fpe on walls with bm color - is it an ok strategy?

12 years ago

Today I visited a local store that carries FPE. Boy, FPE (and their website) is not very consumer friendly. I want to paint one room navy and my dining room a saturated red. Normally I have 6+ samples for each room. FPE pots are extremely limited and 1 liter cans are very expensive ($60+). I already have 70+ pints of BM samples from my other rooms. It would be much easier and cheaper to get samples in BM colors and then have it matched in FPE.

1. Will the colors really match? I hear there is so much more depth with FPE - will the BM color be different in FPE? Or should I pick a "close" color from FPE to the BM color I like.

2. Is FPE worth it for walls? I can see using it for cabinets that take so much abuse but what about walls?

The paint store had only 4 or 5 FPE fandecks and I picked 21 colors of navy from them. I probably could whittle it down to 6 - 8. I hate that there are so many choices and that's not even all FPE fandecks. I've been living with 5 samples of red in my dining room and I'm leaning towards BM 2080-20 Confederate Red. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

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Comments (3)

Faron79
12 years ago
Yes, I know FPE has a dizzying amount of colors/fandecks!

I've used Eurolux Matte in my downstairs bathroom, in a medium taupe/khaki called "Brown Cafe".
(Their "Matte" looks like many brands "Eggshell" sheen though....)
I REALLY like it...ONE coat of this looks like TWO of most other paints-IMO. It has such a rich "feel" when applying it...it's different than most paints.

Check out my thread here called "Brushing Putty". You'll see a pic(s) of their putty/primer/paint I was using on our entry-door sidelites trim that had gotten beat-up from our Samoyed! The ECO-series "Brilliant" (Gloss) trim-paint is simply stunning...
* I'll be adding more pics soon...

Can't advise you on your "Reds", but I did try their "Wine Red" Eurolux on a WHITE board.

>>> ONE coat looked great....I was dumbstruck. As sheer as most Reds can be, this was 99% opaque. COULDN'T believe it!
(I've been in the upscale/independent retail paint-biz for a while)

Faron
dancingqueengw
12 years ago
Ok. I LOVE FPE. I have a guest bath done in a Farrow and Ball color but in FPE paint. It is my favorite paint in the entire house. Do note though that F& B is an exceptionally high quality paint. I just can't get it in my area. I also did a guest room in a BM color made up in FPE, it's not as nice. That said I love working with FPE. I'm too chicken to try the putty but may get up my courage to use it on a cabinet in a lower level bath after reading what Farron has done.
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If I were you, I'd call the FPE headquarters and talk to Emmett. He is very knowledgeable (actually anyone who answers the phone would be). I gave them what I was looking for colorwise in BM and they told me what colors would be really close in matching and what ones they would actually suggest. He asked that I send in pix of the room during the day/night. And, then he offered up his suggestions for the colors. I ended up with a pretty good match for FB pointing and actually ended up with good old chelsea gray from BM. I also ordered a really beautiful green and blue. And, if you order from them, they send you a free little pot of paint. (well, I did pay for it. I think shipping was eight dollars.) As far as the finish, you really can't compare it. I haven't tried the new advance paint from BM. I've tried seriously everything else. But, this stuff really is beautiful. I painted the lower cabs in my kitchen the gray (which I didn't realize was so trendy until this site) and they look pretty much sprayed. The people who see it stroke them. The finish is rock hard and it has a nice depth to it. (That was the satin in eco.) The flat finish is also just beautiful. Easy to quickly wipe down with out the dreaded streaks. (It takes at least a month to harden.) I haven't tried the FB in flat, but I have heard/read that the finish is like velvet. You might see if funcolors is around. She helped me to decide on FPE rather than FB as far as durability. Also, Faron and I think paintguy1 are very helpful as far as painting in FPE. They are in the paint section. Incredibly helpful. Good luck!
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"Titanium dioxide. Waterbased vs oil based finish. Titanium dioxide is what makes white paint white. You can add titanium dioxide to the base up to a point. After you reach that point, the paint takes on the properties of titanium dioxide and ruins the paint. Almost all factory finishes are now waterborne; cars, furniture, ect...The main difference is the carrier. FPE waterborne paint is made with alkyd urethane base. So are some other brands that are equivalent. Another good base is acrylic urethane or acrylic copolymer. As far as the VOC is concerned, use a fan but waterborne is much lower than oil based." Yikes. Talk about confusing. All alkyds will indeed yellow. The type of oil used in the alkyd (safflower, corn, tung, etc) plays a part along with the type of solvent used. Both the presence ammonia (think bathroom) and/or absence of light will accelerate yellowing while bright light can reverse it (to a certain extent). Most alkyds do indeed dry harder than latexes but then again, they are not as scrubbable. The new water dispersible alkyds like Eco do offer a nice compromise between latex and oil but if yellowing is a concern because you will be painting cabinets white next to another white object (think appliance or tile), then a premium latex would indeed be your best choice. BTW, like most things, there is a rule of diminishing returns with TiO2. Up to a certain level, you do indeed get incremental hide but after a certain level, you are just wasting money. What this means is that FPE doesn't cost twice as much as other because it has twice as much TiO2 as other premium brands (never mind that its volume solids would need to be in the 70% range) - you need to look elsewhere to solve that puzzle. Keep in mind it's only the white/light base that has a high TiO2 load in any paint - TiO2 is pulled out of the other bases in order to hit the deeper colors.
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andersons21
12 years ago
A few years ago, I did a comparison test of several brands of paint, including BM Regal, FPE wall paint, Behr, and a few others. I also read Donald Kaufman's book about full-spectrum paints and mixed some of my own colors using the finest quality pigments of artist's acrylics (after studying color theory a bit). My opinion, after all those tests, is that going from the low end Behr up to BM Regal is a big difference in appearance -- much better coverage, quality of appearance, and prettier colors from the better pigments. After that, going up in price to FPE or full-spectrum, I don't see much (if any) difference in my tests. BM Regal cleaned up just as nicely and looked just as good as the FPE. Read the MSDS for all these paints; all the high-quality paints are acrylic resin binders, titanium dioxide for coverage, and good pigments for colorants. Among the many brands using those quality ingredients for a wall paint, I don't see how there could be much difference other than marketing.

However, I didn't get around to my painting project back then, and BM has different formulas for Regal now, supposedly better according to my local BM dealer. He also sells FPE now, and told me that an employee who was a long-time rep and fan of BM did his own tests of FPE and BM, very aggressive with brillo pads and all kinds of dirt, and concluded that FPE was superior in cleanability and durability.

Even if this is true, how much durability do you need? I need to clean scuffs and dirt and dust occasionally, but I don't think our everyday life is brutal like a brillo pad. If I can touch up an occasional gouge, I'm fine with that. Besides, how many people really NEED a paint designed to last for many decades? If there's any chance you'll move or repaint just to get a different color in less than, 20 years or whatever the supposed lifetime of FPE is, you won't get your money's worth from FPE, which is supposedly in the longevity.

In my opinion, among the many brands that make good-quality paint, the most important thing is to put a pleasing color on your wall, given the light and other surface colors in YOUR room. All brands have good and bad colors. FPE in particular, I'm not loving the colors. The big challenge in paint is not choosing a brand, it's getting the exact shade of color right for your room and your own preferences.

fpe on walls with bm color - is it an ok strategy?

Comments (3)

Faron79

dancingqueengw

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