Advice on which white paint to get (please)

proformance

Hi guys,

We're redecorating every room in the flat ourselves, but have no prior experience choosing paint before.

We want to go with an all-white option for our:
- walls
- ceilings
- skirting boards (woodwork)
- shelves (woodwork)

My questions:
1) Can anyone suggest a premium(ish) paint option for the above surfaces? Do we need different paint types per surface?
1) Would a matt white paint finish be a safe option - for the walls and ceiling? (I seldom see rooms finished in gloss anymore)
2) Any other tips?

PS. Most of the rooms have reasonable-to-good natural light

Many thanks,
Z

daveyjp

Trade emulsion for ceilings and first wall coat if you are covering a darker colour.
Matt emulsion for walls.
Water or oil based eggshell for woodwork.  Water dries quicker, easier to clean brushes etc, oil based takes longer to dry, but is more hardwearing.

Buy from trade oulets, not DIY sheds.  You will get better quality paint.

Decent brushes and an angled cutting in brush is well worth it.

Belenus

Do you really want every surface to be white? It could look very stark and clinical. Consider some coloured walls. Perhaps have a feature wall in a colour in some rooms with the other three walls in white.

You need different paints for different surfaces. Matt White will be fine for the plastered walls and ceilings but not for the woodwork where you need a paint for metal and wood surfaces. You may also need a primer or undercoat for the woodwork depending on current condition.

We had our house professionally decorated a few years ago.

We used Dulux Diamond Matt for the walls (pastel colours) and kitchen and bathroom ceilings (white) as it is easy to clean off marks. We used Dulux White Matt for the ceilings in non bathroom and kitchen rooms. We used Dulux White Satin for all woodwork.

Each room has a different pastel colour for the walls. None of our walls are white.

Good preparation is essential for a good result. Don't skimp on preparing the surfaces.

Belenus

Don't underestimate the amount of work required to do a good job. Here is the Work Procedure our decorator provided. He did a first class job.

Work procedure

Pre painted surfaces

Walls and ceilings-

• Surfaces hand and machine sanded. Machine sander is connected to a vacuum to reduce dust spread.

• Stress cracks (generally found above doors and windows) taped then 2 coats filler

• Other imperfections filled then sanded smooth

• Filler spot primed

• All corners caulked

• Paint applied with de-nib and second fill between coats

Wood work-

• Surfaces hand and machine sanded

• Damaged areas repaired using 2 pack filler

• Corners caulked

• 1 coat primer/undercoat

• 180g Sand till smooth

• Paint applied with de-nib between coats

Generally wood work is completed first which is then masked off then ceilings and walls completed. This creates perfect lines between wood work and walls.

Flooring and furniture will be protected on entry, floors vacuumed on completion.

proformance

Belenus said:

Do you really want every surface to be white? It could look very stark and clinical. Consider some coloured walls. Perhaps have a feature wall in a colour in some rooms with the other three walls in white.

You need different paints for different surfaces. Matt White will be fine for the plastered walls and ceilings but not for the woodwork where you need a paint for metal and wood surfaces. You may also need a primer or undercoat for the woodwork depending on current condition.

We had our house professionally decorated a few years ago.

We used Dulux Diamond Matt for the walls (pastel colours) and kitchen and bathroom ceilings (white) as it is easy to clean off marks. We used Dulux White Matt for the ceilings in non bathroom and kitchen rooms. We used Dulux White Satin for all woodwork.

Each room has a different pastel colour for the walls. None of our walls are white.

Good preparation is essential for a good result. Don't skimp on preparing the surfaces.

I too have been recommended the Dulux Trade Diamond White Matt Emulsion, but after a spot rest felt it might be too bright for some of the rooms in the property.

I then turned my attention to F&B Strong White and Little Green Loft White - both of which are matt emulsions and both of which have hints of grey to offset slightly. 

Are there any other suggestions for similar white shades that aren't quite "brilliant"? 

PS There are already feature walls, which we'll be leaving as they are (for now) until we've had more time to plan an alternative scheme. But we wanted to get the rest of the property freshened up for now 

proformance

Belenus said:

Don't underestimate the amount of work required to do a good job. Here is the Work Procedure our decorator provided. He did a first class job.

Work procedure

Pre painted surfaces

Walls and ceilings-

• Surfaces hand and machine sanded. Machine sander is connected to a vacuum to reduce dust spread.

• Stress cracks (generally found above doors and windows) taped then 2 coats filler

• Other imperfections filled then sanded smooth

• Filler spot primed

• All corners caulked

• Paint applied with de-nib and second fill between coats

Wood work-

• Surfaces hand and machine sanded

• Damaged areas repaired using 2 pack filler

• Corners caulked

• 1 coat primer/undercoat

• 180g Sand till smooth

• Paint applied with de-nib between coats

Generally wood work is completed first which is then masked off then ceilings and walls completed. This creates perfect lines between wood work and walls.

Flooring and furniture will be protected on entry, floors vacuumed on completion.

This is such a useful post!

Whichever tradesman I go with, I will lay this guide on them as a checklist to show I know what I'm talking about !

However what does "de-nib" between coats mean? 

Belenus

To denib is to remove bumps and imperfections before the final finish.

Link.

proformance

Can anyone confirm if
- diamond white (brilliant white aka neutral white) will look "too" bright in a typical apartment and does it depend on the natural light available? I.e. I heard that you should opt for a more "brilliant white" in rooms with abundant natural light and a more tinted (yellow-tinted) white for rooms with less natural light. Anyone got an opinion on this? 

- for white painted walls/ceilings, is it advisable to opt for a "cheaper" paint for the undercoats?

Many thanks

Z

MovingForwards

Can't comment of the first question.

Second question - I got a huge tub of trade white and used it on the walls / ceilings.  My windows are about 2ft from the floor and a few inches from the ceiling, therefore plenty of natural light, even in the darkest Scottish winter days. 

daveyjp

proformance said:

Can anyone confirm if
- diamond white (brilliant white aka neutral white) will look "too" bright in a typical apartment and does it depend on the natural light available? I.e. I heard that you should opt for a more "brilliant white" in rooms with abundant natural light and a more tinted (yellow-tinted) white for rooms with less natural light. Anyone got an opinion on this? 

- for white painted walls/ceilings, is it advisable to opt for a "cheaper" paint for the undercoats?

Many thanks

Z

I painted a room white last year.  You need to get a few paint sampler pots, paint squares next to each other and see which one you prefer, rather than rely on what you have read.

Indigo_and_Violet

proformance said:

I too have been recommended the Dulux Trade Diamond White Matt Emulsion, but after a spot rest felt it might be too bright for some of the rooms in the property.

I then turned my attention to F&B Strong White and Little Green Loft White - both of which are matt emulsions and both of which have hints of grey to offset slightly. 

Personally I'm not a big fan of pure white as a top coat, to me it ends up feeling like you live in a hospital. 
If it's only a temporary fix (you mention thinking about feature walls later) I don't think its worth paying for F&B given the wide range of other off-white options. 
Reading through this thread it sounds like we might have made a poor decision, but we've just redone our with 2x Homebase brilliant white and 1xHomebase Tough and Durable in White Sands. We noticed some brands offering 10l in grey and cream and thought about going with them but they were a little bit darker than we wanted.