Three reasons the quality of paint matters for your interior decorating project

Imagine for a moment that you have a big decision to make, one that will affect you for months and years to come.

Not quite the weight of the world on your shoulders type of decision but more of an ‘it’ll come back to bite you is the bum’ variety.

If you get the choice right, you’ll be able to please people immediately and on an ongoing basis, especially when they are wiping down what you’ve supplied, keeping your newly decorated walls clean and looked after.

Whereas if you get it wrong, then let’s say you won’t exactly be the flavour of the month with these folks and more; within the den of dis-popularity, in particular, will be your decorator as he will no doubt be upset with a choice of low-quality budget paint, here’s why:

• The cheaper and lower-quality paints are less dense; they behave very liquid and runny. This will lead to applying more coats of paint to try and achieve a good level of coverage.

More coats of paint will undoubtedly take more time, especially when you factor in drying times between coats.

If you’re paying someone on a day or hourly rate, this will soon rack up extra costs; this could’ve been avoided had better paint been used in the first place; any reputable decorator will steer you away from the less desirable brands of paint.

Ultimately, suppose you are getting a professional decorator such as ourselves to come and take care of your project. In that case, our reputation is at stake, which is why we will only use a handful of trusted paint brands such as Dulux Farrow and Ball or Johnstones trade.

If the client wanted to provide the paint and whipped out a budget range, then, unfortunately, we would have to insist on a different choice or turn down the work; yes, we have done that before.

• Durability is my second point to cover; it should be no surprise. Hopefully, the better quality paints tend to last longer and withstand more day-to-day markings, splatters, spills, and scratches.

For example, Dulux offers Diamond Eggshell, washable and challenging matt, diamond matt as ranges of paint they advertise as being up to 20x tougher than their regular emulsions (wall paint).

As you could expect from these ranges, if you were to spill your coffee down the wall when carrying it or your kids decided to sling food off their plates to help re-decorate your walls, it should just wipe off and reveal you’re lovely wall again.

Yes, they cost more, but again when it comes to quality, you’d expect to pay more, with Dulux stating that they add stain repellent technology to these options to ensure they don’t mark as quickly.

One of the companies we work for stipulates that we only use diamond matt emulsion on their surfaces due to the nature of their properties and the likelihood of the residents marking or staining the walls.

This forward-thinking approach means they won’t have to pay out again for the place to be decorated so soon; with this increased longevity and initial higher cost of materials, they have future-proofed their spending and saved money in the long run.

Just think about it for a minute; if they were to use cheaper and lower quality paints, they would get wrecked quicker and require re-decorating sooner; not only that, when they are being decorated, it would take more colour and more time to do.

Mould & mildew preventability is another factor to consider, especially within bathrooms, toilets and utilty areas where moisture can hang about in the air.

Biocides added to paint will inhibit the growth of moulds and mildews, which is especially important in damp areas such as bathrooms, shower areas and kitchens where steamy environments can accelerate the rate of these potential issues.

• It’s all about the finish, the look and the feel of the paint

To achieve that excellent looking finish, you need to consider a few factors in play along with paint choice; these include painting technique, equipment choices, and surface preparation, but we won’t go into these here as it’s not the scope of this article.

Better colour coverage on your walls, the trade paint options will have more pigment within the paint; this is the colour of your colour; these pigments are contained within tiny polymer particles.

Emulsion paints are water-based, so the water acts as a solvent where one would be used in other types of colour such as automotive or oil-based paints; this is why they are so smelly and contain a high VOC as, during the drying process, they evaporate into the air for you to breath in.

When painted onto a wall, these particles are fused as the water evaporates and creates a nice dry paint layer.

The nicer it dries, and the more uniform the coat of paint has been, the better the finish will look and feel.

More pigment will mean your paint hides underneath more accessible and with fewer coats!

We enjoy a nice feel to the finish of a painted surface; the higher quality paints will naturally feel nicer to touch; in my opinion, these are worth spending more on.

If you’d like to discuss yoru paint options in more detail give us a call on 0203 488 2766 or reach out via our contact page