What would you expect?

Oh no Bubbles, I can't believe he said he didn't use it, but then did. I'd be having a word to him for sure.

I didn't even think to pull out the tin left over. It says "full gloss enamel" Does that mean it's oil based? It doesn't say on the tin. Although, looking at my trims and doors compared to what Bubbles has experienced, they don't seem that bad, so thinking it's not oil based. The tin just says white, and on top they have written trim whites, but there are a few letters with numbers next to them, so would that be the tint?

I was thinking about this last night, and it's all good to say there are so many whites, it's your fault, but really, shouldn't builders take on more of a role in making sure the client understands that? I knew there were a hundred different whites, hence why I asked for a pure white like the ceiling white and I still didn't get it. What about those building for the first time and have no idea where to even start. Surely builders need to start taking responsibility on making sure their clients understand exactly what they are getting! Not just paint, but lots of areas. We had a pretty good pre-start person and our builders were fantastic with helping, but I know they aren't all like that.

(rant over)

I completely agree with you Rizzo! I'm not sure anyone implied "it's your fault"- I think it is more of a case of people stating that if you tried to raise the issue with the painters/ builders they would argue the point that there was no code specified.

You're right though- I agree that it should be THEIR responsibility to make things more clear at the selection meetings and request that information be recorded in a way that makes it clear for both the builder and the client. After all- there are codes for door types and sinks- it is not unreasonable that they should record more specific info about paint colour. (Unfortunately it seems that it doesn't always work like that!)

I would have expected it to be white (like ceiling white) too! We are doing our own painting and our paint colour is White Duck (We are having half strength) and I can tell you now that "White Duck" isn't actually white- although the name implies it. It is stone/grey type colour and to use that as an example- I would be mortified if I indicated "white" on paperwork and a colour like White Duck was used on our ceilings. At the very least they should have clarified with you.


Just as a spin off- Your post reminded me of the paint colour in my current house. We didn't built it but moved in when it was about 18 months old. We needed something small fixed up while it was still under the builder's warranty and the work required a small area of painting. According to the paperwork- the paint is supposed to be 'whisper white'. The painter walked in and immediately stated- "This isn't whisper white". He managed to tint the paint and sorted out a colour match but the colour of the house isn't what's written on the paperwork. I'm not sure whether the people who built the house were able to change their minds at the last minute and the paperwork wasn't adjusted OR whether it was painted the wrong colour (despite the paperwork having a colour and code recorded in it)

I know Miss, I didn't mean anyone here saying it's my fault, but if I went to the builder, they would

Just looking through the paperwork and the ceiling says "white" and the trims, doors etc say "white" funny how they are two totally different whites!

Our last house we built, we had a feature wall in Donkey. We kept saying it looked way more purple than on the sample, but were assured it was donkey and samples aren't always accurate. Funny when we had a crack fixed up and the painter went to pain it, that the donkey he had was way less purple! He had to scrape a bit off and take it to get the colour matched.
So your house may have been the mixers take on whisper white lol.

Thanks everyone.

We choose a solver colour called paper white. I just said i wanted a glossy coat on the doors, not semi-gloss but full-gloss. I have no idea why the dumb a+++ painter would then get oil based paint.

Do you think the paper white colour is mixed with the oil base? Can they do that? And also it doesn't explain why the cavity slider has gone yellow.

Hmmm, an email off to the builder is in order. I hope they fix this for me but I am not holding my breath

Hi OObubblesOO. I have sent you a PM. We are having a similar issue as yourself with Solver paint.

Ok- Now I'm worried. I mentioned this thread to my husband (who is painting our newhouse) We plan to have pure white/vivid white skirtings and architraves and I mentioned this thread and how people have had issues with it yellowing and I wanted to ensure he bought the right paint....

My husband then reveals to me that he is using oil based paint. He hasn't bought it yet as he isn't up to the skirtings and architraves yet. I freaked out because I certainly don't want ours yellowing over time but my husband says it is more durable. He is by no means an experienced painter- Is he right? Is it considered more durable? Is there a way we can use the oil based paint and avoid the yellowing? Does the yellowing have to do with brand/ quality/ application technique? Does anyone have an advice they can offer or some evidence I can use to convince my husband that using an oil based paint could be a mistake.

Is he right? - 'course not
Is it considered more durable? - Many would say so, I disagree. After all, you're not going to drive a herd of cattle alongside your skirtings, would you. Some common sense applies regardless of paint type. Oil paint is not a no-fail, last-forever-as-on-day-1 either.
Is there a way we can use the oil based paint and avoid the yellowing? - Unknown to me, so I'll say NO.
Does the yellowing have to do with brand/ quality/ application technique? - NO.
Does anyone have an advice they can or some evidence I can use to convince my husband that using an oil based paint could be a mistake. - Yep. Buy ANY water based paint brand, eg. Taubmans or Dulux. Please be careful as these days they make non-white paint bases too so just look for the words "White". Gloss level to my naked eye is the same as for oil based paints , so just buy the glossiest one (I think technically it's about 80% - looks same to me ).
.. convince my husband that using an oil based paint could be a mistake. - You WILL be nagging him for the rest of your lives if he goes ahead with this annoying thing of the past - oil paint.
Long live acrylics!!!

So is a "full gloss enamel" oil based? I can't find any other info on the tin

never mind, just googled it and the dulux one is... damn it, so this is my problem then

Is it a plain tin, non-branded, no stickers? If not, maybe you could post a pic??

All paints which you buy in the shops would state if it's water or oil based (even if it's in the fine print).

So, this is inconclusive - so far.

Miss, I was just looking at the dulux site, show him this http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/produ ... ducts/trim
tells you which ones to use for non-yellowing

No, it's dulux. The side with the small print on it is all painted on, which is why I can't find whether it's oil based or not, but looking at the dulux site it is.

Oh, just spotted your update post

So it's oil for sure?? 100% sure??

yep, this one http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/produ ... oduct=2126

D*mn! I still shudder whenever I see the horrible words "oil based paint"
Builders and painters should be made to sign some pretty ugly doco that if they accidentally use oil paints that they have to fix it plus pay you LDs for the stress and pay you a weekend or two in a resort to try to shake it all off!
No, seriously, I honestly think that acrylic paints are a dream to use inside of the house for the usual things such as the trims! We even painted our external doors in water based pure white - nothing happened to it despite all that afternoon sun!

But, you can always fix it. It's not even that hard (except for the knees if the skirtings are attached).

I just can't imagine going around the whole house and sanding and doing it again. There is so much of the skirting and with 3 little kids, it aint going to happen, I just don't have time. "IF" it stays as it is, I can live with it, but if it gets any worse, I will be speaking to the builder and asking they redo it as I didn't specify yellow paint! Don't know if they will, but it's worth a try.

I have actually noticed the same thing as Bubbles, that the cavity slider is actually a lot more discoloured than the rest... wonder why that would be?

I find it strange they even try to sell this stuff. On the dulux website, it clearly states that if you do not want yellowing, then use the aquamarine stuff!! If they know it does that, then why sell it in the whites?

We were told it happens due to lack of natural light. The doors spend more time closed than open so they are in the dark, the effect is more noticeable. This is the same at my place and also on the inside of the broom cupboard and linen cupboard doors.

It's normal practice to use oil-based paint on doors, skirts and so on. Most painters prefer it.... and our builder's standard specifications stated that oil-based gloss paints would be used on those areas.

I don't see any problems with oil, apart from it being more smelly and taking longer to dry. It's far more durable (I used semi-gloss acrylic on a built-in wall unit and a set of bifold doors in our old house and it was a BIG mistake; lots of scratches from normal usage ) and cleans easily. No yellowing here.

I know, Rizzo, it's very hard Our builder made a huge mistake, and I was thinking the same - if we were to leave it, then I'd have to go through this huge job myself (doors being the worst!). Lucky for us, they had no choice in the end, as we had it in our contract (without even realising) and it also happens to be their standard paint type and written in specs they gave us. They did a pretty good job of covering it up. A very light fine sand and then just paint it over. The alternative is to use Zeinsser (sp?) as the primer - it's so good that apparently you don't need sanding (or so they say).
But, check your contract and specs - if they specified water based, they would have to fix it.

You can tell by looking at the cleanup instructions. If it says to clean up with turpentine, then it's an oil based paint.