* the following advice is offered in good faith but does not constitute a specification & as the conditions & techniques of application & use are beyond our control, no liability whatsoever will be accepted on our part for it's use in full or in part.
Always follow the instructions on the can; follow preparation guidelines thoroughly - surfaces should always be clean, dry, sound & free of dust, efflorescence, grease, oil, rust, etc.
The number of coats stated may sometimes seem to be onerous, but these are the ideal for best overall performance.

1. Substrates
2. FAQs & Hints
3. Product Labels & descriptions

Exterior Walls & Masonry

• good condition = Masonry Paint 2x coats
• crumbly/flaky brick, stone, masonry, render etc = 1-2 coats Stabilizer + 2x coats Masonry Paint
• ingress of dampness = 1x coat Stormseal water repellent

Exterior Woodwork - smooth joinery

• bare wood = 1x primer + 1x undercoat + 3x Gloss paint
• or
• 3x Exterior woodstain varnish
• painted wood = 1x undercoat + 3x Gloss paint
• or
• varnished wood = 3x Exterior woodstain varnish

Exterior Woodwork - rough sawn wood

• 1 or 2 coats Shed & Fence Treatment

Exterior Bare Ferrous metal - gates, railings, etc

• 1 or 2 coats Stainblock + 3 coats Gloss paint (cast iron raingoods - ask for advice)

Exterior Painted Metal - gates, railings, etc

• 1x undercoat + 3x Gloss paint

Interior Walls & Ceilings

• bare plaster/plasterboard = 1x Plaster Sealer + 2x coats wallpaint*
• painted walls & ceilings = 2x coats wallpaint*
• papered walls & ceilings = 2x coats wallpaint*
• lining paper= 2x coats wallpaint * ; Note: Eggshell & Feng Shui cannot be used directly onto lining paper - a pre-coat of Soft Sheen is required.


• * Matt, Soft Sheen, Eggshell, Feng Shui, Masonry, Super Chalky, Air Purifying Wallpaint, Cover-Up Matt paint, Ecos Insulating Wallpaint, are all appropriate.


• Anti EMR-ELF Paint = 2x coats + 2x coats Wallpaint finish (any).

Interior Woodwork/Joinery (not floors or worktops)

* suitable paint finishes include Gloss, Satin, Feng Shui.

Interior Wooden Floors

Interior Ferrous Metal (not hot)

* Gloss, Satin, Feng Shui.

Interior Aluminium

*Gloss, Satin, Feng Shui.

Radiators (not storage heaters/steam radiators)

*Radiator paint gloss or satin, AFR, Feng Shui.   (bare cast iron or shot-blast; please ask for advice).

Interior Concrete Floors

Interior Tile & Stone Floors

Interior bare MDF- Ply-Chipboard.

Interior Melamine (not worktops)

Garage/Workshop Bare Concrete Floors (under cover)

Paths & Patios.

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These are listed in no particular order but steps should always be taken to avoid these issues as many can cause paint problems.

1.   Substrates

should be suitable: as unsound, rusty, damp, or dusty/oily substrates of many types can cause problems.

2.   Coverage

over-spreading or thinning of paint/varnish etc; ie - an insufficient film build; on Exterior Gloss Paint & Woodstain varnish, this can lead to premature failure with all brands of product & on Interior paint/varnish can lead to poor adhesion.

3.   Preparation

poor preparation can lead to many problems; also - do NOT wipe with a White Spirit cloth.

4.   "Impossible" Substrates

pre-existing "impossible" substrates; Distemper, Limewash,Silthane, Teak Oil, Danish Oil, Linseed Oil, Wax, polish residues, Beeswax, French Polish, new putty, silicone sealants, low-cost Fillers & Decorators Caulk, economy texture-finish (ie. imitation "Artex" ) , wallpaper paste/size residues, copper pipes, galvanized surfaces, glass,tiles;all of these & maybe more are virtually impossible to treat with all brands of water-based paints & also with most types of conventional solvent-based products.

5.   LimePlaster & Cob;

use Matt, SuperChalky or Cover-Up (all with care !)

6.   Sunshine & Heat

painting in full sunshine - leads to ultra-fast drying & possibly patchiness & dullness with most brands of paint & varnish.

7.   Storing Cold

using or storing any water-based paint at near-frost temperatures will cause many problems including solidification, separation & a dusty discontinuous film if the product is used.

8.   Storing Hot

storing any paint at high temperatures (eg boiler cupboard) can cause many problems including ; gellation, bacterial spoilage (bad odour etc), accelerated can rusting/staining, separation etc.

9.   Equipment

poor quality / inappropriate brushes & rollers; always use the right tool for the job. If the equipment is old, worn out, incorrect, you must buy new - to do otherwise is a false economy.

10.   Wet Edge

always keep a wet edge as far as is practicable you cannot leave a job part-finished, even for a few minutes. always finish a run of paint/varnish/stain, etc at a natural divide ie - in a corner, or divide; do not stop painting in the middle of a wall/surface as the join may be visible.

11.   Buy enough

always buy enough product to finish the job, as no two batches are ever exactly the same - be it paint, fabric, wallpaper etc, from any supplier.

12.   Thinners

wash equipment with water only - do not use any thinners or white spirit for washing, thinning, or wiping.

13.   Correct Product

use the appropriate product for the job in hand; interior wallpaints, for example, will not work well out of doors.

Mar, burnish & washability etc;
please be aware that with any brand of paint, the characterisics of each type of paint are quite different.
Eggshell & Feng Shui, for example, can even be used inside a shower enclosure, as they are formulated to be super- washable, whereas matt, for example, is much less water-resistant

Mar & Burnish - in areas of high traffic, eg corridor, office, etc - dark colours in Matt paints - in all brands of paint - can be susceptible to marking if rubbed/knocked/scraped.

This is called Mar (scraped) or Burnish (rubbed) & can easily be avoided by the use of a different type of paint, such as Soft Sheen or Eggshell, which are much more resistant to mar & burnish & well-suited to high-traffic areas.

Pale/mid colours & white are generally unaffected/barely affected.

14.   Contamination

do not rest soap or oil on a painted surface; these will soften & remove any brand of paint.

15.   Boards

floorboards and T & G apply along the length of the boards,not across, as the latter will leave a crossways mark with any brand of paint/varnish/stain.

16.   Primers & Putty

pink primers in particular are notorious for allowing bleed-through with many brands of paint; tannelized or pressure-treated wood cannot be reliably painted with any brand of paint until the carrier solvent has fully evaporated.Likewise, Putty must be through-hard before painting.

17.   Mixing

do not mix brands of paint on a job in hand - each manufacturer has different formulae & colours & some may be incompatible with each other.

18.   Stains

when painting onto previously stained wood, be aware that water-based stains can often strike through, necessitating the use of Stainblock.

19.   Knots

seal with two coats of Ecos White Knotting (should be white prior to applying paint).

20.   Fillers

we recommend the brand Polyfilla; all fillers should ideally be sealed with Ecos Filler Sealer. Omitting this step can cause visual surface effects & flaking under severe circumstances.
* We cannot recommend the use of  Tetrion brand fillers, OwnBrand Fillers, or Economy or Low Cost Fillers as all can cause problems of flaking, bubbling, disbonding etc, with many types & brands of water-based paints.

21.   Bare Plaster

should be dry & dust-free, then sealed with one coat of Ecos Plaster Sealer & allowed to dry thoroughly before painting.

Lime Plaster & Cob - see above.

Ready-mixed plasters: a test area is advisable (as these are proprietary mixtures & not conventional gypsum plasters).

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SPECIFIERS INDEX

1. WOOD PRIMER

2. WATER BASED STAIN-BLOCK (white)

3. UNDERCOAT

4. GLOSS PAINT (& satin gloss)

5. FENG SHUI MULTI-SURFACE FINISH

6. WALL PAINT MATT

7. WALL PAINT - SOFT SHEEN

8. SUPER CHALKY WALLPAINT

9. WALL PAINT - EGGSHELL

10. ATMOSPHERE PURIFYING WALLPAINT (PATENT PENDING)

11. ANTI EMR / ELF RADIATION SHIELDING WALLPAINT

12. MDF PASSIVATING PRIMER

13. ECOS FILLER SEALER

14. CLEAR VARNISH

15. WOODSTAIN VARNISH

16. RADIATOR PAINT