Dulux Weathershield problem

woolly1

Employed a local painting and decorating firm to paint the exterior of our 3 storey house. They used Dulux Weathershield, we chose a Dulux colour Indigo Shade. They did a great job and it looked fantastic … until a couple of days after it was finished and it rained! Rain has left streak marks in the paint all over building, even the side which had been finished and dry for nearly a week. Every time it rains it gets worse, you can see where rain has run down the building and it is leaving a residue which stains. Some of the runs have like an oily texture and remain tacky for while. Nearly 2 weeks later you can also rub the walls with a tissue and it comes away blue. As far as we can tell, painters did everything right, even did a stabilising coat over the walls which had previously been painted. It has affected all walls, previously painted brick, newly rendered and previously painted old render, so nothing to do with the surface it has gone on. Painters have taken it up with Dulux who have now tested some of the remaining paint and have said that there is no fault with it! They have also told them this sometimes happens with dark colours (surely that’s an admittance their dark paint is not fit for purpose?) Dulux market Weathershield as able to be rained on after 30 mins and fade resistant etc. No information saying that doesn’t apply to dark colours!

Painters are trying to sort it out with Dulux and they have told the painters that as a goodwill gesture they’ll supply paint to give the house one more coat, but they don’t at the moment appear willing to cover the entire additional labour costs. There’s no guarantee it won’t happen again either. There may also be additional scaffolding costs if time goes on too much (luckily the scaffolding hadn’t been taken down straight away or it would be a whole rescaffolding cost too, which was more than the cost of the painting!) Surely Dulux should be liable for all costs as though they claim there is no fault with the paint, you only have to look at our house to see that it’s not right.

Having googled it sounds to us like surfactant leaching, and have seen advice that it should not just be painted over as new paint may not stick properly and it could cause more leaching and make it worse. We’ve seen advice on the internet about removing paint and starting again, and other advice to wait 3 to 6 months to be sure that leaching has stopped and paint cured before repainting. Don’t know what to think. Just know that our newly painted house looks awful.

Concerned that if we accept another coat being painted in the near future that it may cause more problems and not resolve the streaking/leaching. Then where do we stand? 

We need to know what is the best way to resolve the issue, as if it needs to be left for months before repainting then in my opinion Dulux should have to pay for the scaffolding to be re-erected. (Scaffolding alone was over £3.5K)

Can anyone advise how we could get an independent assessment of the problem with the paint finish and advice on best way to fix it and also what our rights are with getting this resolved?

Sorry for long post! Thanks 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sorry if you said OP but who purchased the paint? You or the people who did the work? 

woolly1

The painters purchased the paint.

Aylesbury_Duck

In which case, your dispute is with the painters and in turn, it's their dispute with Dulux.  It sounds as if the painter has been doing the legwork with Dulux, which is good, but ultimately you need to set out what you expect from your painter.  If he can't/won't provide the resolution you want then you'll have to decide how far to take it, i.e. will you take him to small claims court for the cost of re-painting with a different product?

The painter should also know (or be looking into) how to get the paint independently tested, if that's the route he wants to go down.

SaverRate

Aylesbury_Duck said:

In which case, your dispute is with the painters and in turn, it's their dispute with Dulux.  It sounds as if the painter has been doing the legwork with Dulux, which is good, but ultimately you need to set out what you expect from your painter.  If he can't/won't provide the resolution you want then you'll have to decide how far to take it, i.e. will you take him to small claims court for the cost of re-painting with a different product?

The painter should also know (or be looking into) how to get the paint independently tested, if that's the route he wants to go down.

Did the OP specify Dulux Weathershield or was it recommended by the painter? 

woolly1

No we didn’t specify, Dulux was what the painters said they always use.

Aylesbury_Duck

It's pretty clear cut, then.  It's down to the painter to provide a resolution you're happy with, so I'd set out to him that you want the problems with the paint finish resolved.  I suspect that's going to require a re-paint with a different product, and he'll have to incur the labour and scaffolding costs.  Whether he can recover some or all of that from Dulux is his business. 

Hopefully there's a mutually agreeable way forward but if not, then you have options if you paid by card, or you can use the small claims process.

screech_78

You have no contract with Dulux and so you can’t pursue them for any costs. Your contract is with the painter’s and so you’ll need to take this up with them to come to a resolution. 

pinkshoes

We get surfactant leaching in our bathroom.

I think you need to wait a month after it has been painted, then have a go at removing the marks. 

I thought one of my boys had been peeing on my bathroom wall (!) as our walls are white with yellow streak marks. They did come off with soapy water though. Yours look more just like water marks from evaporated rain water though rather than leaching. 

As mentioned before though - your contract and rights are through your painters, and they will have to deal with Dulux if it is faulty.