Beissier fillers – little known in UK, but in Europe

Beissier fillers are big in Europe, especially in prep-crazy France, but surprise surprise, they are little known in UK.

A few decorators around the trade forums will have heard of Prestonnet, but after searching the internet, I am not sure how many have given their products a concerted “go”. This could be down to poor reporting, plus, I suspect, availability and profile of the excellent Toupret range, Beissier’s main French competitor.

Wot, more French filler!

Yes, Toupret and Beissier are both based in France, both innovate fillers for fun, both with a huge range of spray fillers, fine surface fillers, multi-purpose… both operate in UK, and both are very niche brands in the scheme of all things Polyfilla British…

Beissier have a much more niche presence in Britain than Toupret.

(As a bit of perspective on just how niche French filler is in the UK – Flints Theatrical (PDF catalogue) were telling me they have been supplying Toupret to film industry set decorators for almost 30 years. I suspect 99.995% of the general decorating world never knew that! thinking Toupret were a recent arrival.)

Over the past few months, Traditional Painters Martin Guest has been using and reporting on 3 or 4 of the Beissier Prestonnet fillers. Toupret fans like what they found with Prestonnet.

What’s wrong with “British” stalwarts Polyfilla and Easifill? Nothing, in the right scenario, but they do not provide solutions for many scenarios. If you look at the end of this article, you will see that the French manufacturers seem to have a good handle on filling solutions for every substrate and condition.

Professionals and DIY can only benefit from exposure to such a wide array of bombproof reliable fillers, and I think the UK filler market will be a better place with Beissier in the mix.

A quick reminder of some Beissier products in the UK at the moment (photo via Martin).

A way to go yet in Britain, judging by the Beissier presence photoed by a traditional painter in a very average DIY superstore in Spain.

Interesting selection isn’t it!

Beissier’s UK representative, Aaron Barbeau, is moving his company in the right direction in the UK and has joined our Trade Corner, so that now you, as an end user, can talk to the company direct about their filling products, ask for tech support, give feedback on what they can do better.

A few stockists of Prestonnet include Brewers, Bromborough, and a selection of independents around the country, including Holman Specialist Paints, with 8 different Beissier filling products and you can order Beissier online from MyPaintbrush – * ready mixed and * powder filler

What are your impressions of Beissier fillers?