Farrow and Ball Paint
Author
Discussion

RGG

Original Poster:

1,017 posts

39 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
2 Questions, Farrowers -

1)Are there any non Farrow' undercoats that can be successfully used for the emulsion and also eggshell paints?

2) Is Brewers a "go to" place to get equivalent shades mixed and if so what brand paint?
Or any alternatives ?

It's the shade options I like - and don't mind using F&B but would consider alternatives.

Thanks


Sport_Turismo_GTS

3,431 posts

51 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
RGG said:
2 Questions, Farrowers -

1)Are there any non Farrow' undercoats that can be successfully used for the emulsion and also eggshell paints?

2) Is Brewers a "go to" place to get equivalent shades mixed and if so what brand paint?
Or any alternatives ?

It's the shade options I like - and don't mind using F&B but would consider alternatives.

Thanks
We had Brewers mix up a number of ‘Little Green’ shades for us - I think there is something about their paint that makes it a bit ‘eco-friendly’.

Furbo

3,252 posts

54 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
RGG said:
2 Questions, Farrowers -

1)Are there any non Farrow' undercoats that can be successfully used for the emulsion and also eggshell paints?

2) Is Brewers a "go to" place to get equivalent shades mixed and if so what brand paint?
Or any alternatives ?

It's the shade options I like - and don't mind using F&B but would consider alternatives.

Thanks
Haven't used genuine F&B for years. If we want that look we get it mixed by Johnstones.

markymarkthree

3,342 posts

193 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
Little Greene all day long over FB.

ChrisNic

646 posts

168 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
Furbo said:
Haven't used genuine F&B for years. If we want that look we get it mixed by Johnstones.
Echo this, nice paint that is easy to work with for good results.

Escort3500

13,150 posts

167 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
ChrisNic said:
Furbo said:
Haven't used genuine F&B for years. If we want that look we get it mixed by Johnstones.
Echo this, nice paint that is easy to work with for good results.
Us too. We found the durability of F&B increasingly poor and pricing has got stupid.

Mr Whippy

32,161 posts

263 months

Monday 19th January
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Just avoid Johnstones trade centres with their RRP/made up pricing.

“Ooo that seems steep”

“I’ll see what I can do”

Magically £20 cheaper or whatever.

Ffs just charge me the same price as everyone else you scamming turds!

Slagathore

6,180 posts

214 months

Tuesday 20th January
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Mr Whippy said:
Just avoid Johnstones trade centres with their RRP/made up pricing.

Ooo that seems steep

I ll see what I can do

Magically £20 cheaper or whatever.

Ffs just charge me the same price as everyone else you scamming turds!
I was just about to recommend Johnstones because they are the only place I found that will match online prices hehe Always worth ringing ahead to double check.

I was going to say to OP - avoid Brewers because they are significantly more expensive than the online places.

If you know what colour you want, loads of places online are soo much cheaper. I have occasionally needed paint on the same day and had to go to Brewers and it's like £20 a tub more sometimes.

DaveyBoyWonder

3,513 posts

196 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
Crown Decorating Centre I think it was mixed us some F&B paint colours. Said they do it all the time and it was off the top of my head, about half price and we've had zero complaints with it. What I'd never do again is use the F&B "chalky" paint (or at least not in a house with kids, dogs etc).

PhilboSE

5,740 posts

248 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
RGG said:
2 Questions, Farrowers -

1)Are there any non Farrow' undercoats that can be successfully used for the emulsion and also eggshell paints?

2) Is Brewers a "go to" place to get equivalent shades mixed and if so what brand paint?
Or any alternatives ?

It's the shade options I like - and don't mind using F&B but would consider alternatives.

Thanks
1) I can’t believe you need to use an F&B undercoat - I’ve put genuine f&b finish on top of <whatever> and it’s come out fine.

2) any decorating centre will be able to put an f&b colour onto their base - crown, Johnstone’s, dulux, whatever.

If you’ve not used f&b before then be aware that particularly their Estate emulsion has a particular finish often described as “chalky” which ends up looking & feeling different to other paints. It’s not terribly durable and as a paint it’s slightly odd to work with (looks very patchy with the first coat(s).

Simpo Two

91,072 posts

287 months

Tuesday 20th January
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Sport_Turismo_GTS said:
We had Brewers mix up a number of Little Green shades for us - I think there is something about their paint that makes it a bit eco-friendly .
Put on another coat, I can feel the climate returning to average just thinking about it.

Sorry, in cynical mood this morning!

Harpoon

2,399 posts

236 months

Tuesday 20th January
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We've had Crown Trade Clean Extreme mixed to F&B shades from Brewers, Paintwell (now part of Brewers) and most recently The Paint Shed.

Paint Shed were cheapest with free delivery over £50 which is easily covered at £55 for a 5l tin

https://www.thepaintshed.com/crown-clean-extreme-m...

usn90

1,966 posts

92 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
We recently decorated our bedroom and dining room, we used genuine F+B in the bedroom, first time using it.

For the dining room we wanted the same colour but I didn’t fancy paying another £300 for paint on what is a room which will be getting altered in the near future, anyway we got B&Q to colour match and although it is pretty close, the colour isn’t quite as “rich” and I can tell a difference, although I don’t think the difference is worth the extra cost, plus I’ve found the F+B marks pretty easy

Hobo

6,362 posts

268 months

Tuesday 20th January
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We recently decorated our entire house in F&B, and honestly think its a very good paint, although does have some downsides.

We used 'Estate' in a few rooms as wanted the flat look, and no reflection/shine, for such as the cinema room, however it does mark so easily and cannot be simply touched up, so think carefully where you use such finish, as although it is great, it its likely to get finger marks on it just stay away.

The Modern Emulsion is far more durable.

POIDH

2,762 posts

87 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
+1 on head to a good trade place and ask them to mix up a colour from a brand/range they recommend.

IMO, F&B were ahead of many fashion trends in colour and 'flat' finishes. However, other paints are higher quality, more durable etc and can be mixed to similar levels of finish.

I have just painted two bedrooms in Johnstone's colour mixed and flat finish to F&B or Dulux Heritage colours. Next room is the heavily used kitchen diner, and the Paint Shed have suggested they can mix up Dulux Diamond Matt and it is marginally harder wearing that Johnstones and worth the premium in such a room.

PhilboSE

5,740 posts

248 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
Yes I use Diamond Matt in kitchens & hallways for the wipe ability etc.

Be aware though that a diamond Matt won’t come up identical to a normal emulsion in the same colour - for example on whites the diamond Matt comes up slightly creamier in colour.

Little Lofty

3,788 posts

173 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
Here is my collection of fake F&B. Everything from Strong White to Down Pipe
Johnstone do sample tins of any colour.





Cheib

25,011 posts

197 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
We had most of the house painted last year....decorator and a couple of others all said Little Greene is better paint than F&B. Apparently the latter is not as good as it was when it originally came out.

The best quality paint you can buy (that's what Brewers told me) that does Farrow and Ball colours is Benjamin Moore paint which is a U.S. brand. It's as expensive but miles better quality...some branches of Brewers do it, if your local one doesn't they can order it in. They do a paint called Scuff-X which is for high traffic areas...the guy that painted our kitchen (cabinets) used it which is where I found out about it. We ended up using on our staircase and front doors. You can feel the quality difference without a doubt against a door painted in "normal" paint. too expensive to use on big surfaces !

fourstardan

6,170 posts

166 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
PhilboSE said:
Yes I use Diamond Matt in kitchens & hallways for the wipe ability etc.

Be aware though that a diamond Matt won t come up identical to a normal emulsion in the same colour - for example on whites the diamond Matt comes up slightly creamier in colour.
Great stuff to work with.

andrewpandrew

2,134 posts

11 months

Wednesday 21st January
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Harpoon said:
We've had Crown Trade Clean Extreme mixed to F&B shades
Likewise, albeit from a Crown Decorator Centre, and very happy with the results. The finish is flat but very durable. It isn’t cheap, but it’s cheaper than real F&B.