Paint: September 2007 Archives
I am a decorative painter, but, once up on a time, I was simply a "house painter" or better yet, a "Fine home painter" (thus indicating the fact that I worked almost exclusively on fine homes). Today the market can't afford to hire me, which is fine because I seem to excel at the fancy stuff, but I miss the days of a finely painted walls and woodwork. There's something to be said about clean lines with nice colors, and distinctive sheens.
But most people don't really care. And why should they? Paint is paint, right? Well, no actually. There are a lot of qualities of paint available, and most people have only every used, or seen, the cheap stuff. They shutter at the idea of spending $35.00 for a gallon of paint. But there is a whole other world of home paint sitting out there, just waiting to be had for those willing to try it.
Years ago I was introduced to Fine Paints of Europe (FPE) and Schreuder "coatings", which they imported from Holland. At the time it was probably the best house paint available in the United States. There was simply no comparison to what could be had domestically. None. Schreuder is no longe available, but FPE now imports Wijzonol which is now probably the best house paint in the country. But it comes with a price... over $100.00 per gallon.
FPE's product line is over-priced, but it is extraordinary, and it last's a long long time. Since I've discovered their paint it's about all that I use for myself. But it's still WAY expensive.
As the government is turning traditional coatings into a toxic product(s), there have been some interesting improvements in paint. Domestic paint companies, have had to improve their products, with $60.00 per gallon paint becoming more usual.
One domestic paint that shows a lot of promise is Benjamine Moore's Aura. I haven't seen it used yet, but the concept is good. It utilizes it's own dedicated pigments (rather than universal colorants), and is a completely new concept in the domestic market. So far they only have interior paint.
Another product which is fairly "new" to the US is Farrow & Ball (FB). Farrow and Ball is made in England in 132 colors (uh, colours), and several finishes. Thats it. No 9000 colors, no matching what you have, nope. just 132 fixed colors mixed in England, shipped to Canada, and then distributed to the US. OH, and they also have really cool wall paper that is made with the same paint they manufacture.
I was able to pick up some sample pots of their "bread and butter" line Estate Emulsion. So far I can only comment that it seems to be deliciously nice, and comparable to FPE's matt Obolux (now Eurolux ). No head to head test yet, sorry. But I can tell you this: one of the colors I tested is a deep red called, "rectory red". It is the first color where my children actually commented about how nice it looked. Not that they are experts, but my wife and I were surprised. At $65.00/gallon it's only a around $10.00 more than Aura, and a full $25.00 less then FPE's Eurolux. On the other hand, Farrow & Ball's oil paints, which may be the same quality as Fine paints of Europes, are also priced about the same, and are only available in the .75 litre size.
