Farrow & Ball over cheaper paint?

[Ruibies]

Hi all, we are about to move into our first home and we’re thinking about decorating. I wondered if anyone has colour matched F&B in something a bit cheaper like Valspar for a couple of coats, then finished with an F&B topcoat? We like the look of F&B finish but I don’t think we can justify the cost of painting the whole house in it. So, if a topcoat works and looks good we might go for that, otherwise will probably just settle for something more affordable. Thanks!

[TorkTorkBam]

I got dulux colour matched to Little Greene. It looks brilliant. The decorator recommended we do this. He said those posh paints go on badly and look crap quickly. Ours has lasted great and looked good from the start.

I had one wall that I did myself in a posh paint super matt. It looked great until it got a mark on it and I tried to wash it off. That got overcoated in dulux. I didn't notice much of a difference.

[Ruibies]

Thanks @TorkTorkBam - did you put farrow and ball over the dulux then, or just used the colour matched paint on its own? I have heard good things about just using colour matched paint!

[TorkTorkBam]

Colour matched only. None of the F&B at all.

[Franticbutterfly]

Farrow and ball goes on bare plaster better than it goes over other paint. So if you've had your walls skimmed it would be better to use all f&b.

[Bleepbloopblarp]

I used farrow and ball for years before being converted to colour matched valspar - it’s brilliant! I’ve used both the eggshell and satin on our front door/garage door and on areas like the vanity sink unit in our bathroom and the kitchen island unit (So high usage areas) and it’s lasted for years now (about 3-4). The colours are identical too as I always buy a f&b tester pot to match it against and check. I’d highly recommend - you save loads too.

[Letmedowneasy]

How do you match the paint? Can you go ton bandq valspar with the farrow and ball couloir chart and do it from there?

[Bleepbloopblarp]

Yes they match it from the colour chart.

[SNDDecorating]

So I could write an essay on the pros and cons of Farrow and Ball paints, but i will try my best to keep it short.

Using branded F&B as a topcoat is a bit of a fallacy because one of the pros of farrow and ball is the depth of colour the paint gives, which takes their primer then 2 legit top coats to get fully right, and while it does look very good, it's expensive and most of the time you don't get one of the benefits which is the anti-Metamerism, which means the paint looks the same under many lighting conditions.

There are many paints that are better and cheaper than F&B, it certainly has it's place but honestly, if you are doing your whole house i would advise against it. I can't say i have used the Valspar paints to any huge degree, but have heard many good things about their v700 paint. you can also get F&B matched in Jonstones and they are quite good matches.

If i was doing the job for you i would suggest either Amphibolin if you wanted a really hard wearing finish but didnt mind a slight sheen or indeko plus if you wanted a more matt finish. And i wouldn't worry about the match being 100%, by the time youre in and living you wont notice that its a half shade bluer than the actual stuff.

And other help you need about anything painting related feel free to message me

[Franticbutterfly]

@snddecorating Why would anyone want their paint to look the same under all different lights? The attraction for me when using F&B is that it seems to change colour depending on light/time or day or year.

[GrimDamnFanjo]

Thanks that's really useful info.

[Hollyhead]

I always get it colour matched at the decorating centre online to the best trade paint I've ever used - leyland.

It glides on, and you can't tell the difference.

[MissSueFlay]

We were persuaded to go with Dulux Heritage over F&B by our decorator. We didn't color match but their range is very similar to F&B's.

[silentpool]

I painted furniture in F&B's modern eggshell paint (I think it is meant for floors and interior wood) and not only is it incredibly forgiving for a shit painter but it has held up very well.

[Ruibies]

Thank you everyone some really useful info here! I had hoped that painting f&b on top of other paint would be enough to give the depth of colour f&b is famous for, but if it’s not going to work due to needing to be built up through its own layers then I don’t think I will bother. Especially as colour matching seems to be getting very good reviews, at a fraction of the cost! Trip to b&q is on the cards for later today so thanks for everyone’s help!

[SNDDecorating]

@Franticbutterfly not to go too far off topic but maybe if you have a very specific decor and want things to match in any condition, or say a large long room it may look different one end to the other, had the situation where we used the same colour and same paint in two rooms, one east facing one west and had a slight falling out with a customer that they were, infact, the same colour.

On another point, I went to Farrow and Balls factory for a tour/decorator's day, and they said there that the colours DO NOT change under differing lighting conditions, but while decorating a Farrow and Ball showroom I heard the staff say that they DO change. I'll stick with what i was told at the showroom and seen myself.

[GemmeFatale]

I think a lot depends on how you’re using your home. If you’re a professional couple who don’t have or plan to have kids, pets or parties buy the farrow and ball if you really want to.

Me. I’ve got a one year old and a dog. I occasionally slosh wine about and I like to host without worrying what guests touch. I use the dulux scrubbable matt stuff. Which admittedly is an arse to paint with but once it’s on it’s bombproof

[nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut]

If you buy Valspar, spring for the V700. V500 is absolute crap. You end up using more of it for the same result, false economy.

[CambsAlways]

Wouldn’t use any other paint farrow n ball every time,

[kerkyra]

I bought my farrow and ball paint from Homebase on offer,three for two.

Two coats and there is great depth.I left some pics on their website after using the colour 'old white' as I was so pleased.

I suppose it depends on the size of your house and how much paint you need.

[CambsAlways]

Im in love with cornforth white it’s a subtle grey beautiful

[Fluffycloudland77]

I have f&b in the kitchen and lounge, still look amazing 7 years later.

The hall way, stairs, landing is Johnstone’s trade colour matched to white tie and its ok.

[TiddleTaddleTat]

I prefer little greene.
Don't like the chalkiness of farrow and ball.
Tried Valspar and found it very plasticky.