Is Johnstones paint good?

NibblyPig

Need to paint a room and in my old house I used Wilkos own paint which looked alright to me. It did get some marks on it though and when I tried to gently remove them it seemed to remove the paint too.

The other problem I had was when I wanted to touch up the walls most of the paint colours weren't available anymore.

I was going to just buy some tins of Dulux instead but they are quite expensive. Then I read online that Johnstones is recommended. It looks like they have a bajillion shades because I used their colour tool where you upload a photo and clicking on pixels tells you what colour they are and there's a seemingly infinite number of shades - so I guess they mix it?

I tried to phone them (there's a Johnstones decorating centre near me) to ask how it works, but I couldn't get through... I don't even know if they offer tester pots so I can try a few colours.

I wonder if anyone knows if their paint is any good and if they mix their paints in store or do you have to order online if you want a specific shade or give them like 24 hours notice or something? Or how it compares to Dulux although I don't know how I'd get the shade I wanted from Dulux unless I hunted online...

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

FreeBear

A decorating centre will (generally) mix a colour to what ever you want, even if it isn't one of their standard choices - They have a machine that adds the colour(s) to a tin of white and gives it a real good mix. For small quantities of a tin or three, they will do this while you wait.

If you want a tester pot, they can often mix one on "demand", but due to tolerances in measuring out the colours, the finished result may vary from one tin to the next.

Norman_Castle

Most matt emulsion will wash off when cleaned. Johnstones paint is good.

Paint colours are identified by number, names are secondary and arbitrary. Johnstones Ming Blue is Duck Egg elsewhere, same colour.

If the colour you want is common they will have it on the shelf if not they will mix it in store.

The decorating centres are good but aimed at trade customers. Theres one near me which I would probably use more often if prices were available online.

Jeepers_Creepers

'Vinyl' matt is more durable.

Grenage

I've only use the Johnstoned Aqua satin, but that was excellent.

Rosa_Damascena

Johnsons is fine but I would stick with matt unless your walls are in perfect condition. Satin looks lovely but will highlight every imperfection.

twopenny

I've used johnsons paint and its been fine. But I don't use fancy colours because they darken or lighten whichever brand unless it's a standard neutral colour.
And yes they do some colours in tester pots. I use them for all sorts of odd jobs.

phoebe1989seb

We've used their matt emulsion and eggshell a couple of times. The emulsion (Seashell and China Clay) was fine but I wouldn't recommend the eggshell which needed so many coats I almost gave up the will to live, lol! I'll stick with LG and F&B for painting joinery 😉

greyteam1959

I have used lots of Johnson's paint.
Emulsion, gloss & undercoat.
All good paints.
Strangely enough Argos have the best price for miles around.

NibblyPig

Thanks everyone, I got some tester pots and a big tub of white. They were really friendly and helpful.

casper_gutman

Jeepers_Creepers said:

'Vinyl' matt is more durable.

Depends what you mean by durable. Vinyl matt is more hard-wearing, but based on my experience of other dodgy decorating in rented properties I'd say it's more prone to peeling/flaking off if it isn't well adhered or it gets a bit of damp behind it.

Contract emulsion usually doesn't contain vinyl so doesn't form an impermeable skin that traps damp. Instead it allows water vapor through the coating without it lifting the paint.

I'd use non-vinyl paint for preference on ceilings, where it doesn't need to be wear-resistant, and I'd especially want to use it in a period property with solid walls, where the paint might have to deal with a bit of moisture coming at it from behind.