What a white wash! (B&Q Value White Emulsion)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	B&Q Value White Emulsion
Date:	29/08/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent end results, very cheaply priced

Disadvantages: Very, very thin paint which splattered everywhere while painting, poor coverage initially

As some of you know, I am currently having my bathroom remodelled and after mentioning to one of the lovely workmen that my ceiling needed painting he kindly offered to do it for me before putting in the shower cubicle. He recommended the B&Q Value Silk Emulsion and said it was very reasonably priced and overall a decent product.

After going to B&Q I realised it really was extremely reasonable in price at only £3.98 for a 2.5 litre tub, although for reasons quite beyond his control the workman wasn't able to paint the ceiling so I called in my son in law to do the job.

Initially he was very impressed at the bargain paint I had found, although this euphoric feeling soon disappeared as he realised he was going to have to give my ceiling no less than four coats of paint - and be speckled with paint as he was doing it!

The problem is that this paint has the a consistency only slightly thicker than water, it's very milky in appearance and doesn't grip the bristles of the brush at all leading to splatters and drips of paint every time you move the brush.

After the first coat you could see where the paint had gone on but only because it was so smeary that you could see the original paint on the ceiling through it. It put me in mind of how closing down shops used to white wash their windows, you know that thin appearance of the paint which meant you could ALMOST still see through the window if you got close enough! Bear in mind that my son in law was painting white paint over white paint so this is proof of how very thin this particular emulsion is that you could still detect the white underneath!

Luckily each coat dried fairly quickly and he only had to leave around an hour and a half in between coats. Personally I don't think the ceiling started looking nice until the third coat was starting to dry, by then the paint had covered itself nicely and the result was a smooth and bright white ceiling.

My bathroom is rather small so even doing four coats meant I only needed this one tub and as the finished result is excellent I am honestly glad I plumped for this emulsion compared to the other one I was looking at that cost over £10. The paint drips caused by it being so thin were easily wiped up with hot soapy water and a scouring pad, my son in law gave his hands a good wash in Fairy Liquid and washing powder and this removed all evidence of paint on his skin - although his hair didn't fare quite so well and he ended up having a buzz cut when he got home!

If I were the one to be painting so many coats I'm quite sure I wouldn't have liked this emulsion as much as I do. In my previous house I remember using a Dulux emulsion for the ceiling and it was done in one coat, so in this respect having to do four coats is bordering on the ridiculous really. As a spectator though I am impressed with the finish of the paint - after all, it wasn't MY blood, sweat and tears which got the ceiling done in the end!

Summary: Fine if you're getting someone else to do the work - perhaps not so good if you're the worker!