What am I doing wrong?

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Help!

First and definitely if things don't improve the last time I use F&B paint.
First coat has huge patches. Some parts of my walls won't paint with the roller I have to gloop paint on with a paint brush then gently use a small headed roller to match the finish. 3 coats and I am getting some where near an even finish. 4 th coat definitely needed to finish it off. Hopefully.

I love the colour, Aconite but think the next time I will get a colour matched paint mixed for me from B &Q.

It sounds like a problem with your wall not the paint. Might it be damp where the patches don't paint properly?

No definitely not damp. These are internal walls and the patches are random. Some time a streak some times a big blotch. 4 coats seems to cover it just.

Never again

Did you sugar soap the walls first?

I have never sugars soaped any walls before ever and I have painted not only this room but the whole of the house and several dozen other houses and flats over the years. The rest of the house has been done like every other time it has been painted with Dulux, this is the first time I have used anything but Dulux.
I was painting till 3am this morning doing 4 coats. I will go and look to see the results in the cold light of day later.

It's not going to help you now, but this time of year is a terrible one for painting because the light is very poor and you can't properly see what you are doing. When I used F&B I found the coverage much better than other paint.

I've never used a roller with F&B paint, I think it's a bit too thick for a roller to work evenly.

I don't like f&b paints for this reason - difficult to work with and poor finish/durability ime. Therefore i dont have tons of experience with them but can offer a suggestion. Is it a dark colour? What was on the wall previously and what did you do to prep it? They really push their primers and undercoats and I think the dodgy finish is part of the reason. They are also somewhat variable by batch (as you will now get piles of posters coming on to say I painted the drawing room in insipid aubergine and it was fine). No need to give up on premium paints though if tou like the depth of colour and the traditional finish. Sanderson, mylands and Little Greene are all very good. LG is my favourite and I don't use much else in my own houses.

I've never used a roller with F&B paint, I think it's a bit too thick for a roller to work evenly

Too Thick, this is one of the sloppiest paints I have used.

I was going from a magnolia to ammonite which is a pale grey.

I have one more room to do in this colour, I will buy one of their under coats and see how that turns out.

Not what I was wanting to do a few days before Christmas.

Ive only ever used a very light colour f&b but it's so thin I can't see
How you could get a decent cover in a darker colour

I'm with you op

French Grey Mid by Little Greene or Dusted Moss 2 by Dulux are both close matches for ammonite Get the Dulux mixed up in the flat matt (3% sheen) it is actually less sheeny than the modern emulsion by FB or whatever they call it, which is 5%. Their estate emulsion is 2%. Little greene ultimatt is 3% and bombproof compared to FB but more expensive. Theirtraditional formula is 2% and still muh better in terms of finish and durabililty than FB.

If you decide to persevere with FB, try a short nap roller if not already and lay off any excess with a 3" brush. Or do it all with a 3" for a better finish. DOn't get a value brush from B&Q, you need a brand like Harris or Picasso. Think the sheds sell Harris.

I have painted 2 rooms in F&B but never again. The colours are lovely but it was a bugger to paint. Oval room blue took 4 coats! Elephant's breath took 3 but kept flaking (apparently because I didn't wait long enough before coats - I mean seriously if I had to wait that long between coats with the number of coats it required it would have taken me forever).

I love the colours though, so next time I'm getting colour matched!

Oliversmummy - if you asked me 6 months ago I would have said the same about F&B. Dulux is a much easer paint to use and professional decorators hate F&B.

I have though learned by hard effort and now know how to use F&B. It helps if you mix it 90:10 paint:water and give it a really thorough mixing to make an emulsion. There is a lot of pigment in the bottom of the tin. Using a roller is easier if you dilute. It is far too thick to apply otherwise - even with a brush in my experience.

I have used artists paints a lot with natural earth dyes in and F&B is much the same as an artist paint. You have to work with it but the result is a depth of tone that you don't get with other paints.

The light tones are much easier to work with but the dark tones are stunningly good. I put two coats on. The first coat is the 90:10 mix as above but the second I use 80:20. If your walls are uneven the patchiness will be worse as your roller skims over the hollows and hits the peaks. Diluting and going in all directions really working the paint and not letting the roller get too dry is the best way for me.

I am currently sat in my office which is painted in a dark purple (Brassica) with an All White wall and ceiling above the picture rail and Wimborne White woodwork and a dark pine floor and modern furniture. It nearly killed me doing it. You cant rush. You have to work it and yes do clean the walls with sugar soap first.

I agree with others to use top quality brushes and rollers (with long nap). Its expensive paint and it needs good equipment. I actually use high quality artist brushes in some areas of fine work on skirting boards architraves and the like.

I have had F&B colour matched and the difference between colour matched and the real thing is huge. Its not the colour, its the depth of tone.

Don't rush. Let it dry. Inspect the walls in different light. I like to paint in flat white indirect daylight light not sunlight, not electric light.

Builder told me to use a cheap nearish colour then put F&B on top.

These walls are replastered walls that have been under coated so absolutely no bumps.

I have decided against using this in the other room I was going to do. I am sticking to Dulux Ultra White and going with a more Danish look than trying to use colour.