F&ball question

[anotherBadAvatar]

Never used f&b paint before and I've heard it can be difficult to work with.
I love love love stiffkey blue and want to do half our kitchen in it. Does it need 1 or 2 coats? Should I just get a dulux equivalent if I'm planning on doing the painting myself?

Take the colour chart to b&q and get them to mix the colour in valspar paint. Unless you're desperate for the f&b specific texture/finish of course. It's a complete pita to paint with and will need at least 2 coats

Definitely valspar colour mix

I have painted our lounge recently in F&B. Walls were cream and painted them a dark colour. Also F&B on woodwork. It is absolutely perfectly fine to work with. It took 2 coats (which is the exact same as Dulux) and I had no problems. I reckon if you love sticky blue use F&B and don't mess around with matching it.

Cacofonix I like the idea of sticky blue! Not heard of Valspar by dulux, will google. Thanks

Little Greene have a very similar finish and colour selection and are much easier to paint with in my opinion.

I've used F&B and no issues. Ime, dark colours can be patchy - whatever paint you use - and need more than a couple of coats. This tends to be worse with any red-based colour though.

I find f&b expensive and not great in terms of coverage. If you are after that ultra matt, slightly chalky finish I would go for a chalk or clay paint.

A lot of people rave about Annie Sloan (although I've never used it) and a friend recommended earthborn. He said the coverage was amazing and the finish very matt. Plus no paint smell and cheaper than f&b.

My painter loves F&B paint, reckons is his favourite to work with. You do have to prepare woodwork properly though & use the correct primer. 2 coats will give excellent coverage. Other paint (dulux) mixed to a f&b colour will only be approximate. I found this out the hard way when trying to find a cheaper alternative.

Dulux don't make Valspar. They are two different brands. Homebase offer Dulux colour mixing and B&Q do Valspar.

I painted a sample of Stiffkey and found the coverage dreadful. Admittedly it was going onto a white wall but it needed three coats to be opaque. F&B will tell you that you need to use their 'dark tone' undercoat.

Also consider where in the kitchen it needs to go - even the modern emulsion is not scrubbable. Little Greene intelligent matt is scrubbable, however - have a look at Hick's Blue.

If it's for kitchen cabinets you need something really hard wearing. Little Greene still do an oil based eggshell which f&b do not. I think it's far superior having used both

Sorry- I meant half my kitchen walls (not cabinets). Just wondered if it's coverage is good enough for a high use-toddler-and-dog area, or whether I'd be looking at my uneven brush strokes for all eternity!

If it's a high-use toddler and dog area then you need something tough and scrubbable. Not F&B!

Don't go to b&q, valspar is shit paint. Go to a crown decorator centre, and get them to colour match the paint (pay for a f&b tester and paint on to a piece of paper)
Ask for them to make it up with clean extreme paint (pricey, but nowhere near f&b prices). It's a godsend. Washable, can wipe anything off it.
I went to b&q and found a valspar colour I loved, got it colour matched at a crown centre yesterday. The difference in the two paints is honestly remarkable. The Crown paint (watered down for a first coat over fresh plaster) has completely covered. Well worth it.

We have painted all the rooms in our house with Johnstone's trade paint mixed to farrow and ball colours. I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

Another recommendation for Crown Decorator Centre - they were excellent when we last bought paint, really great customer service