F&B's Estate Emulsion - any comments, good or bad?

[biffvernon]

Nice analogy with the cloth, Joce. Several years ago we had a room painted (insurance job so we didn't DIY) and we specified F&B of a particular colour. When we got home after the decorator had worked all day we instantly recognised that it was not what we had expected. The decorator later admitted that he had matched the colour with some other paint. It wasn't a mineral pigment so there really was no competition, however the decorator could not really understand why we insisted that he repaint the room.

 

[robgil]

Farrow & Ball - now you've got me started.

At the direction of the church architect, I used their exterior eggshell (semi-gloss) oil-based paint, even though it was some £35 for 2.5 litres. This was used on seven external doors, four roof dormer doors, plus five dormer windows, starting in 2005. These were all softwood items (apart from one door which was part oak, part pine!) which nearly all had to be stripped, repaired as required, primed with Farrow and Ball white exterior primer and top-coated. They all looked great when they were done but, by the time I got to the fifth (and last) roof dormer doors and the sixth (and last) five dormer window in April 2010, nearly all of the earlier items were showing a sort of faded dusty bloom on the surface. Even north facing doors were like it.

I spoke to their technical advisers but no one could say what I had done wrong (if anything). It just seemed that their paint was not up to an exposed position, despite being advertised as "External".

I then found that the paint I had been using was no longer made as it has been replaced with an eco range, which was now £48 for 2.5 litres! Are they having a laugh? (BTW, if you want to know what class rejection feels like, wear work clothes and try to buy something in their South Kensington shop...!) I then found that a local shop who would supply and mix the right colour in oil-based Sanderson paint, for about £33 for 2.5 litre as I recall. And then I repainted ten of the above mentioned 16 items before running out of time when I moved.


So that's a no, I'm not using F&B again.

blooming can occur for many reasons , low temperature or rapid temp changes, or high humidity for instance.

 

[christianb]

I'm an Earthborn paint man, myself. And that's not product placement... I just like the dead-matt finish it has.

Still, homemade limewash with a bit of earth pigment is a shedload cheaper than every other option.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Nice analogy with the cloth, Joce. Several years ago we had a room painted (insurance job so we didn't DIY) and we specified F&B of a particular colour. When we got home after the decorator had worked all day we instantly recognised that it was not what we had expected. The decorator later admitted that he had matched the colour with some other paint. It wasn't a mineral pigment so there really was no competition, however the decorator could not really understand why we insisted that he repaint the room.

Great story! When you work with lovely paint all the time you must become highly attuned to the look and feel of it. I'd never use non-mineral pigment paints, now you've mentioned that.

I will make the effort to rub the windows down and use linseed paint though, which FnB don't do. But for the interior woodwork that sounds a bit too strenuous.

 

[Lime]

I will make the effort to rub the windows down and use linseed paint though, which FnB don't do. But for the interior woodwork that sounds a bit too strenuous.

I used linseed oil on the exterior woodwork a couple of years ago.
So far my comments would be:
Still looks very good generally.
Difficult to clean, soot particles embed themselves in the paint on horizontal surfaces.
No degredation except on the front door on the curved wood parts showing the grain of the wood. This can no longer be cleaned it is so bad.
The paint picks up a lot of dirt from fingermarks, clothes rub etc.

I would not recommend the paint on an inside surface.
I painted the inside of my front door at the same time as the exterior.
During the last cold winter condensation formed on the steel fixings (all painted) and they rusted staining the paint badly.
Also there is a lingering odour from the paint that doesn't go away.
I don't find it pleasant, quite the opposite in fact.

 

[Penners]

You can protect a color, as in Coke Red, Barbie Pink or John Deere Green,
without any registration of copyright, trademark or patent, through the
doctrine of "trade dress," which has been around for a long time. In 1995
the Supreme Court case of Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co. ruled that
a single color can be trademarked, adding the additional protections
provided by registration.

Seems that it is possible to trademark (if not copyright) a colour.

I just thought I should warn you all that I've patented the note, C major. Anyone who uses this note will be required to pay me royalties (although I shall grant royalty-free use to Jethro Tull).

 

[robgil]

ive patented the number 2011 , not long now to 2012.

 

[LadyArowana]

I have patented shoes, lots of other people have too.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I will make the effort to rub the windows down and use linseed paint though, which FnB don't do. But for the interior woodwork that sounds a bit too strenuous.

I used linseed oil on the exterior woodwork a couple of years ago.
So far my comments would be:
Still looks very good generally.
Difficult to clean, soot particles embed themselves in the paint on horizontal surfaces.
No degredation except on the front door on the curved wood parts showing the grain of the wood. This can no longer be cleaned it is so bad.
The paint picks up a lot of dirt from fingermarks, clothes rub etc.

I would not recommend the paint on an inside surface.
I painted the inside of my front door at the same time as the exterior.
During the last cold winter condensation formed on the steel fixings (all painted) and they rusted staining the paint badly.
Also there is a lingering odour from the paint that doesn't go away.
I don't find it pleasant, quite the opposite in fact.

Thanks for that feedback Lime. You've put me off! I live in the most leaf-blowy, insect-droppy place you could ever imagine, with dozens of trees very close to the property. I know that bits of them dropping into the paint is going to drive me mad. I think I'll do a whole window in a test pot before making a decision.

Perhaps it's worth putting up with a pockmarked and less than perfect finish to ensure the longevity of your Viccy windows though?

Well done on all that hard work!

 

[HelenS]

Hi there,

I used F & B emulsion through-out my last house, (I will whisper this bit..... it was a very modern house......sorry ). I used "New White" in most of the rooms, on gypsum plaster, and even though it was a pale colour it had a wonderfull "depth". When selling our house I had some made at homebase just to finnish off one of the rooms and it just wasn't the same.

I totally agree that it is overpriced but love the idea of using nectar points at homebase, especially as Sainsbugs have sent me some "£12 off a £60 shop" vouchers .

I did have the problem of red/brown/orange particles in the paint. They seemed to cling to the lid and top of the paint tin so after I stirred the paint I washed the tin lid and wiped the top of the tin. Easy.

Having just had 2 walls in my bathroom lime plastered (I managed to sort out my insulation problems) I was thinking about what paint to use. Has any one used F & B in a bathroom on lime plastered walls, is it ok, any other alternatives?

Helen

 

[JoceAndChris]

I love New White, just as well as I painted my 13 hallway doors with it!

You'll know, of course, not to spoil the breathability of your new lime plastered walls with F nB's Eco emulsion. I'd use their Casein Distemper - it's meant to be for more hard wearing areas. Or ring Rose of Jericho, or Womersleys, and ask what would be best.

My understanding is that these breathing paints aren't particularly long lasting.

 

[HelenS]

Thanks for the tip, having never had lime plastered walls before I really have no idea of what paint to use. I'll have a look on their websites.

I used a fine roller previously and did get a lovely finnish even though some people use a brush.

Thanks