Is Floetrol worth it?

[ChilliBob]

Guys, I'm considering some Floetrol as I have a lot of wood to paint with water based white satinwood... beyond this, is it worth using Floetrol with matt emulsion, either for walls or celing? - In the sort of conditions we have now, not the height of summer.

Lastly, assuming kept in a frost free environment, is it likely to last years?

Cheers!

 

[opps]

Floetrol is a great product, albeit rather expensive.

I, as a decorator, do not like working with waterbased wood finishes but a friend of mine recently told me that he was having problems getting water based eggshell to flow over waterbased primer on MDF. I recommended Floetrol. He didn't want to pay that much, so I gave him a bottle of propylene glycol that I purchased years ago to see how well it would work as a Floetrol substitute. I never did get around to using the PG but he said that it made a massive difference. Off the top of my head it is about 5 times cheaper.

AFAIK, the key ingredient in Floetrol is PG.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/propylene-glycol/bn_7024856250

I normally only use floetrol in emulsion if there is a risk of letterboxing- by that I mean that with certain dark colours if you cut in after rolling, you get a noticeable difference in sheen.

Floetrol will last for years in the bottle, but over time it will develop lumps which can be sieved out (they are like phlegm). The rest of the product will be fine though.

 

[ChilliBob]

Cheers - I bagged a 1l bottle from Amazon for £20 - expensive but not too bad when you think it should give a better finish for something you hope will be on there for a good few years!

I'll only be using with WB satin - we have a mid grey which we're replacing with a lighter colour elsewhere so I don't think letterboxing is an issue, but hey, I know a new term now.

So in terms of how much to add, if you just put some paint into a paint kettle/ice cream tub, how do you tell best 'dosage' - try on a bit of trim you won't see, add a little bit, see how it goes? -

 

[Mr Chibs]

Let’s us know how you find it when you use the PG.

Cheers.

 

[opps]

Cheers - I bagged a 1l bottle from Amazon for £20 - expensive but not too bad when you think it should give a better finish for something you hope will be on there for a good few years!

I'll only be using with WB satin - we have a mid grey which we're replacing with a lighter colour elsewhere so I don't think letterboxing is an issue, but hey, I know a new term now.

So in terms of how much to add, if you just put some paint into a paint kettle/ice cream tub, how do you tell best 'dosage' - try on a bit of trim you won't see, add a little bit, see how it goes? -

Far from scientific but I jut pour a blob in and add more if needed.

 

[opps]

Let’s us know how you find it when you use the PG.

Cheers.

@£20 for 1L, I am assuming that OP purchased PG rather than Floetrol.