places so was scraped off the a mist coat applied, and the holes where old foxings had been removed seem were either overfilled or underfilled, so once you start you may as well do it properly. I did draw the line at replacing the 22 bits of gripper with 3 long pieces, and just glued the loose bits back in place

I've got another cupboard with similar paint adherence problems and the whole wall (8ft x 6ft) came off with a scraper in 30 mins (except for a patch which was stuck faster than a bogey under a 3rd form desk). I've taken some pics of this one, and if I can sort some hosting site I'll post a link to it.

Paul

[1] none of the corners are even vaguely 90 degrees.