Paint wipes off wall easily

[oldmanriver]

I painted the living room/kitchen in my flat light blue and white about a month ago (2 coats of white for the white walls and 1 coat of white and 2 coats of blue for the blue walls), but today when I went to wipe a little mark off the wall, I noticed the cloth was also wiping the paint off. Further investigation revealed that if I touched the walls while they were moist at all, it would leave paint residue on my finger. I did a little more testing and with only a little effort I was able to remove the paint to reveal the previous coffee coloured paint. In contrast to the coats I applied myself, it was only possible to remove this layer with a lot more pressure on the cloth. All the paints are Dulux matt emulsion, so I don't really understand what the problem is. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[dcdec]

The problem is dulux paint is now carp. Try Johnstones.

 

[oldmanriver]

Thanks for your reply, dcdec. Could there be more to it than that? It seems a bit much that the paint can't tolerate getting a bit damp. If it is just a case of the paint being inadequate for the job, though, I'll get in touch with Dulux and demand my money back.

 

[dcdec]

Dulux have been tinkering with their recipes and have changed the formula of their vinyl matt emulsion, there have been many people noticing that it simply wipes away more like a cheap contract matt. I think the vinyl content has been lowered but basically the quality of ingredients that made a good cured paint film have changed to provide a poor one. That said vinyl paint will have only ever taken light wiping, and eggshell should be used in kitchens and bathrooms because they are fully washable/wipeable. You have been unfortunate that you trusted the dulux brand name as many of us in the trade have done for years, but since ICI sold to Akzo Nobel the latter seem to have no interest in the label other than destroying it, most products across the whole range are now inferior. Johnstones is a pretty good standard vinyl and Little Green (especially the intellimatt) is in my opinion the best paint available.

 

[sagalout1954]

Dulux paint has deteriorated into something you might import from a third world country for 20p for 5 litres!

Stick brief outline of what has happened on their facebook page & they'll contact you PRONTO.

Then the scenario will go like this.....first they'll blame the way you may/may not have cleaned the walls prior to painting. Then they'll blame the 'medium' (paint) that you were covering over. Then it will be that you didn't leave it long enough to cure (not just dry, but 'cure' as well). You'll be asked to paint some white card with a sample which their tech staff will say is absolutely fine. You'll be told that the paint isn't washable, barely even wipeable (regardless of what it says on the tin), implying it's your fault for wiping it, but they'll have no excuse for why you can't even put a finger on it without leaving your prints on the wall, so this will be continually ignored. Invitations to send a rep to look will be refused because you are not a massive purchaser of the Dulux product ie like a large homebuilding company.

The end result for me was a voucher for 2x5 ltr of their diamond range paint & £175 cheque.

Dulux, no thank you. Undecided what to do with the vouchers, probably get white & paint ceilings, should be safe enough, shouldn't it..................