is cheap value paint a waste of money?

happenstance

Hi,

I'm redecorating my whole house, did one room in dulux paint but ended up costing 120 quid. So now switched to BBQ value paint, I'm only doing white and magnolia. Is this a false economy? Can't seam to see much difference so far

alanobrien

Some cheap paint gives very poor coverage and can be quite thin so in my view yes it can be a false economy especially if you factor in the time taken to do the work. There are however some pretty good low cost paints out there. i find wickes own to be quite good and i have used that indoors. For outside with surfaces exposed to weather i always use a good quality paint whether i diy it or have someone else do the work.

CrazyRed

When we first moved into this house 3 1/2 years ago, finances were exceptionally tight and we had 'just' £140 to decorate a three-bedroomed house which necessitated using the value range of paints.

From experience, we found that the Homebase own value ranges of white and magnolia were fantastic - coverage was reasonable (OK, it needed a good 2, sometimes 3 on the high traffic areas, coats) but it has lasted since we moved in in October 2010 until now - 2 adults, 2 kids and two mad mutts.

I also paid out for Asda's own brand paint and wished I hadn't, likewise the B&Q value range - both paints were really, really thin and coverage was very poor indeed.

HTH

nikki2804

I used B&Q colours paint in electric, it was horrible to work with, dried horribly etc but my mum used the colours magnolia and it was fine. I think its hit and miss and according to B&Q there is a specific way to use it.

Personally I always use Dulux, I feel its a better finish but its personal preference. Homebase house of colour used to be ok if I remember correctly.

cattie

I tend to only use the 2 main brands, Dulux & Crown.

On the very seldom occasions I've given cheapie paints a try I've been disappointed with the results. I think it's a bit like everything in life, you gets what you paid for.

Often the branded paints are on special offer, so don't usually work out much more than an own brand/non brand & sometimes even cheaper.

nickj_2

if cheap paints were any good , painters would use them, i don't , and any decent painter wouldn't , that's not to say some diy shed own brands aren't worth looking at ,

Doozergirl

Agree with everyone else, but £120 is a lot of branded paint for one room. Seek out all the special offers and buy the biggest tins you can.

Are the walls freshly plastered? What method are you following?

Doozergirl

Agree with everyone else, but £120 is a lot of branded paint for one room in white and mag. Seek out all the special offers and buy the biggest tins you can.

Are the walls freshly plastered? What method are you following?

Owain_Moneysaver

I've found Asda Cheapy Mag to be not much different from Wickes, certainly not different enough to be worth the difference in price £8 vs £28

phill99

Try and find a trade supplier. We use Macphersons paints. Macphersons are the trade arm of Crown so you get the full range of Crown colours with Ztrade quality but at a better price.

adandem

You can get fairly large tubs of Dulux white for a very good price.
We did our house by giving all the walls a base of white before applying the colour.
You can also mix your own colour by buying dyes but you need to make sure you make enough because you probably won't made the same shade twice.