Dulux Weathershield Masonry Paint

[MisterBoy]

Looking to get our large brick house re-painted this summer. Reading a few review sites, Dulux Weathershield Masonry is consistently coming out at or near the top and it's also what the painter I got my first quote from recommended.

But there's more than one option... as well as smooth/textured seems there are the trade and non-trade and these are different products not just branding?
Looking on https://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co.uk/ I also came across one I hadn't seen elsewhere, a "maximum exposure" variant.

Prices seem to vary quite a lot and since we reckoned my total order could be up to 100L that's potentially significant. Saw some random things like 7.5L of Magnolia for £29 and 10L for £74!

Any tips on choosing/buying this volume of paint?

 

[Bosswhite]

Non Trade means that it is thinned down for the DIY Market , Trade is for Professionals that mix it to their standard more expensive but better quality .
Textured means it has a sand included in the paint that gives a slightly rough surface, depending on style of brickwork location etc I found that Textured finishes tend to collect dust over the years.
As for buying this paint you could purchase Non Trade for first/second sealing coats and Trade for final finish, might be cost effective .

 

[opps]

The 7.5L tins are often on "special" (and not always available). They work out way cheaper.
.
As @Bosswhite says, the trade versions are vastly superior to the retail versions (often meaning that two coats rather than 3 are required- labour costs are way higher than material costs).

100L sounds like a lot. Is it a detached double fronted house?

I am not sure what the "maximum exposure" paint that you refer to is. Dulux, and others also sell oil based masonry paints that are less susceptible to adverse weather conditions at the time of application- but they are quite a bit more expensive to buy (and apply).

 

[MisterBoy]

The 7.5L tins are often on "special" (and not always available). They work out way cheaper.
.
As @Bosswhite says, the trade versions are vastly superior to the retail versions (often meaning that two coats rather than 3 are required- labour costs are way higher than material costs).

Any idea why it's done this way? Is it maybe that the 'good' stuff takes more skill to apply or something?
I wonder why the 7.5L are so much cheaper than either 5 or 10. Although from what I saw so far, they only sell the big sizes in a few core colours anyway, unless you have to do a special order?

100L sounds like a lot. Is it a detached double fronted house?

Essentially yes - a large detached house with a couple of extension bits:

I am not sure what the "maximum exposure" paint that you refer to is. Dulux, and others also sell oil based masonry paints that are less susceptible to adverse weather conditions at the time of application- but they are quite a bit more expensive to buy (and apply).

https://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co...rshield-maximum-exposure-smooth-masonry-paint - any thoughts what's special about it?

 

[opps]

Any idea why it's done this way? Is it maybe that the 'good' stuff takes more skill to apply or something?
I wonder why the 7.5L are so much cheaper than either 5 or 10. Although from what I saw so far, they only sell the big sizes in a few core colours anyway, unless you have to do a special order?


Essentially yes - a large detached house with a couple of extension bits:
View attachment 269619


https://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co...rshield-maximum-exposure-smooth-masonry-paint - any thoughts what's special about it?

The level of skill is pretty much the same for Trade and Retail paints. As I said earlier, the key difference is that the trade version requires fewer coats.

A DIYer might be happy to pay 30% less for the inferior paint and probably doesn't take in to account that the extra coat will translate to more of their labour time. Why save £20 on paint if it is going to cost you an extra 8 hours in labour at £25 per hour?

Although I am a decorator, I must admit that I had never heard of the Maximum Exposure paint. None of my local suppliers here in west London stock it. Having done a bit of research, it seems to be a decent paint but primarily used in costal areas.

With regards to the choice of colours... Brewers offer over 1700 different colours.

https://www.brewers.co.uk/product/AE0186050E

You will pay a lot more for any colour that isn't white or magnolia (the two stock colours)- that kinda makes sense given the cost of universal tint, labour/mixing costs and the need to stock different base colours. AFAIK the 7.5L tins are not available in anything other than white and magnolia. That said, I know some merchants that will tint the tins of brilliant white but the colour match will be inferior.

 

[Bosswhite]

I would suggest that you could do with putting a coat of Stabilising solution on flaking wall above sheds before applying the masonary paint

 

[MisterBoy]

I would suggest that you could do with putting a coat of Stabilising solution on flaking wall above sheds before applying the masonary paint

Yeah there are some areas that are a bit cruddy. I don't actually know to what extent the preparation involves scraping and cleaning every inch, and to what extent masonry paint can be applied directly to non pristeen surfaces?

We plan to have full scaffold and take the opportunity to do a proper inspection and fix miscellaneous things, get it done properly rather than a quick slosh of paint.

 

[opps]

Out of interest... what is the bit in the following photo? Is it some kind of vent?

 

[MisterBoy]

Out of interest... what is the bit in the following photo? Is it some kind of vent?

View attachment 269688

Good spot, we actually called the roofer out for this out first winter here thinking it was a missing tile... It is indeed a vent from a toilet in the loft!

 

[Bosswhite]

Yeah there are some areas that are a bit cruddy. I don't actually know to what extent the preparation involves scraping and cleaning every inch, and to what extent masonry paint can be applied directly to non pristeen surfaces?

We plan to have full scaffold and take the opportunity to do a proper inspection and fix miscellaneous things, get it done properly rather than a quick slosh of paint.

As a Decorator my specs would be as you say Scaffolding, then Pressure jet walls this helps to remove loose paint and moss, dirt, dust etc, let dry make good any damaged brick work then stabiliser on the bare brickwork, two/three coats of masonary paint as explained previous , personnally I am not too keen on textured but thats a matter of choice , it can be an expensive job so it needs to be done properly to make it last

 

[opps]

Agreed.

Scaffolding is a no brainer. The costs of the scaffolding are more than compensated for by the reduction in labour costs.