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JonathanRyan

JonathanRyan

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I've got a lot of painting to do (um, roughly a 4 bedroom house....). I've done quite a lot of painting in the past but this is a big job so I want to get it right and save a few quid where I can. Questions.....

1. Is there much (any) difference between Dulux paint from B&Q and Dulux Trade paint from a paint merchant? I've a feeling trade paint is cheaper but harder for an amateur to apply but I might have made this up.

2. If I'm going to paint the walls in a fairly light colour (some kind of beige) then is there any reason why I can't do the first coat in white and the second coat in colour? (Walls are prepped and sealed). This would save money and time since I don't have to cut the ceiling in but if it costs me a 3rd coat I won't bother.

3. Are "own brand" paints (e.g. Wickes, B&Q) any good or should I stick to Dulux/Crown?

4. On the DIT shows on telly, they seem to cover the carpets in a thick polythene dust sheet and they can then walk on them. The only ones I've seen have been really flimsy and certainly couldn't take a ladder on top. Any ideas what they use?
 
1) I was told by a painter some time ago that the trade paints are thicker and can be thinned/watered down prior to use, whereas normal retail paints are designed to be used straight from the tin.

2) You would be better doing two coats of colour than one white, one colour as the results could end patchy and you are likely to see where you have cut in around the ceiling using a brush.

3) We've used some own brand paints in the past, but have found the quality to be variable. Some were just as good to use, but one in particular (can't remember which) was a nightmare to work with and needed at least 3 coats.

4) B&Q sell traditional hessian type dust sheets which work well for roller application (ie fine spray instead of big drops), but we always use them doubled up for extra security. The thin polythene dust sheets do work OK, and we have stood step ladders on them (carefully) without problem, but I'd consider these almost a disposable item.
 
1. No idea, sorry.

2. You should be fine if you are using a good paint, see 3.

3. All paints are not created equally! I would steer clear of own brands and stick to dulux/crown.
My own experience of this was painting a rrom a copuple of years ago, and could only find the shade I wanted in Homebase single coat stuff. According to the tin, It should have done the whole room in one tine. 2.5 tins laters and three coats (on top of a white base coat) it was still patchy and looking crap. One tin of dulux over the top and it was perfect.

4. I don't know what the heavy duty dust sheets are like.
http://www.diy.com/nav/build/buildi...-Premium-Heavy-Duty-Protective-Sheet-12628606

But personally, I use something like this.
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Polythene-Vapour-Barrier-Green-2-5x20m/p/153230
 
JonathanRyan said:
I've got a lot of painting to do (um, roughly a 4 bedroom house....). I've done quite a lot of painting in the past but this is a big job so I want to get it right and save a few quid where I can. Questions.....

1. Is there much (any) difference between Dulux paint from B&Q and Dulux Trade paint from a paint merchant? I've a feeling trade paint is cheaper but harder for an amateur to apply but I might have made this up.

2. If I'm going to paint the walls in a fairly light colour (some kind of beige) then is there any reason why I can't do the first coat in white and the second coat in colour? (Walls are prepped and sealed). This would save money and time since I don't have to cut the ceiling in but if it costs me a 3rd coat I won't bother.

3. Are "own brand" paints (e.g. Wickes, B&Q) any good or should I stick to Dulux/Crown?

4. On the DIT shows on telly, they seem to cover the carpets in a thick polythene dust sheet and they can then walk on them. The only ones I've seen have been really flimsy and certainly couldn't take a ladder on top. Any ideas what they use?
Click to expand...

Been a few years since I was playing the game but ...
1) Yes. Trade is (treat IS as WAS!) cheaper to tradesmen with accounts at builders' merchants and trade paint suppliers and is thicker. Not really harder to apply but less forgiving than consumer paints.
2) Depends on what colour needs to be covered. If it's a strong colour, a coat or 2 of white will stop the colour showing through and white (or magnolia) paint is cheaper than colours. If it's going over new sealed plaster, 2 coats of the final colour should cover it (of decent paint).
3) We always used Dulux and avoided Crown like the plague, especially their 1 coat gloss. The number of jobs we did where the first job was to peel off the 1 coat crap was almost beyond count! On the rare occasion that a customer would insist we used paint they supplied, the extra labour that the extra coats needed wiped out any saving they might have made on the materials.
4. We used proper cloth sheets rather than polythene, mainly because they were huge (3m square) so quick to lay and retrieve. No problem with ladders etc on them and dropped prep tools bounced rather than caused damage.
 
the dulux trade is far better than the retail version but the retail one will do what you need
the tape you need is http://www.packexe.co.uk/protectionfilm/carpet you can get a cheaper version from the likes of screwfix
stick with the dulux
 
Have the walls just been plastered or is there paint on them already?
 
Dulux trade gets my vote
 
Do not buy Dulux from B&Q or wherever. Go to a proper decorators merchants, and if you can get Johnstones then do - it is a good reliable paint that will cover way better than any paint you will get from a shed (ie a B&Q type of place).
'Trade paint' is not harder to apply, but will need more diluting and will go further and cover better. Use 2 coats of whatever colour you want to use.
Cutting in is easy - use a decent size and quality brush of at least 2" - I use a 3". Purdy or Corona are very good brushes - a cheaper one is cheaper for a reason. A good roller and pole will save you hours and can be kept wet overnight by wrapping in clingfilm.
Packexe is excellent but not cheap - buy some decent polythene like bass_junkie83 suggests and cut it to size then mask the edges with masking tape if required.

If you want more advice then let me know - I have to go out right now !
 
Don't know any decent painter and decorators using dulux anymore most are using Johnstone and retail prices are cheaper than dulux.
Dulux have messed about with their paints over the last few years.
Obviously some people have different preferences but even in the trade forums most seem to recommend john stones over dulux.

As for own brand paints, b and q own brand is hit and miss their own Matt range is awful but the silk was quite pleasing. The colours are well off though even the tester pots came out a different shade to the full pot
 
terryuk said:
the dulux trade is far better than the retail version but the retail one will do what you need
the tape you need is http://www.packexe.co.uk/protectionfilm/carpet you can get a cheaper version from the likes of screwfix
stick with the dulux
Click to expand...

That's the stuff - I recognise the red printing. But like you say the Screwfix stuff should work and there's one over the road.

sep9001 said:
Have the walls just been plastered or is there paint on them already?
Click to expand...

Already painted.

Thanks for the comments on Johnstones - I'll nip down my local Brewers and see what they have.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I've got a lot of painting to do (um, roughly a 4 bedroom house....). I've done quite a lot of painting in the past but this is a big job so I want to get it right and save a few quid where I can. Questions.....

1. Is there much (any) difference between Dulux paint from B&Q and Dulux Trade paint from a paint merchant? I've a feeling trade paint is cheaper but harder for an amateur to apply but I might have made this up.

2. If I'm going to paint the walls in a fairly light colour (some kind of beige) then is there any reason why I can't do the first coat in white and the second coat in colour? (Walls are prepped and sealed). This would save money and time since I don't have to cut the ceiling in but if it costs me a 3rd coat I won't bother.

3. Are "own brand" paints (e.g. Wickes, B&Q) any good or should I stick to Dulux/Crown?

4. On the DIT shows on telly, they seem to cover the carpets in a thick polythene dust sheet and they can then walk on them. The only ones I've seen have been really flimsy and certainly couldn't take a ladder on top. Any ideas what they use?
Click to expand...

1. Go for trade paint as mentioned, also try Selco for prices as they seem to be every where.

2. Aply a mist coat of the paint youre going to used. (your colour watered down).

3. Stick with named paint, I prefered Dulux when I was on the tools.

4. Use cotton twill dust sheets, also buy a designated stairs sheet, I found these brilliant and safer than folding a regular sheet. (Where are you based, you can borrow mine if you like).


Another tip, if you have some un-eveness in the walls or ceiling use Matt paint rather than silk or sheen. Matt is more forgiving than the other two.
 
Some good info on this thread. Trying to emulsion my hall at present so taking it all in. I got some Wilkinsons pale grey matt to go over a pale orange affair in the hall and after one coat it sort of looks like magnolia now. o_O

Any of the contributors so far got any advice on getting the brush really clean after use?
 
DorsetDude said:
Any of the contributors so far got any advice on getting the brush really clean after use?
Click to expand...

As a strictly amateur painter (who may not paint again for 2 - 3 years) I wrap them in cling film until the job is definitely done and then I throw them away :whistle:
 
JonathanRyan said:
I've got a lot of painting to do (um, roughly a 4 bedroom house....). I've done quite a lot of painting in the past but this is a big job so I want to get it right and save a few quid where I can. Questions.....



4. On the DIT shows on telly, they seem to cover the carpets in a thick polythene dust sheet and they can then walk on them. The only ones I've seen have been really flimsy and certainly couldn't take a ladder on top. Any ideas what they use?
Click to expand...

You can buy big plastic tarpaulins on fleabay for not much. Sturdy, paint proof and last forever.
 
JonathanRyan said:
As a strictly amateur painter (who may not paint again for 2 - 3 years) I wrap them in cling film until the job is definitely done and then I throw them away :whistle:
Click to expand...
lol thats what i do, i find even if i clean them well they are never as good and it's likely to be a while before it gets used anyway
 
JonathanRyan said:
As a strictly amateur painter (who may not paint again for 2 - 3 years) I wrap them in cling film until the job is definitely done and then I throw them away :whistle:
Click to expand...

:plus1:

Wrap rollers in clingfilm for shortish term storage for reuse with the same colour then bin 'em when the job's finished. Before using a cheapo roller sleeve, give it a good wash and maybe even a bit of a scrub to reduce the amount of fluff it sheds onto the nice new paint. The only time we used to bother cleaning roller sleeves was when we wanted to get the apprentice out of the way for a while - it simply wasn't worth the time it takes to clean the sleeves properly to take a tradesman off the tools.

Oil paint brushes were kept in just enough water to keep the paint underwater and stop it drying into the bristles. 90%+ of the glossing we did was white so colour transfer wasn't a problem. I used to dip the tail of the handle in either gloss or undercoat to save a bit of time working gloss into an undercoaty brush, although it only takes a moment or 2 to clear the undercoat (I used to keep a roll of lining paper in the van for working the brush clear and preloading with gloss).

If you know a builder well, see if he'll get you the paint on his account (or using his name at the counter). He'll almost certainly get a much better price than Joe Blogs off the street will get at a builders' merchant. ;)
 
Another tip when using rollers.

To clean, use a scraper / filling knife and run the edge / side of knive against the roller brittles to clean excess paint off back into tin, if your going to keep roller sleeve. I never bothered with cling film for keeping rollers overnight, I just placed in a carrier bag and never had a problem the next day.
 
As for cleaning brushes, I would just clean with water and white spirit , then store in a old coffee jar filled with enough white spirit to cover the bristles until needed again. I have some sash brushes, & purdy etc which are expensive to throw away, so I keep and re-use.
 
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