Readers reviews & testimonials

According to the powers that be, the main page of interest on a website is readers reviews and testimonials. And UK readers apparently only want to read the bad reviews! Below is what drives us, and below that, readers reviews.

The whole point of the Traditional Painter website is to demonstrate to homeowners, DIY and trade how we paint and decorate to the highest standard. We illustrate how to work efficiently with the most suitable materials and tools on the market, and operate a no secrets philosophy. We will share everything we know, given a chance!

Is this approach of interest to anyone? Apparently so!

The following excerpt is one example of how our “theory” plays out in practice.

Gillian – artist It’s great that you have the website, I hadn’t actually done any interior decorating (on wood) since before 2010 and now Im having to do some it’s a whole different ball game, wish I’d stocked up on the old Farrow and Ball estate eggshell before it disappeared as that stuff was great. Your website has helped me work out the best route for the job I’m doing.
Much appreciated.

For those who are willing to take a deep breath and go for it, the Traditional Painter way seems to work! (Rest assured 99% of all content on the site is based on practice, not theory!)

This is from a post on the forum from a keen DIY who just wanted to things right and has found this site useful.

Him indoors will be very happy to hear that less is more as we have a large number of doors to go!

By the way I have used your TP5 code a couple of times now at Holmans and am the proud owner of two Fox brushes – a 2″ and a 1″. They’re great and the bigger one is working really nicely for laying off the panelled doors. I expect I should be using something bigger but as a newbie I do find it easier to use smaller brushes. Hoping the confidence to use bigger ones will come with time.

So thanks again.

From Mark from Rossendale in Lancashire I have been following your blog with great interest for a couple of years or so and the way it has grown is a credit to you.

We bought a 3 storey Victorian house last year and I decorated it using many of the techniques, equipment and materials that you recommend.

I used Little Greene (absolute and intelligent) paint throughout and it was a delight to apply, the range of colours was excellent and the finish superb. I also used Classidur Problem Solving Primer, Mythic Acrylic White Eggshell, Toupret 110 filler, Toupret Gras A Lacquer and I bought a Henry vac and used an Abranet hand sanding block and sanding strips. The Classidur Primer and Mythic Acrylic Eggshell were brilliant paints to use and the finish excellent. The thing I love about the Mythic is that it stays white unlike most oil based paints these days.

The only gripe I would have about the Little Greene paint, particularly the absolute, is that if it gets a scuff and you wipe it off, it leaves a distinct mark. It’s as though it flattens off the paint where you wipe and leaves it slightly shinier. I have also tried to touch-up marks on walls here and there and find that the paint doesn’t blend in well. You would have to re-paint the whole wall in question.

Not knocking Little Greene at all and infact I have recommended them to friends who have since bought their paints.

Keep up the good work.

This email made my day, to be honest, as it encapsulates everything the site is about.

Feedback welcome

You are welcome to leave a comment, especially about what we can do better with the information we provide.

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Great Cabinet painting ideas

Sep 03, 2013 by peter millz

This is a great site for information for painters like us. I have learned a few more things form your articles. I will use them here in the US. Thank you Andy for the information
interior painting service ct

http://interiorpainting-services.com

Chalk based paint...patina or wax!?

Apr 09, 2013 by Barry

Hi, I have been reading many of your brilliant online articles. They are really informative - thank you for posting them online...They lead me to the langlow patina product - which I have found to be really brilliant on bare wood...exactly as you describe it. I have been experimenting with using annie sloan chalk paints for a limewash effect on oak table top - which works really well visually and was hoping to use the patina product ontop given its excellent behaviour with hot cups of tea etc - but the patina product \"cancels\" out the thin chalk paint effect leaving a bare wood look. Do you know if it is completely imcompatible with chalk paints? or whether I could mix the chalk paint in with the patina to make sure it doesnt neutralise the colour back to bare wood? Or whether I should stick to wax in this instance.

I know this isnt your product - but if you had any advice to give that would be brilliant.

regards and thanks again for th ebrillinat information and tips on your website...

Nice Website

Mar 25, 2013 by Josie Johnson

I love how much information is available at this website. Good job and good design. I trade in cannock myself

http://paintbrush.org.uk

Finishing a stripped wooden worktop

Mar 06, 2013 by Hazel B

Thanks so much Andy for recommending Langloss Patina. What a lovely finish. After using so many different products and being totally unsatisfied with the results, I won't use anything else from now on. I also bought an orbital sander as a result of reading the info on your site. Am now researching eggshell finishes on painted furniture - am certain you will have something sensible to say !!

Wooster FTP 2" & 3" sash brush

Feb 03, 2013 by Dave Aspden

I am 65 years of age and have owned three houses. My daughter has recently purchased her second house in Gloucester and has allowed me to decorate it for her and her family ( two grand daughters + husband). After a couple of weeks of toil I read your comments on the Wooster FTP brushes and decided to purchase a 2\" & 3\" sash. They are nothing short of bloody fantastic, their ability to hold paint plus the superb control that they allow the user to execute for cutting in is unbelievable.

Thank you for the recommendation. I just wish I had known about them earlier.

Regards Dave A

Everything

Dec 12, 2012 by Janette Smith

I just love you guys. The information that you pass on and your generosity in doing so is fabulous. It is amazing to see the difference that you make to interior decor with your skills. I share most of your info on my facebook page. Thank you very much

Do we help or hinder? Ideas to improve the website… Write in and let us know

We love photos of your projects too.

The point of explaining how to do things “right”

So often you receive decorating information focused on what you can get away with, the cheapest way, the quickest way, or using products that someone wants to sell regardless of whether it is a good idea… We approach decorating from the opposite angle – focus on the high quality options from wherever they are available, and the rest will take care of itself.

If you are going to spend evenings and weekends and holidays redecorating, or you are in the trade trying to improve your service and profitability, the so-say expensive paints and premium quality kit we bang on about on the site will maximise the return on your time, money and efforts.

If you use the best kit, high spec paint and work smart, you will have an “easier” ride and the end result should reflect your efforts.

Cheap materials can end up in expensive labour and materials
The main expense in decorating is labour, not material, yet there is a fixation on cheap paint, cheap filler, cheap sandpaper, cheap sanders… There are good value items to be had, but by and large, we have all been caught out from time to time using cheap product, hoping we could break the rules of nature and pay nothing for the best!

The irony of using cheap kit, cheap paint, is that it could cot you more! You may be applying 3 coats instead of 2; you may be re-filling low grade filler that doesn’t adhere too well. You may choose to sand down the old fashioned way, slap paint on with cheap rollers and brushes, but you may spend more time than if you go dustless sanding and invest a little more in pro quality kit.

And DIY or pro, who wants to work hard to get surfaces perfect with inferior products, and stand back disappointed that the end result does not reflect your efforts?

So the above emails are examples of how our “theory” plays out in practice for those who are willing to take a deep breath and go for it, the Traditional Painter way! (Rest assured 99% of all material on the site is based on practice, not theory!)

I have received 2 out-and-out negative emails in the last 2 years: one complained that Little Greene oil eggshell, which we rate as one of the best oil eggshells available, is too sticky (resolved with Owatrol oil added), and another complained about too many articles coming out. A couple of painters took me to task over cotton dust sheets: I don’t rate them, they do.

I am happy with that level of disgruntlement from currently 850k page views a year!

Forum

I answer all the emails I receive asking for advice, but some questions are quite involved and for practical reasons, I have started to post the Q&A on the painting and decorating forum for the benefit of other readers.

You can also get a good gauge for the tone of readers’ reviews via comments at the end of every post.

And we do run a survey that is yielding interesting feedback too.

Thanks.

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