Crown paint...

[gbb]

Dont touch their 3 for 2 offer on 2.5 ltr matt and silk colours....the paints thin, doesnt cover, and its rubbish !
Just when you dont need complications on a big big job, the first wall's had two coats, and still needs another coat
Its not as though its a light colour going onto a dark one. The originals a light grey, the new is a cream colour. Hardly a huge contrast.

No...i think it's a cynical marketing ploy...make you an offer you will struggle to beat, but give you thinner, less opaque paint.
I didnt want to buy cheap paint, wished i had now.
Rant over....for now

 

[Mr Pig]

Shame. I always found Crown to be good paint, although I usually buy Dulux Trade because if the fantastic coverage and low odour.

 

[Speicher]

When I chose the colour for the last room I redecorated, the colour was only available at a Crown Trade outlet.

They were very happy to serve me, (I told them I was not a trade person), they were very helpful, and the paint was excellent. It was changing from a sort of apricot colour to yellow, and only needed two coats, and is called something like "hard wearing and scrubbable". If it last a few years longer before needing redecorating, I reckon the extra cost is worth it, and it looks better for longer, and less hassle when redecorating.

I made the mistake of using some cheap paint in another room. When all the sockets had to be changed and recessed further into the wall, the paint could not be touched up, without showing a massive change in colour. Nothing for it, but to redo the whole room.

In another room I had to repair some damaged paintwork, and used paint ten years old from Dulux, and you could not see the difference in colour even after that length of time.

On this forum people have discussed the merits of more expensive products and their cheaper counterparts, and said that the more expensive one may be better value for money. GBB can you wait until the Trade Centres open on Tuesday and get your paint there?

 

[Speicher]

Going back the the OT, about 3 for 2, perhaps they would not dare try that "marketing ploy" on professional decorators. I know I would rather pay for the proper stuff, than have to do three coats on a wall.

I went to the Trade Centre because I could not get the colour I wanted in HomeBQ etc. It was a "discontinued" colour, but I had used it in another room, and thought it was a lovely colour. I could not live in a house with every room the same, but two rooms the same seems ok.

It seems when decorating, we all need or prefer to do it as quick as possible, so better coverage is money well spent.

 

[Night Train]

I go for trade paints too.
I've tried DIY shed one coat stuff and it should really read as one coat after another after another... and it stays sort of translucent.

 

[Mr Pig]

I don't know if the quality there is supposed to be any better than the retail stuff though.

Not really. They'll tell you it is but if the tins are the same it's the same stuff that's in them. Trade centres are sometimes cheaper though.

 

[gbb]

Well, i took 2 of the three cans back and complained. It's simply rubbish, it's thin' won't cover etc etc.
We hav'nt had any problems sir...but they let me swap it for some Dulux.
Crown paint was thin'ish...the Dulux was nice and thick, and went on a dream.

Trade centres...i always forget about them . Christ, i used them for years when i was a buyer for an engineering department , but it's been some time since then.
Funnily enough, i said to SWMBO this morning, next time, i'm going to the trade centre.

Trade paint better quality ?..i asked this when i was a buyer. Their 'Trade' branded paint has higher opacity was the reply. (yes, it's better)
If you buy the normal paint from trade centres, its the same as the high street.
Plus's and minus's of trade paint ?....you should be able to get the same colour ages after you brought it. The range doesnt change that much....but the range isn't that big either.

Thanks for your thoughts guys and girls

 

[Abitrary]

Crown paint is just a bit tooooo 1970s retro-chic for me.

Laura Ashley or nothing for me, these days.

 

[Speicher]

Gbb, it's a giant PITA when you have done the preparation, set aside time to do the job and then the paint is "rubbish".

The reason I went to the trade centre, is because I wanted a colour that I had used ten years ago, and they were able to mix it up, aided by a computer thingy. The lady assistant was extremely helpful, and I did not have to search for someone who knew what they were doing, and what they were talking about. It may have taken me a bit longer to get there, but time saved in the shop and on the painting, more than made up for that.

 

[gbb]

Gbb, it's a giant PITA when you have done the preparation, set aside time to do the job and then the paint is "rubbish".

The reason I went to the trade centre, is because I wanted a colour that I had used ten years ago, and they were able to mix it up, aided by a computer thingy. The lady assistant was extremely helpful, and I did not have to search for someone who knew what they were doing, and what they were talking about. It may have taken me a bit longer to get there, but time saved in the shop and on the painting, more than made up for that.

I know Speicher, i know but got out of the habit of going to the trade centres. I used to get on really well with the staff, and although they have probably gone (it was 7 years ago), the knowledge and experience they have is a rare thing nowadays.
No...its the trade centre for me next time.

 

[Mr Pig]

Their 'Trade' branded paint has higher opacity was the reply.

Yes, but they sell the same paint in B&Q. Do you honestly think that Dulux will supply their best paint to trade centres and when B&Q, who will sell vastly more of the stuff, ask them to supply them with it they'll say 'no, you're not getting it'?

I've bought Dulux trade emulsion from a trade centre and the same trade paint from B&Q and it was exactly the same. I was told by the trade centre it wasn't, but it was.

Not all 'trade' paint is good quality. Tradesmen will buy the cheapest materials they are going to get away with, if a cheap paint will do the job that's what they'll buy.

 

[snorri]

and they were able to mix it up, aided by a computer thingy.

Last week I went to buy paint from my local dealer who has one of these computer thingies. I asked to see their colour card but he said someone had taken the last one. I found that quite amusing, got some paint anyway, colour is not a big issue in snorri castle.

 

[Maz]

Doesn't it also depend on the existing colour of the walls and the colour of the paint you want to apply? I had green wallpaper and painted it Magnolia. I used Dulux paint which was ok, but the old colour just kept showing through. Took about 5 coats before it looked good!

 

[Abitrary]

Doesn't it also depend on the existing colour of the walls and the colour of the paint you want to apply? I had green wallpaper and painted it Magnolia. I used Dulux paint which was ok, but the old colour just kept showing through. Took about 5 coats before it looked good!

If you have to use something like magnolia to cover-up stuff, then you might as well just strip the walls and use something decent like natural calico.

 

[Night Train]

Tradesmen will buy the cheapest materials they are going to get away with, if a cheap paint will do the job that's what they'll buy.

From my experience a good tradesman will get the paint that will do the best job as they don't want a client to call them back because the paint didn't cover properly or was faulty in some other way. This is also a reason why a professional decorator would rather get paint themselves then use what is supplied by the client. If the client supplied poor quality paint then the decorator will get blamed if it isn't right.