Dulux Weathershield Undercoat and Gloss

I've used Dulux Weathershield many times in the past (prior to 2010) and have always
been very pleased with the results both in terms of consistency and finish.
I've always gone out of my way to pay a little bit extra for the better results.
As you can imagine, I could not believe my eyes when, after about five hours of painting I came across this result.
After forking out nearly £40 for u/c and gloss I was so displeased with both the formulation (very runny) and finish. No matter how many strokes I brushed paint onto the undercoat, as if by magic small pits would always appear after a few minutes revealing the undercoat underneath.


http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/spud1962/PAINT.jpg

The existing paintwork was sanded down then painted with 2 coats
of weathershield undercoat (dark grey), then lightly sanded and the dust brushed off. Outside temp. was between 18-21 deg. C and dry. It's as if the undercoat has chemically "rejected" the gloss paint and not bonded.
Rubbing down the gloss and repainting gives a very undesirable "hammered/gunmetal" appearance. Totally stuffed!

Any clues what could be causing this?

Weathershield has lots of bad reviews:-
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews13155.html#Reviews

No doubt all because of reformulation due to VOC 2010 legislation!!!

It looks like the paint has broken down which is caused by pigment and binder separating. Did you stir it thoroughly?

Slow drying also causes problems, the undercoat may appear dry but isn't dry enough for a further coat, how ever i would expect to see shrivelling and wrinkling if this was the cause of your problem but how long did you give it before the top coat? and when you rubbed it down did it 'ball up' at all, did you wet or dry abrade?
Did you use sugar soap or similar at any stage? As i would also associate that finish with surface contamination

I've heard of a few problems with weather shield separating and seems to have appeared since the reg change or maybe since akzo took over (both happened about the same time), unfortunately the whole Dulux brand has suffered and is now a very poor quality paint. I recommend sikkens XD for exteriors.

Thank you for taking time to comment.

The u/c tin suggests 2-4 hrs drying time. I allowed 16 hrs (overnight) Both tins were stirred. The u/c was rubbed down with a light grade dry sandpaper and the dust wiped off with a clean cloth. The u/c was dry and did not "pull" or "wrinkle". No sugar soap was used at any time during the process.
The finish is so poor, I can watch the gloss shrink and see the "holes" appear after a few minutes, then re-brush the surface and watch it again.
I can't understand that the ( gloss ) paint has almost no viscosity in comparison to the Weathershield stuff I used to use 20 years ago - it was great and guaranteed to work in one coat. This stuff is like trying to paint watercolour paint on glass.

Having had another look at the photo its a textbook picture of rain spotting or cratering but as you say it was splitting during application it doesn't add up so i think it must be separation. All i can suggest is the can had been sitting on the shelf for a while and the solids sunk to the bottom of the tin (this would explain runniness as well) and you didn't stir it well enough, if you feel you did then you need to seek compensation or explanation from Dulux.

The paint was purchased the day before application from a local Homebase in Leicester who, I would think, sell a fair bit of paint. I've checked the bottom of the tin for any sediment, but can't feel any, the paint appears to be the same consistancy throughout, although slightly more thinner than I seem to remember when I used same years ago, but I could be wrong. Other google searches regarding problems with this paint seem to support the fact that the paint is impractically thin, but I suppose that's just a point of view. http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews13155.html

Theres no doubt that Dulux have gone down hill and their products arn't as good as they were, i havn't found it overly thin but its probably been a year or so since i bought any so it could well have changed.
Anyway i think you should give their tech dept a ring and hope you don't get the tea boy. Let us know how you get on and good luck.

I used to love Dulux trade Weathershield, until using the newer (post 2010) stuff last year.

It was crap. The undercoat was dead matt, didn't obliterate colours. The gloss rippled if applied too generously.

I used some white DT WS this month and it is just like it used to be prior to 2010 BUT the black gloss for the front door was as crap as last years paint. I suspect that it was from an (post 2010) older batch.

I would be inclined to complain to Dulux and see if they will replace the paint for newer stock.

You say that yours came from Homebase, so I assume that it was the retail and not trade version. my experience is limited to the trade version.

Apropos the images, they definitely look like fisheyes to me (99% certain). The paint pushes it's self away from points that have been contaminated by silicates , dust or where the solvents are escaping. The issue would normally occur though when applying WB over OB, or when too much thinners has been used in the top coat or when the paint has not been dusted sufficiently post sanding.

In your case I suspect it is the fine dust. This shouldn't happen with decent paints, they should be far more forgiving. A light dust off should have been fine but I think you have been unlucky.

If you don't want the hassle of complaining then apply a coat of grey WB paint (Leyland acrylic is cheap and easy to sand). Dust off thoroughly, lightly wash, then when dry apply the black.

Well, I did take the paint back to Homebase and showed them some photographs and was offered a full refund, although the staff had not seen this effect before one expert stated that the u/c was water based and the gloss oil based and the effect may have been due to this. As stated above, having rubbed down the u/c and brushed off the dust there may still have been a residue (?) but have NEVER encountered a problem in 30 years of applying paint. Looks like the reason may have been "contamination" from the systems own undercoat, perhaps. A bit odd

Nope, they're talking rubbish. I still say its a pigment binder problem unless there was something on the surface you were unaware of. They just sell it you need to speak to Dulux technical if you want to try and get to the bottom of it.