What kind of primer? A higher sheen is going to make things worse. This painter does not sound right to me.

Did they start by using a drywall primer/sealer?

They used a Sherwin Williams primer tinted very dark. I won't allow a sheen put on top because we see in the basement it does not help. For some reason lots of our walls look patchy, even lighter colors. What can we do about this room in particular? Add a 4 th coat?

Yes, they started with drywall primer/sealer. Is that bad?

What sheen is the F&B? I believe darker colors do take more coats. I did dark once and must have put four coats on but did eventually get it even and looking good. Probably had to watch my lapping technique too. My first painting attempt, lol.

This is Estate Emulsion, which I think is 2% sheen. I have no idea why it looks so shiny in the photo, but I dislike the sheen seen there.

Have you tried calling Farrow and Ball and discussing this with them?

There is a U.K. discussion forum about paint, which I read occasionally when I stumble upon it (it's hilarious, at times), and a number of people have complained about coverage problems with F & B. Personally, I have used Radicchio, Red Earth, Teresa's Green, Blue Ground, Arsenic, Cook's Blue, and Pale Powder, at various times. Radicchio was painted over a Gripper base tinted dark gray and it took four coats. That was Estate Emulsion, but it does not appear like the characteristically velvety, flat surface of the other examples of E.E. that I have. The other time that I had coverage problems was with Pale Powder on my laundry room ceiling. In that case, I am convinced that it was my technique that was the problem: highly textured surface combined with not enough paint on the roller. I used 3/4" nap roller covers in the best quality that I could obtain. On another note, F & B cautions against having its product shipped during temperature extremes, high or low. Is it possible that the paint you received is damaged?

(edited to add link)

Here is a link that might be useful: I'm sure you have this link, but just in case

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Wed, May 1, 13 at 11:07

My experience with F&B on walls is that it always looks better with three coats with Estate Emulsion. Two is enough with Modern Emulsion unless it's very dark in which case three was the ticket (Downpipe and Brinjal). I think it's your painter, or perhaps the paint is damaged.

P.S. That doesn't look like Estate Emulsion finish to me.

I checked the can. That's what it is. How should I have the painter handle it?

This post was edited by threeapples on Sat, May 4, 13 at 9:23

Have him call F & B for technical advice.

It looks like there is space between his paint columns. Also, he may be pressing too hard on the roller and rolling paint off instead of onto the surface. Can you get a better photo so that if F & B asks for one, you'll be able to provide it?

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, May 4, 13 at 17:15

Good advice. I don't get it, Estate emulsion has no sheen at all practically. Perhaps they've changed their formula. Definitely call F&B and ask their advice.

Threeapples, any luck?.

Your looks and your charm!

Pirula,
Perhaps the apparent sheen is an artifact of the flash?

(edited to erase duplicate post)

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, May 11, 13 at 12:26

Honestly, dark colors always have a problem with lap lines in flat or near flat finishes. (2% sheen falls into that category). And FB is no different. Just because they're expensive doesn't mean a thing. There are many Sherwin Williams, PPG and other paints as good if not better. But the fact is, for most manufacturers, adding a lot of tint to a flat finish causes flashing. Many tints have a slight sheen to them so adding tints to a flat paint causes a flash where a paint doesn't know whether to be a flat or a sheen above. That's probably why your painter wanted to go with a satin to see if it would blend in better and stop flashing. As far as the guy who worked at a retail paint store... technique is very important. But sometimes even the best painters (after doing this for more than 35 years and having 2 sons run the business now, I've seen them all), have issues with the greatest paint. The paint stores never thought their paint was the issue, as most of the workers there paint once every 3 months and don't deal with real construction site conditions, especially new drywall, which is what your painter is dealing with. In fact, most of the paint store workers, never knew that much about the paint in real world conditions, only what the marketing department tells them it will do. Just like any industry, marketing is the most important in the paint industry. There's all sorts of gimmicks labeled on the can, and just because FB charges a lot for their paint and is supposed to be the best, doesn't mean you won't see things like flashing, with their paint. You can try putting another coat on. Lots of times with new drywall, even a primer and 1 or 2 top coats is not building the amount of millage required to hide drywall fuzz, flashing from porous drywall etc..

Threeapples, you might want to look into Gardz as your primer. Jack Pauhl uses it to achieve fine finishes and recommends it for bare drywall. Check out his site for how he uses it. He has a few articles on it.

New drywall here, dark colors, F&B and no flashing. And DIY.

Could be kitchen detective, but I don't think so. That looks like Modern Emulsion to me, but I guess it isn't, so it must be the flash?

Threeapples, you might want to look into Gardz as your primer. Jack Pauhl uses it to achieve fine finishes and recommends it for bare drywall. Check out his site for how he uses it. He has a few articles on it.

I have already warned you not to believe all that you read. JP is not a painting GOD and all that he posts is not from the painting bible. Gardz will work but it is not necessarily the best product for new drywall.

Besides, this was already primed.

Maybe the paint was still wet when picture was taken, hence the sheen. 2% is practically nothing and its described as matte by the company (and is so in my experience).

Anyway, I do hope threeapples was able to resolve this and will take the time to update us.

christoph, are you saying I am not allowed to post? And that he isn't either? I don't know what your problem with him is. That's his opinion for fine finishes, even if it differs from yours. He does a lot of testing and research so I think he brings a lot to the table. I do not believe he is a lousy painter. People can take his advice or leave it, as with anything else.

"Besides, this was already primed."

I was referring to using it for other work she might have to do in other rooms.

The paint had been dry for a few weeks when the photo was taken and I did not use a flash.

Beats me then.

We're they able to fix it I hope??

Painter says he can't get it any better. I'm going to have to do it myself. FB said its not the way it should look and is the cheap primer's fault.

For what it's worth, its great paint to work with, ive done all the painting here. I've used the F&B primer and it works very well. The c2 primer is also excellent in my experience and works beautifully with F&B. I recommend you start over with primer first....

Thank you for updating us. Some of us have had such nice experiences with F & B that it's disconcerting to hear of these travails. (It is the only paint that I have used that doesn't cause migraines when I do the painting.) Now, I'm wondering if the drywall mud (it is drywall, yes?) was sufficiently dry before the primer was applied. Also, I may have forgotten, what kind of primer was used?

The majority of our house is FB paint and its fantastic. My painter used a Sherwin Williams primer. The drywall had been dry for months. In my experience Sherwin Williams paint is sub par.

I have never used F&B, but I don't think that matters. This is a problem normal painters have using dark colors since the paints became all acrylics. The problem is usually the location of windows and the location of the wall being painted. I mean...is that a ceiling? This is the reason people will say that they used the same product and it looked perfect. Each room is different because of the way the light from the windows hit the surface being painted. If you want to fix this problem, then spray it!

The white is the ceiling, the wood is the floor, and the blue is the wall. For some reason my photo looks sideways when I view this post on my phone.

Just wanted to update: the painter agreed to repaint this one wall. He used a color match of Railings in Benjamin Moore Royal Matte. The wall looks perfect now and the color match is exact.

threeapples, this is a late follow-up, but do you happen to remember the name/number of the Benjamin Moore match for F&B Railings?