New Paint Pod Challenge - Can you make it work with sticky tape?! (Dulux PaintPod Roller System)

Member Name: cdsmiler81

Product:	Dulux PaintPod Roller System
Date:	28/09/09 (388 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The idea is great, and the cleaning cycle seemed good...

Disadvantages: Didn't work properly fromt he start, part broke off, response to complaint laughable!

We bought out Dulux paint pod earlier in the year with a B&Q voucher, ready to do some major decorating this Summer. Well, the time finally came for us to use the Paint Pod.

The Paint Pod has to be used with Paint Pod paint, and their range of colours is quite poor - especially if you want something other than a variant of white! Fortunately we'd decided quite a while ago to change our hall stairs and landing walls from yellow to bright white, so picked up a 'tub' of the paint pod paint ready for this. Thankfully, this was also the only colour Paint Pod do for around £20 - all the others are around the £30 mark for the same size!

On the Saturday morning we started paining the walls. We opened up the Paint Pod for the first time, un wrapped it, followed the instructions to the letter, and started it up. But something was wrong straight away. The paint didn't seem to be flowing through, and the motor inside the pod seemed to be stopping and starting randomly. On closer inspection, we noticed that the connection between the power cable and motor inside the machine itself was obviously faulty and the only way we could get the machine to work consistently was to use parcel tape to stick the wire in a position where the connection could be kept. Not a good start for a pricey piece of equipment from such a well known company!

After a bit of homemade repairs, the painting started. Because of the way a Paint Pod works, the paint is naturally thinner than normal paint. Little did we know that this meant that when painting over another colour - even yellow - that you would need around 6 coats for the walls to stop looking patchy! This wasn't due to us not allowing the paint to flow through properly (we solved that 'operator fault' within the first ten minute - ooops! We were obviously a bit eager to start with!) - the paint was flowing well, but the quality of the paint itself was just not good enough.

We persevered throughout the day, and we thought the Pod had redeemed itself with its automated cleaning system. We had to put it on twice, just to make sure all the paint had been cleared out, but with just a 5 minute cleaning cycle, it's not exactly a chore.

However, our woes didn't end there. The next day we set it all back up again, made sure the sticky tape was holding fast, and started painting. Now, I wouldn't say I'm exactly overly strong or forceful - especially during this bout of decorating as I was 5 months pregnant and being careful not to over exert myself! But within half an hour of us starting on that Sunday, I was stunned as I watched the roller head snap from it's pivot within the paining 'wand' and tumble down the stairs! Fortunately the carpet had been removed before hand, so the mess wasn't the problem. No, the problem was that on the second day of using this oh so wonderful Dulux product, that it had broken. The roller head could not be put back in as it had literally snapped off!

Faulty power connection AND a very weak structure?? Really not good. We went out and bought some normal bog standard rollers (and some 'normal' brilliant white paint) which did the job in a fraction of the time!

I have since written to Dulux expressing my disgust that a brand new Paint Pod could have two faults within two days of usage. They responded quickly, but seemed to ignore the point that this product should not have behaved like this in the first place. They were keen to 'resolve this matter' but kept talking about a help line that I might be able to ring for guidance (I don't need guidance!), and emphasising that the Paint Pod comes with a 12 month guarantee where all parts could be replaced free of charge! Surely they can't just expect me to be happy with having to request replacement parts TWO DAYS after using it for the first time?!

They have not offered me a refund (as I have no proof of purchase what with us buying it a while ago with a voucher - our own fault, granted.), but have offered me either a voucher for 2x 5l cans of our chosen Dulux paint (a bit late now as we've finished decorating!) or....and this is wonderful... a brand new Paint Pod!! Wow, just what I always wanted. Especially after seeing the quality of the machine in action!

Maybe we DID just have a faulty machine. Maybe. Maybe not. The response we received from out complaint makes me wonder if they are more than prepared for multiple guarantee claims from users of Paint Pod, and have a massive stock of replacement parts all ready to go. Maybe this is also why the paint range is so small, and why it seems that there doesn't seem to be any further promotion of the Paint Pod or it's paint...

Summary: Don't risk it - spend your money on decent rollers or pads, and paint instead.