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https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Painting, Decorating & Tiling Questions >> more Farrow & Ball woes https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1300373574 Message started by Ronald on Mar 17^th, 2011, 2:52pm

Title: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by Ronald on Mar 17^th, 2011, 2:52pm

I consider myself a good painter and I have used F&B paints for 30 years without problems until now. However this is the first time I have had to use their Eco friendly range ( I managed to stock up on oil based paint ). How on earth do you paint a 6 panelled door without brush marks? The paint dries too quickly to blend in. Also I have found that the Strong White 2001 is streaky the undersurface grins through or is it an optical illusion?
I have tried different preparation methods including degreasing before painting.
Also I have thinned the paint slightly with water and meths but nothing improves the finish. I have tried 3 sets of brushes - traditional and 2 sets "designed" for aqueous paints.
Has someone else cracked the code? Please let me know.
I will continue to use the emulsion as I consider this is the best.
By the way 2 observations on previous comments:
1 if the kitchen units were sprayed then the paint was probably made up by the likes of Movac or Beckers or Sayerlack and not by F&B.
2 I have been told that the Little Greene Paint company still does trad oil based eggshell. I plan to try it on my next project.

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by TIMBA-WOLF on Mar 17^th, 2011, 2:58pm

i have found the only way to use ENVIRON-"MENTAL" paints especially for such items as doors etc is HVLP spraying

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by woodsmith on Mar 19^th, 2011, 5:37pm

I've just used some oil based Little Green Co paint and I was not too impressed. First coat took 48hrs to dry, second took 24hrs and that was only because I added some terabine. This is their eco low odour paint btw, and after 2 coats I can still see the undercoat through it.

Ronald you should try using a small foam roller and thin the paint with about 10% water. You should get a reasonable finish this way although it can still look patchy, this is caused by changes in the surface texture which reflect the light differently and can be very difficult to remove completely. I've resorted to rubbing it down with T-Cut in the past.

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by londonman on May 16^th, 2011, 12:57pm

Speak to the Tech Dept at F&B?

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by eggpainter on Jun 17^th, 2011, 10:18pm

GREAT! I am having the same problems, Farrow & Ball paints in their new formula are NO good. I have recently used "dead flat" and "eggshell" both are nothing like the Oil based versions they used to sell. They are not true to colour, not after 3 coats anyway! They are soft as you say, sanding is impossible. I have sent back both products and Farrow & Ball refuse to admit there is a problem with their paints. I have found them awful, they will not listen, or address the my complaint. Part of my complaint is that on their charts there it states that their "paints have changed little since their humble beginnings" The opposite is true. Their paints are no longer oil based, they are acrylic based! I have used their paint for donkeys years... they were a good product, good colour range. NOT ANY MORE. yes, Little Greene is still manufacturing oil based paints, and i'll be using them instead.
I am going to challenge them further, I am going to take them to the small claims court, and I will also look into misrepresentation through trading standards next week. So glad to read your comments, Google is a wonderful tool!

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by Gregshell on Aug 25^th, 2011, 9:37am

F and B used to be alright but they got greedy. Their emulsio used to be as thick as cream cheese but now it's like water. It is mainly water. Very expensive water. I'm a set painter and I use Mylands and Dulux. So sad that Bolloms went under. That was fantastic paint.

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by Eg1 on Jul 6^th, 2014, 2:43pm

Hi we used to spend a fortune on Farrow & Ball paint and continued to do so when they moved to water based paint only . That will stop, because the quality for their (expensive) paint has become extremely poor and customer service is almost hostile. We bought a tin of water based external gloss 2.5 litres last year to paint our front door. The end result was ok although not as smooth as the oil based version. Then we wanted to paint our side door in the same colour and the paint was all lumpy and thick like clay! It was impossible to paint with this stuff so we rang Farrow & Ball and they said the paint has a shelf life of 6 months! Have you read that anywhere on the tin? Can such poor quality be justified for such an expensive paint? We are stuck now, as we refuse to buy a new tin of that rubbish but at the same time would like our doors to be of the same colour. This was not our first bad experience with Farrow & Ball water based paint, we had floor paint starting to flake and paint becoming lumpy after working in the sunshine. Farrow & Ball should be ashamed of the themselves. They should compensate any customer that has quality issues with their products. Instead they treat their customers like idiots. This customer will not be returning!

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by woodsmith on Jul 6^th, 2014, 6:09pm

Water based paints are more problematic than oil based ones but they have improved them of late. I've used quite a few makes and there doesn't seem to be much difference, it's the prep and what you are painting it on, plus the weather and relative humidity that seems to make more difference.

I spray furniture and having tried most makes have gone back to using Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell as it gives a much more even sheen.

Title: Re: more Farrow & Ball woes
Post by londonman on Jul 10^th, 2014, 7:03am

Whatever you do, don't use F&B external primer on wood. Not unless you want to be going back and repainting every six months. Use a proper primer from Zinsser.

F&B paint is lousy. Fancy colours but hardly any pigment in it.

There are plenty of linseed oil paints still out there and so I can't quite see why the push for water-based paints.