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lmgch

farrow and ball paint - worth it for cabs?

lmgch
9 years ago

title says it all - do you think the upcharge for finishing cabinets in farrow and ball paint is worth it?

thanks

Comments (18)

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    I congratulate you on finding a color you liked. I painted some samples on my old cabinets. I found my picks dull. They seemed somehow incomplete without a senile third son of an earl crying into his Pimm's, as the damp smell of must and old dog hang in the air. Not quite the effect I was going for.

    That said, it is very good paint, and cannot really be replicated by mixing it in other brands that do not use their unique ingredients, such as chalk, clay and regret.

  • lmgch
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    marcolo - i suppose that means you don't think it's actually superior and therefore worth the cost?

    to clarify, i've not found a color I like. TBH, I had never heard of this paint until a cabinet guy told me his pricing was for sherwin williams or F&B, which was more. as I hadn't heard of it, I was/am asking here if it's worth any additional cost.

    thanks

  • Vertise
    9 years ago

    You might also ask on the paint forum. Lots of people around GW love it. Try a google search. Maybe your cabinet maker can refer to client installations where you would be hit with the difference in effect and quality.

    I have not seen FB, only read about it, but do not like SW paint or the lack of expertise of general staff at their stores. Depending on how steep the price, FB sounds far more appealing and I have no doubt it is a gorgeous finish and colors. I would research well how either paint wears though for such an application. Get a sample door you can see and test first too.

  • zeebee
    9 years ago

    (*snort*) Marcolo (*snort*)

    My experience with expensive paint is that it is worth it to use if no color match is right, but (1) I wouldn't break the bank for it and (2) all the talk about the subtle beauty and light-changing tints in full spectrum paint is....mostly marketing. I'm sitting right now in a room painted in a Donald Kaufman color - the only room in the house with full-spectrum paint - and though it's pleasant, I don't moon about the nuanced undertones and how much more deep and interesting this color is than the wall colors in other rooms.

    Is custom color worth it for cabinets? Absolutely, if your manufacturer doesn't offer the color you want. Is the difference between any custom color and full-spectrum custom color worth it? Your budget will tell you that. Just FYI, we paid for custom color for our kitchen cabinets because no sane manufacturer offers our unusual color choice as standard, and we added 12% to our cabinet budget with that decision. And this is using regular ol' Benjamin Moore, not F&B or Ellen Kennon or any other fancy paint.

  • bmorepanic
    9 years ago

    Farrow and Ball is better paint than Sherwin Williams. It flows better, coverage is smoother, and the other goodness mentioned above. It is as good of a "real paint" as you can get that is reasonable green.

    BUT, if your cabinet guy is talking about Sherwood (catalysed varnish) or SW's cat lacquer, it's a better finish on cabinets (in terms of long lasting and the smoothness of the finish). Although these are colored, they are not paints per se.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Your first step is indeed to find out whether you are comparing paint to paint, or paint to varnish or lacquer. Most modern cabinets are finished with one of these last two. These are very durable finishes that stand up to much abuse, although they have a vaguely shrink-wrapped appearance. No one will be fooled that they have survived two world wars, a depression, and the many incarnations of Bruce Jenner. I personally prefer the look of paint, which unlike lacquer is easy to touch up. But it's paint. It chips.

    As far as paint goes, Farrow and Ball is very good. However, it comes in only a very limited palette. There are no custom mixes. It is all shipped from a factory in England. You have to be comfortable with the color choices you are given (and do not trust the brochures in this; they vary wildly from the larger samples and the paint).

    I like a few of the colors. The Cooking Apple Green is quite cheerful. But most of the others seem mixed to impart a sense of English imperial decay. You know, "We shall face ruin unless we open the estate to tourists," and, "I forget, is it grandmama in this urn, or the spaniel? "

  • awm03
    9 years ago

    marcolo, your comments made me spew Earl Grey all over my Spode. I had to ring Nigel to come clean up the mess... Loved your posts just the same.

  • kitchendetective
    9 years ago

    I wonder if you called Crown Point whether they would give you an answer to how their F & B paints have held up on their cabinets. It's the only paint I use when I am doing my own painting because I love it and it doesn't give me migraines. However, I have no experience with using it on cabinets as mine are all wood. There is also an English forum called Home Talk, I believe, where there is discussion of F & B, and dry wit, on occasion.
    Edited to add a link.
    (I was trying to keep a stiff upper lip, when it got to grandma or the spaniel, I lost it.)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Crown Point Blog

    This post was edited by kitchendetective on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 12:58

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    As is so often the case, the choice comes down to, "DEATH...or cake?"

  • kitchendetective
    9 years ago

    Chicken.

  • rococogurl
    9 years ago

    I'm always amazed how the snarkies have so rarely, if ever, used the products they're snarking about. Sigh.

    Allison0407 has an entire kitchen painted in F&B French green. She can tell you how the paint is holding up because she's actually had experience with the paint. Imagine!

    My entire house is painted in that paint because the color of the regular stuff pooped out in 2 years. It was cheaper to buy better paint than pay the painter repeatedly. I used to DIY paint and I'm pretty good at it but the old joints don't love that roller action so much.

    F&B is not for everyone because of the price -- DUHHHH -- but if surface quality means something to you then you might want to consider the expense.

    All my woodwork is painted in their Eggshell, the equivalent of semi-gloss. It's been about five years and it still looks very fresh.

    That's not to say the same wouldn't be true of paint store paint.

    FWIW, F&B is not mixed in the paint store. It's mixed at the factory. Most paints have 4 pigments. Theirs have 4 to more than a dozen, depending on the color.

    I can say their colors are mostly muted, the blues are very green, the yellows are problemmatic, hardly any reds and what they call white ranges from what most of us call white to gray and beige.

    For anyone with plaster walls, in an old house, this paint will improve the look of the walls. The clay helps with what they call "hiding quality" which is to hide tiny flaws in the walls.

    This is not the most expensive or exclusive paint by any means. There are other brands that are more costly. Donald Kaufman, in particular, which has only 104 colors

    Color matching can be done. I've done it but didn't find it satisfactory because the matched color looks flat without the undertones from the additional pigment. Some people can't see that so it might not matter.

    This is a first world issue to be sure. But the question was asked. I believe the answer is yes based on my woodwork and walls in two houses. Allison will have her opinions as well.

  • homepro01
    9 years ago

    Sorry to hijack the thread!
    Rococogurl,
    I am interested in Farrow and Ball for my exterior door (Charlottes Lock or Babouche). Have you had any experience with the exterior paints? I am painting an MDF door that will have a overhang and does not get direct sunlight. I am going to get a sample this weekend from the local F&B store.
    Thanks!
    Homepro01

  • rococogurl
    9 years ago

    homepro -- For exterior I highly recommend Fine Paints of Europe Dutchlac, an oil base paint. We have winter weather, moisture and direct sun. So water based did not hold up.

    No experience with F&B exterior but, in general, the semi and high gloss paints are very durable. Expect exterior would be one of those.

    Would love to hear what you decide. A door in Babouche would be great.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    I'm always amazed how the snarkies have so rarely, if ever, used the products they're snarking about. Sigh.

    Whoa, didn't mean to provoke sighs or amazement. I've had F&B on a wall and a bank of cabinets for two years now. It's like a wall of existential ennui. But not as French.

  • fouramblues
    9 years ago

    marcolo, it's good to see you back, complete with razor-sharp wit!

    Sorry I can't comment on F&B. I've used SW pro classic with great results.

  • oldbat2be
    9 years ago

    Sigh, must I be the one to comment on the elephant in the room? I know you're all thinking it. Marcolo - how on earth is your remodel going?!

    (hijack over)

    Good thread! I have yet to buy F&B but my brother just painted a few rooms and he loves it.

  • homepro01
    9 years ago

    Thanks rococo gurl!! I also look at Fine Paints of Europe.
    Homepro01