Paint factors - colour matching - best value

[Wouldchuk]

Hello all,

I am after advice with regard to sourcing a colour matching service for decent quality gloss paint suitable for exterior painted surface.

I have built a wheelhouse on the back of the narrowboat which is pretty sizeable and will as is made from softwood/ply to keep weight down I need to paint it. The colour ideally needs to be matched to existing, non-standard paint colour mix.

While I think I could go to Wickes or somesuch DIY shed and buy Dulux exterior gloss colour matched, at £16.99 a litre it isn't cheap and I don't know what the quality of that paint is.

What are suggestions - i was always advised to go with oil-based paints wherever possible for maximum durability, but I'm not sure that this is something still available.... and am i behind the times - water-based as good as the oil?

And what about somewhere to buy colour matched paint in volume - i can see it needing around 15m2 (that's an overestimate but better safe than sorry) per coat, and as this is something that will need to be kept touched up in another year or so's time it won't hurt to have extra.

Are there any recommended suppliers?

THanks for any thoughts.

 

[Homers double]

Hello wouldchuk,
If you have a brewers decorating centre near to you they will colour match, they can do oil based also.
If you have a small section of something painted in the colour you want to match take it along and they can scan it to get a colour match.
Harvey

 

[Hemsby]

Hi,

If you have a Johnstones Decorating Center local they do an excellent colour matching/mixing service. I now use their paints instead of Dulux

 

[bugbear]

And what about somewhere to buy colour matched paint in volume - i can see it needing around 15m2 (that's an overestimate but better safe than sorry) per coat, and as this is something that will need to be kept touched up in another year or so's time it won't hurt to have extra.

Anybody have knowledge on long(ish) term paint storage? I would be wary of planning to keep paint for a year, but more based on gut feel, prejudice and "common sense" than actual knowledge. I would welcome knowledge.

BugBear

 

[Wouldchuk]

This is great thanks - i do have a Brewers here in Oxford and now you mention I have heard good things about them (my neighbour is a graffiti artist!!)

I'll give them a go - thanks again

 

[ED65]

Anybody have knowledge on long(ish) term paint storage? I would be wary of planning to keep paint for a year, but more based on gut feel, prejudice and "common sense" than actual knowledge. I would welcome knowledge.

A year should be a doddle, with any paint. I'd expect anything in a tin, without any special steps taken, to last a year to two assuming the lid's on properly.

Beyond that paint type matters more and more.

With paints thinned using water medium-term storage should be a standard consumer expectation, as long as the lid fits tightly so the paint can't dry out and barring microbial contamination of the contents (best reason not to paint directly from the original tin). Long-term storage is problematical and the mechanisms by which these paints age, undisturbed in the tin, are complex as there are a great many ingredients that can interact in various ways. It's best to protect the tins from wide swings in temperature, freezing in particular, but freezing isn't fatal: some paints are made to withstand a certain number of freeze-thaw cycles (there are various standards for this, e.g. ASTM D2243).

I'm classing medium-term here as 2-4 years, long term as 5-10. Anything past 10 is possible, but might be as much luck as anything (although whether the paint is occasionally fully mixed in the interim could be a factor).

Now oil-based paints. As long as you can keep oxygen from the paint lifespan should be measured in decades, not years. You can literally have oil paints that are 20-50 years old that are as good as the day they were made, with zero intervention. It's protecting the contents from oxygen that's the real challenge with tinned paints since the headspace above the paint is a major factor in the remainder of a partially used tin going off. You either have to replace the air using a nitrogen source or a product made for this purpose (such as the well-named Bloxygen) or you raise the level of the liquid with something so there's as little air in there as possible. The oldest tip on this front is clean stones, marbles are the ideal if you have any.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I used to use marbles to fill the air space when making wine in demi johns - it's much less likely to go sour with no gap.
As above - I've used 15 - 20 year old gloss and oil based masonry paint with no problems. I always use a paint kettle and store the cans upside down.

 

[AndyT]

If it was my project, I'd talk to http://www.craftmasterpaints.co.uk/

 

[bugbear]

Anybody have knowledge on long(ish) term paint storage? I would be wary of planning to keep paint for a year, but more based on gut feel, prejudice and "common sense" than actual knowledge. I would welcome knowledge.

A year should be a doddle, with any paint. I'd expect anything in a tin, without any special steps taken, to last a year to two assuming the lid's on properly.

Beyond that paint type matters more and more.

With paints thinned using water medium-term storage should be a standard consumer expectation, as long as the lid fits tightly so the paint can't dry out and barring microbial contamination of the contents (best reason not to paint directly from the original tin). Long-term storage is problematical and the mechanisms by which these paints age, undisturbed in the tin, are complex as there are a great many ingredients that can interact in various ways. It's best to protect the tins from wide swings in temperature, freezing in particular, but freezing isn't fatal: some paints are made to withstand a certain number of freeze-thaw cycles (there are various standards for this, e.g. ASTM D2243).

I'm classing medium-term here as 2-4 years, long term as 5-10. Anything past 10 is possible, but might be as much luck as anything (although whether the paint is occasionally fully mixed in the interim could be a factor).

Now oil-based paints. As long as you can keep oxygen from the paint lifespan should be measured in decades, not years. You can literally have oil paints that are 20-50 years old that are as good as the day they were made, with zero intervention. It's protecting the contents from oxygen that's the real challenge with tinned paints since the headspace above the paint is a major factor in the remainder of a partially used tin going off. You either have to replace the air using a nitrogen source or a product made for this purpose (such as the well-named Bloxygen) or you raise the level of the liquid with something so there's as little air in there as possible. The oldest tip on this front is clean stones, marbles are the ideal if you have any.

So it sounds like buying in several "reasonable" smaller tins, rather than fewer bigger tins would be the way forward?

Thanks for the excellent info.

BugBear

 

[Phil Pascoe]

There is a place near me that sells empty 2 1/2l cans. They are not cheap - £2 - £2.50 - iirc, but I've bought them when I've bought gallons I knew I wouldn't use quickly and decanted half immediately. I used to buy Dulux Trade primer, white u/c and gloss at a local pub harvest festival for £8 or £10 - it was worthwhile.