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Dulux Trade Ecosure

Posted by Adrian
February 2nd, 2012

A review of Dulux Trade Ecosure Undercoat and Gloss

Following on from my last review for TradeXpress, I am doing one this time for Dulux’s Ecosure range. Specifically I am reviewing the Ecosure water-based undercoat and water-based Gloss. Ecosure is Dulux Trade paint that reduces the impact on the environment even further than their standard paints by 30%. This means even lower VOC‘s.

I have never been a big fan of water-based topcoats and have not got on well with them in the past, so was interested to see how things have changed and improved.

Image of Dulux Ecosure undercoat

Dulux Ecosure Water-Based Undercoat

I have been using water-based undercoat for many years now and I love it and I use it all the time so wasn’t too surprised to see this in the Ecosure range. Preparation is the same as for any other undercoat, i.e. abrade the surface, make sure the surface is sound, clean and dry. I applied the undercoat using a synthetic brush as recommended for this type of paint, and I was pleased with the results, I was using white undercoat and going over a cream colour. Coverage was good, with good opacity, for a strong colour change a second coat is advised.

I was slightly disappointed with the drying time of 6 hours, this obviously depends on the situation you are working in but the undercoat I am use to using only takes 1-2 hours to dry, so I had to leave the undercoat to dry fully overnight. Coming back in the morning the undercoat had dried leaving a good surface to apply the Gloss too.

The coverage is around 16m² which is only slightly under the standard undercoat coverage. The smell, well being a low VOC and water-based paint the smell was low. I know a lot of people hate the smell of oil-based undercoats and Gloss so will be pleasantly surprised by this paint.

Ecosure Water-Based undercoat comes in pure brilliant white but can be colour mixed, it comes in 2.5L and 5L tins, prices are around £27 and £47 respectively and a colour mixing starts at around £30.
The datasheet for Ecosure Undercoat is 528.

Image of Dulux Ecosure gloss

Dulux Ecosure Water-Based Gloss

Like I said in my introduction, I’ve never been a big fan of water-based topcoats so was a little dubious about what this Gloss could do. I applied the Gloss over my previously prepared and Ecosure water-based undercoated surface that I had left to dry overnight.

Continue reading Dulux Trade Ecosure

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Water-based or Oil-based: Always read the label

Posted by Adrian
August 15th, 2011

Water-based or Oil-based paint? Always read the label

When you buy paint you should always read the label printed on the tin, not only to see what the manufactures say you should do, but also to find out the type of paint you are using.

Sounds like a silly question, but if you are using a gloss or satinwood finish, is it water-based (or acrylic) or is it an oil-based product?

By knowing weather it is water-based or oil-based it will determine a few things, such as drying times, the application method you may want to use, and what you need to use to clean your brushes with, either water or brush cleaner/white spirit.

Things to look out for;
The symbols on the tin. It should have a symbol saying “clean brushes with water” or “clean brushes with brush cleaner” for oil based paints.
The VOC level will be low to medium on water-based paint and high on oil based.

Why do you need to know this information?

Knowing if the paint your using is oil or water based could help you make a decision about what type of paint to buy, if you prefer oil-based paints as you find them easier to work with than water-based paint, or do you prefer water-based as it dries quicker? As you need to get a job done before it rains, or the kids come home!

It also good to know if you can simply wash your brushes in water or if you have to wash then in brush cleaner such as white spirit. You don’t want to be washing them out in the wrong thing, or storing them incorrectly as this will ruin your brush.

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Getting a professional finish – a quick guide to gloss work

Posted by Adrian
June 1st, 2011

Graphic of a paintbrush dripping paint

Getting a professional finish – a quick guide to gloss work

When you are painting gloss paintwork many people find they end up with brush marks in the final dried paintwork. This could be due to a couple of reasons.

I have been asked, how come I don’t get lots of brush marks, runs or dirt in my gloss work.

Preparation, Brushes and Paint

Firstly, your preparation is vital and shouldn’t be overlooked. You may find my post on Decoration and Preparation of interest.

Also you need to use a good quality brush, many cheaper brushes can be too wiry and stiff which can cause brush marks in the wet gloss.

Another thing to consider is to use a good quality gloss paint; many top brands will flow well as you apply the gloss to the woodwork eliminating brush strokes as it dries. Cheaper brands or solid non-drip type gloss can be a bit thick to apply and may not flow that well.

Applying the Gloss Paint

The other thing you need to consider is how you apply the gloss, you need to put enough on but not so much the gloss runs. This comes with experience and knowing the products you are using.

Once you have applied the gloss, use the brush to go over the area you have just painted with long strokes with an unloaded brush, this will help spread the gloss more evenly. Once you have done this, go over the area again with the unloaded brush with even lighter strokes until you are barely toughing the paint.

If you follow these basic steps your gloss work should look more like a professional has done it.

Be aware that if you are painting gloss paint and it is in a damp atmosphere, such as outside, you may get a ‘bloom’ (a dullness) over it by the next day and the sheen will be gone, and you will have to re-paint it. To avoid this, don’t paint gloss in a damp atmosphere of too early or too late in the year when the damp can affect your paint.

Please note: This post refers to oil based gloss paint and not water based gloss paint, although the principles are the same, drying times and how it acts differ.

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