A mighty fine island

Lee in Newcastle finished this beautiful kitchen a short while ago. A real labour of love that took a lot more preparation than anticipated, but it certainly has stuck, and struck a chord with the clients.



 
An article on how it was done, is to follow.

Front doors due for a good shining

The search for a Number 10 finish for front doors has reached different but high heights. Beat this!

Paul Kelly, Traditional Painter and Decorator for Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire  applied some filler, plus love and attention to this One Shot enamelled front door. It is not photoshopped, it is not a letterbox stuck on a mirror, and it is not Paul's shiniest, by all accounts!


And after tackling hundreds of glazing bars and hundreds of panes of glass, Charlie Budd still had enough patience and care left in him to finish this restored front door using an altogether different but equally high end finish, Valtti Ultra.



Charlie wrote a guest post called the The Art of Watching Paint Dry, and by electing to use Valtti Ultra was able to fast forward through all the stages, and recoat this outstanding paintwork on the front door after about an hour. That's Finnish finish paint for you.

And here is a Dutch manufactured oil-based enamel that left Ben from Paints and Interiors beaming from ear to ear in the reflection, and reaching for a celebratory biscuit.




 

What's this about leaving a gap between lining paper?

A DIY visitor to the Traditional Painter site asked:

Pretty much all advice on hanging lining paper calls for it to be hung horizontally and to leave a 1-2mm gap between successive strips. Why is this gap necessary? I've yet to find a reason.

The thinking behind the gap mainly applies to when using lining paper under wallpaper. The last thing you want is for an overlap or an overly tight joint in the lining paper to show through the top paper. So there is a recommended tolerance of 1-2mm. 

 
A breath of fresh air - Keim, Fluxaf and a trip to the island.

Joel Franklin on his way to work on Shetland. Not too many vehicles to dodge, and armed with Fluxaf Super and Keim Royalan paint from Paints and Interiors, nothing stood in the way of preparing and painting a croft that will now survive the elements for a long long time.




 

What the readers think

We do dance to our own tune, but it never hurts to make sure that our readers are dancing along with us. Thank you for the feedback so far in the floating mini survey posted at the bottom of every page of the TP site. There is a Xmas draw for participants. 

Here are some random ideas from different readers.
 

When criticisms are constructive, they are welcome, as is the praise. The most regular critique is that blogs are too short, or not enough of them. There have been several requests for more info on what to do when things go wrong while decorating.

Watch this space to see how we respond, and keep the survey responses coming, thanks.
 

Black Friday comes to UK decorating

When corporate America sneezes, eventually the UK catches on. To capture the true spirit of Black Friday, it was a normal British workday on Thursday, and not much turkey and squash was eaten for supper.

On the upside, MyPaintBrush made sure that decorators and DIY could enjoy the extended bonus of  Black Thursday, Black Friday, Saturday and Sunday deals

 

Movember

Tony Pearson-Young is reaching the end of his hair-raising November challenge and has raised more money than he was hoping for, all for a good cause. 

You can still chip in here.
 

It's all double Dutch

Vliegenthart have been cooking oils and varnishes for over 175 years, and are putting their knowledge to great use with their Lacq range of authentic natural recipes. tried and tested for many many years.



 

Bing on the other hand, have been translating Dutch text on FaceBook for not long enough to make any sense whatsoever.


I feel it in my water



Coo-var

Bruce Kennedy has moved on to pastures new at Coo-Var and has a huge amount of new product knowledge to distil and share. 

Bruce has a full time specifier on hand too, for when it gets super technical. Not implying that Bruce isn't super technical, but how many times have any of us varnished a seaplane.
 

All ready for loading up

Lee in Yorkshire transformed this dresser and wine rack a few weeks ago. The paintwork will be perfectly cured and really tough now. 




In the name of transparency and progress and balance, we always welcome reviews from clients. They expand on the story behind the photos and tell the kitchen painting story from the point of view of the person paying for our services.



National Painting and Decorating Show-ing the way forward?
 

When you talk to tradesmen, there is a lot of focus on the nuts and bolts practical side of the trade. It is understandable. Over the last few years, niche homegrown companies and overseas newcomers, have enabled a growing number of open-minded UK tradesmen to skirt the clutches of stagnant industry thinking, by supplying paint and brushes and accessories that are better or more efficient than anything ever available before. It is liberating to have access to, and chat about tried and tested products that you don't have to import, one unit at a time!

But whilst the suppliers are very business-like, decorators still avoid most chat about business. The internet is still a mystery to many and social media is poorly used and few know how to price consistently, and still shop on price not value, bouncing around from one supplier to another, no loyalty, no chance to build any enduring relationships, wondering why suppliers treat them with little loyalty back.

If only there were a sense of joined up thinking and continuity, it might inspire more to join the trade and drive the decorating trade to higher levels of professionalism.

How inspiring if enlightened manufacturers were hooking up with motivated and open-minded merchants, who enthusiastically shared their finds with upbeat and savvy professionals, who recognised the benefits and value of premium value product designed for today's market. 

And if decorators had a robust sales and marketing approach and order books could fill and give a sense of stability so that they could think about expanding, and (perish the thought), hired motivated apprentices from colleges which were manned by top craftsmen using the kit that the progressive manufacturers are bringing out... real progress would be made.

There would be no brake in the system, nobody stifling the UK trade from growing better, and clients would be getting excellent value for money - I like the sound of that world, however far away.

Fortunately well resourced companies are making inroads  into the norm - and lights are being shone, exposing the limitations in the accepted norm in UK decorating. 

Let's see what happens the next few years.  


TP5 if you buy paint from Holmans



Traditional Painter relies on services and products from the very best. When it comes to our kitchen paint and primers, Holmans are our first port of call as a rule -Tikkurila and Mathys paints, and more.

If you quote TP5 when you order over £100 in paint, you will receive a complimentary Original Fox paint brush sized to match your order. Details here


What matters to the public?

For an insight into what matters to clients and a sad indictment of our trade, the first word of thanks we usually receive at Traditional Painter is Thanks for getting back to me.

Axus

There are several Axus products that have passed the test and test of time - the tack cloths, painters trousers and the shears to name but 3. The lime roller sleeves: many swear by them for fine finishing, while others swerve them in case they shed fibres.

We will keep an eye on the new Axus roller trays and kettles released recently.



Trade Corner companies Q&A

All the companies on Trade Corner also have a spot on our forum where they will be alerted to any questions you might have for them.

They also pop in to add their perspective and point out a few ideas that may not have been apparent to end users.


Look forward to seeing you there.


 

-------------------------------
 

We strive to keep the content and quality of the information we share high.

We understand it is the core reason why so many readers keep coming by, so it is beholding on Traditional Painter to keep the standards high and keep articles interesting.

Let us know any topics we could cover, or cover better.

Please forward this newsletter to a friend by email. 

- What are the * before a link all about?

Short answer 

* equals win-win for readers and Traditional Painter.

Longer answer - 

If you click on a * link and go through to MypaintBrush's store, for instance, and you decide to make a purchase, you will pay the same competitive price as all other visitors to their store. The difference is, we make a small commission for referring you to the MPB site . 

We only put a * link to products we recommend and rate highly.

 So, if you want to help us fund Traditional Painter, so that we can maintain the high standards of information on the site and keep the Newsletter bubbling along for your pleasure, please make purchases through these * links!

(If you are a bit of a meany, just copy the link, knock off the tracker number bit and go through to the MPB site - that way we don't get a penny for pointing you in the right direction :) )