Dulux paint pod

Furn462

I'm in the middle of a house renovation project and am about to start painting a bedroom. I'll eventually need to paint every room of the house and am looking for ways to minimise the job!

I've seen the Dulux paint pod in B&Q and wondered whether they're any good. As an idea they look great - continuous paint and self-cleaning. Anybody had experience of these to know whether they're as good as they're cracked up to be?

spadoosh

Most on here will say dont be lazy pay £3 and do a proper job.

The benefits

Does save a bit of time.
Good quality paint.

Drawbacks

Not really self cleaning, you will still need to make sure its thoroughly clean
Limited to colours
The continuous paint side of it, what if its not the consistency you want (painting textures, plaster etc etc)
It costs £50 -60
Paint is more expensive than the normal stuff.

ormus

ive never used one but a mate has one. he says the time saved is wasted when you have to clean it.

pinkteapot

Presumably it's just for rollering - you still have to paint round the edges carefully with a brush as normal (?).

The only time it would appear to save would be:

1) Pouring paint from the tin into a roller tray
2) Refilling your roller from the tray every minute or so while painting

Given the total time spent decorating a room (prepping, cutting in around the edges, rollering, cleaning up), the above is a tiny percentage of the time. I'm in the process of repainting every room in our 4-bed house and haven't felt the urge to get a Paint Pod.

As others have said, paint costs more and you're very limited in your choice of colours too. I've always been a big Dulux paint fan but for several rooms this time round I've found I've preferred Crown colours.

I'm lazy with cleaning up. I use roller tray inserts - thin plastic disposable inserts that you can throw away after use. I also don't wash roller heads. I cling-film them to keep them wet so I can use them for a couple of days and just bin them when I'm done with a room/colour. It's not worth buying the cheapest roller heads as the fluff comes off while you're painting, but I get mid-range ones at about £2 each in a multi-pack. Even binning those used around the house I'll spend less £££ than I would have on a PaintPod.

The only thing I clean is brushes and with emulsion that's easily done under a tap.

nickj_2

if paint pods were that brilliant all painters would be using them - invest in a decent roller and sleeves and tray - hamilton are very good and you will have finished the room by the time you've worked out how to switch the paint pod on - they are a gadget that didn't need inventing apart from making gulible people feel they need one

Furn462

General consensus appears to be that they're a waste of money! I must admit I was concerned by the limited range of colours available, but thought the "no cleaning" (which is obviously false) might make it worthwhile.

I'll stick with the roller and tray method! Roller tray inserts sound like a god send - can't say I've ever seen them before but will definitely keep an eye out now.

pinkteapot

Furn462 wrote: »

I'll stick with the roller and tray method! Roller tray inserts sound like a god send - can't say I've ever seen them before but will definitely keep an eye out now.

I got mine from B&Q. They're not hugely money saving to be honest. I think the tray itself was £2 and the tray inserts £1 each or something. But it saves a few quid. Both tray and inserts were the Harris brand.

There probably are cheaper places than B&Q to buy them.

One thing it's worth spending more on is the roller handle. Mine was again from B&Q. It's an extending one so you can do floor to ceiling without bending down or needing a stepladder, and has a soft rubbery handle which is comfier to use for long periods than a hard wooden or plastic one.

System

qvc had a version of it but you can use any water based paint and you dont have to water it down, it has a lot of attachments so you can cut in .

ormus

given an empty room and a roller with a pole, i can paint it pretty quickly.
one coat, under an hour for a small/medium sized room.

susiecm3

Well in the last 3 weekends I have done my hall and landing (big job needing scaffolding) kitchen, living room and bathroom all using paint pod compact and I loved it, no going up and down ladders, does take 2 coats but covers fine, not great on ceilings so done this with normal roller, b&q also mix any colours you want

pimento

I really recommend paint pads. Less mess than a roller and you can take them right up to a corner or a ceiling without going over. You can get away with one coat most of the time.

Easy to clean too.