Ah, the joy of painting! This is how I experienced paint recently. Specifically B&Q Value magnolia; B&Q Once Really Magnolia; Dulux Once Pure Brilliant White; B&Q One Coat Gloss Brilliant White.
Learn from my mistakes: do not buy the B&Q Value bucket (10 litres for £11) no matter how many walls you want to cover. We are moving soon, and as we had a racing car red kitchen; turquoise living room and deep purple hallway; I decided to buy this load of paint in the hope of a quicker sale and increaded value home – like they say to do on all the programs. Anyway, I actually started with the downstairs loo, which had been left as white plaster board by the previous owners, and to cover that – and I’ll mention again that it was WHITE – it took 4 coats of paint!!! IT took seven to cover the purple in the hall, so I soon gave up on that. Honestly, you may as well get a bucket of water and stir in a couple of magnolia flowers and you’d probably get the same effect. The paint was so watery and bubbly that it gave a really rough finish as well.
So, I went out and bought the B&Q Once in Really Magnolia. It was slightly paler, but doesn’t really notice where I changed paint. It still took 2 coats, but that isn’t really surprising over deep purple, and that was a god-send after the paint before. The disadvantage to the thicker paint is it takes twice as long to clean out the roller and the tray when you’ve finished.
So then, it was the bannister. I started with Dulux Once gloss, but it was taking three coats to cover grey, so I wasn’t very impressed with that. As the B&Q Once for walls had been good, I changed to the B&Q One Coat gloss. But not only does it also take 3 coats, it’s so runny it drips all over the place, unlike what it says on the tin. I’m so disappointed with it actually, I’m going to take it back tomorrow and get my money back. It’s just so frustrating – especially as you’ve got to wait 16 hours between coats – this hallway is taking me forever!
So, to sum up; the B&Q Once emulsion is the only paint I’d recommend. I’ll update if I find a better gloss for the woodwork.
