Trade vs "normal" paint

[chuckalicious]

Might sound like a stupid question, but what is the difference between trade/professional paint and bog standard Dulux/B&Q etc?

I'm going to be painting some new plaster and note many threads on here with people saying "use watered down trade emulsion - must be trade".

I'm just interested to know what the difference is.

Ta

 

[ic1927]

Trade paint is higher quality than the stuff aimed at the diy market, it's more concentrated. You should really use thinned contract emulsion (non vinyl) when mist coating new plaster, after that you can use the emulsion of your choice as a finish.

 

[chuckalicious]

Thanks. So does higher quality/more concentrated mean harder to work with? I'm not the best painter in the world so if there's a paint that'll give me a better finish I'll use that, but if it's more expensive and is harder to use then I'll stick with normal end user stuff (except for the mist coat).

P.S. by mist coat, other than the watering down, I assume it's just applied by a roller? The name is misleading!

 

[ic1927]

No, it's easier to work with because it covers better, by concentrated I mean it needs to be thinned to the desired consistency . As for your mist coat just cut in with a brush and roll the big areas, thinning ratio around 25% water will do the trick for mist coating, just slightly thin the subsequent top coats.

 

[chuckalicious]

Thanks again. So I would always need to thin down trade paint? For a standard paint job how much should it be thinned by?

 

[ic1927]

Yes you should always thin trade emulsion, it makes it easier to use but still retains its covering capabilities. Generally thin the first coat with around 10% water, slightly less for the top coat.

 

[chuckalicious]

Excellent - and you would recommend this over normal paint, yet it's not any easier to mess up?

 

[ic1927]

My advice would be to always use trade paints rather than the retail stuff, you will see the difference in quality and better coverage.

 

[chuckalicious]

Excellent I shall give it a go. Any particular brand you recommend (that can be bought from a normal retail store)

 

[ic1927]

Dulux trade emulsion is excellent, Johnstones and Leyland are very good too. Decorators merchants are all over the country, shouldn't be hard to find one near you, of the retail places, b&q stock Dulux trade emulsion you'll probably have to get colours mixed there though.

 

[chuckalicious]

Thank you again. I shall get shopping