Hi Everyone,

I am a painter for 25 years but I never had such an experience with a woodwork paint. I painted a built in shelving unit in the playroom with Farrow and Ball "off white" Estate Eggshell which is now water based as they are not making the oil based paint for woodwork any more.
It was not bad to work with but not good either, I did not like it though, it did not seem like a serious woodwork paint to me.
The nightmare started when I sanded it after first coat and it changed to a yellow-green on the sanded areas. Well, I applied the second coat anyway and I told the customer that I do not like the way this paint behaves, but she is absolutely convinced that F&B paints are the best ever.
The biggest problem is that the same thing happened to the shelves when they started using them, the paint is simply changing its color when exposed to the tiniest abrasion. I think this water based formula is too soft, even after 3 weeks it is dry but it is not hard, like you would still expect it to set, but how long would you have to wait then before you use a freshly painted area?  
She has 2 chairs painted in the same F&B color and they do not have the same reaction to abrasion, probably that was the oil based formula. She also has other woodwork in the house painted with F&B with no problems and now she thinks it is my fault.
Has anyone experienced any similar problems? I am very upset because she is keeping my money until the company will analyze the case, when I know for sure that there is no way that this is my fault.
Please give me some opinions about this, I have never had any problems with woodwork, I always used the best paints and did the best quality work and now I am blamed for a faulty paint.  

zsogabi - I second Wolfie's suspicions concerning the previous paint coat AND his opinion on F&B, but then I've had some crap experiences with all the "new" formulation, let-the-wood-breathe-fad paints. Osmo is another such that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole-mounted paint brush, although both F&B and Osmo have their fans.

As to your experience with the CUSTOMER... We've all been there and, annoying as it is, they have a point. Until F&B technical get back to you then you're in the frame. Rather than upset them by arguing the point, you'd be advised to sit down and explain what you've explained to us (if you haven't already done that) and ask them not to go putting the word around about what's happened but to give you, on the basis of 25 year's experience in the trade, the benefit of the doubt.

My son-in-law is a painter and decorator and last year had a similar experience, only his was the size of a school gymnasium and involved Dulux. He had at least been paid for the job and the paint had reacted a few weeks after application. To give Dulux their due they pulled out all the stops and had a technical guy out there the day after he'd phoned them. They agreed a faulty batch of paint and paid for the strip and re-paint, at considerable cost. They also wrote a letter to the school to apologise and accepting full liability. That's the way to keep painters and decorators on-side!

Hope it goes as well for you.

What do you reckon Hammy?

I have a kitchen painted in F&B ball green eggshell. Half was sprayed(?) on by the manufacturer and the other half I did myself with a roller and brush. After three years it's standing up well to having tins and jars dragged off shelves. Only one spot has worn on the fridge.

Since posting the above I've had a look ar the bit that's worn on our fridge. It's behind a door handle so I'd assumed it was caused by one of us opening the door with cutlery in our hands or something.

On closer inspection the paint in that area has a slightly soft latex feel to it rather than the harder finish it has elsewhere.  

that is exactly the problem we are having at the refurb we are doing... paintwork is taking an age to dry enough to de-nib ready for glossing etc... its being a nightmare.....

I've been decorating for 16 years & have met one decorator that likes to use it, because he doesn't like the smell of oil based paints...